WASHINGTON WIZARDS MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 8, 2025

Alex Sarr

Mavericks 111, Wizards 105

Q. You guys kind of started off very strong in the first quarter and had a 14-0 run. What do you think changed in the second half as you guys weren't keeping that strong mentality and also didn't come out on top?

ALEX SARR: I think maybe not being as crisp defensively on some little stuff like defensive coverage, not being as physical, and yeah, allowing a little too many points at times.

Q. What lessons did a game like this where they were switching and it caused the offense to be stagnant can you guys take into the next situation where you face in a close game late against a switching D?

ALEX SARR: Just yeah, like getting used to any type of defense they can throw at us, keeping the ball moving, and yeah, just making sure that it doesn't throw off our game that they're switching.

Q. Alex, your ability to kind of have that quick, forget that play, because with your rim protection you go for everything, whether a guy has a huge dunk or not. Where does that, let me just move on to the next play and go back at him on the other end mindset come from, to forget what just happened and keep pushing?

ALEX SARR: Yeah, I think that's a very important skill for any player. It's a game of mistakes. Everybody is going to make mistakes in the game, and it's about how you respond. For our team, that's something we preach because it can lead to having a better game if you just forget what happened the last play and you try to make up for it defensively or offensively. I think that's the best way to go about it.

Q. Where does your consistency to start the season come from? I know you've done a lot of work in the jump season, your time at the French national team, at EuroBasket, but the consistency even seems to be taking continuous leaps as each game goes on. Where does that come from?

ALEX SARR: I think just trying to keep my energy up, trying to play with a high motor even if it's a back to back or whatever. Just trying to bring it every day.

Q. That middle pick-and-roll, I know Drew has spoken to you about it, even going back to last season, but you guys had a lot of success with it tonight. What does it afford you to work with in that middle pick-and-roll whether you're rolling to the hoop or popping out?

ALEX SARR: Yeah, just a lot of space when I'm rolling. I was open, Bub found me on a couple ones, and also pulled in the defense for some corner threes, so it works pretty well for us.

Q. I know picking on the consistency, even your shot selection seems like you're kind of being more consistent on which shots you want to take, whether they're high percentage or just easier for you. Does that kind of come into play with building on your high motor and just being a little better this year?

ALEX SARR: Yeah, for sure. Just trying to think about what strategy is going to be better for the team. Like if it's early in the clock or not, trying to get the ball moving, trying to get to the second side before attacking, little stuff like that.

Q. I noticed your defensive confidence got a little better, especially tonight you were kind of willing to battle in the paint more. Has that been progressing through each game or are you kind of figuring out by watching film, oh, I need to probably cover this a little better or take a little more contact?

ALEX SARR: Yeah, I think definitely just watching the film, like seeing stuff where I made mistakes, learning from it, and trying to improve has been pretty important for me.

Q. During halftime, what was the biggest message that either Coach or another player really emphasized that really carried the momentum in the second half?

ALEX SARR: Just not to let up. I don't really remember what the score was at halftime, but just to come out ready for the third quarter. That's something that's pretty important for us. First, we didn't do a great job at the start of the third quarter, but that's something we've got to improve.

Q. On the heels of a back to back, how important is it to take overall a good display of a performance for the team and try to carry it to try to create some momentum and start turning that into wins?

ALEX SARR: Yeah, it's important. We're very close, so it's a lot of stuff that we can learn from tonight, go back, watch the film on stuff we can do differently in crunch time. But it's all a learning experience, and it's going to make us better at the end of the day.

Q. Can you speak on how you felt about seeing Cam provide some scoring off the bench for y'all? I also felt like Bub had a pretty good game, making plays for his teammates and creating some shots for himself, as well.

ALEX SARR: Yeah, that's what both of them do. Cam, he was a spark for us off the bench, came in, knocked down some clutch shots. He was aggressive to the rim like we know he can be. Same from Bub, just playing the pick-and-roll, finding guys open, finding the corner, finding me. He's been great for us.

Q. How do you feel like Tre has helped the offense this season?

ALEX SARR: Just being aggressive, just him being a very good shooter. It pulls the defense, and he's able to make plays for others, put the ball on the floor. Yeah, he just brings a lot of play making, I'll say.

Q. You talked about crunch time and there's been a few games where it's been the fourth quarter and it slips away. What do you think it'll take for this team to finish in those moments?

ALEX SARR: I think, yeah, just learning from those games that we had early, knowing not to be rushed, and also doing defensive stops at the other end because we didn't really get stops at the end of the game in the fourth quarter. Those two things.

Q. How were you able to find your rhythm so quickly early in the season and continuing through now when you were out for most of the preseason and training camp with the calf?

ALEX SARR: Yeah, I think just starting practice, just being around the guys kind of allowed me to have any thoughts in practice, just see what we were about, and it was a pretty seamless transition for me to get back with the group and start practicing and restart with the preseason games and now the first 10 games of the season.

Q. Did you ever lose your conditioning, because it was like a month where you couldn't really run or anything, and if you did, when did you feel like you were back to where you had been before you tweaked your calf?

ALEX SARR: Yeah, I don't really feel like I lost a lot of it. I probably lost some of it because when you can't play, you can't really replicate exactly, like, game form. But they had me on the bike almost every day, so I was doing a lot of stuff like that almost every day to keep the stamina up.