Malachi Flynn excited to see how his game translates to playoffs

Toronto Raptors point guard Malachi Flynn met with the media after Sunday's regular-season finale. He discussed what it was like to get some extended playing time, what makes Nick Nurse such a good coach, and how he thinks his game will translate to the playoffs.

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Video Transcript

MALACHI FLYNN: Mm-hmm.

- [INAUDIBLE] find a way right now.

MALACHI FLYNN: Yeah, you know, we just had an opportunity to come in and play. We got a lot of minutes that we don't normally get. So it was good for all of us. Heading into the playoffs, I think everybody kind of had some good moments in the game that we can take forward with us.

- [INAUDIBLE].

MALACHI FLYNN: Of course. I mean, playoffs is-- we obviously weren't there last year. So that's kind of-- I mean, that's what you want to play for as a player. So being a part of that is definitely going to be a new experience and something that I'm going to enjoy.

- Your last season and this season from the same franchise, [INAUDIBLE] polar opposites. What is the biggest difference [INAUDIBLE]?

MALACHI FLYNN: I think guys have just been bought in. Even when we were struggling a little bit early, I think we just continued to do the same things. We didn't try to change too much. Everybody's bought in and really just trying to win. I think last year it was kind of just a crazy year of us being at Tampa, not being at home, all that type of stuff. But this year, we just kind of honed in, and the biggest thing is winning for everybody.

- How do you feel just getting back into all those really heavy games you've been [INAUDIBLE]? How do you feel right now?

MALACHI FLYNN: I feel good. Legs feel good. Nothing-- no injury or nothing like that. So it felt good to be out there.

- [INAUDIBLE] training camp [INAUDIBLE]?

MALACHI FLYNN: No, definitely. I thought that was crazy. But no, they just have-- they just see things differently, and it's been working for us. And I think for us, we just all bought in, like early, and starting in training camp, sending three to the board, like you said, just doing a lot of different things on defense. And it's been working for us, so we've been rocking with it.

- Go ahead. Thank you.

- Thanks. Hi, Malachi.

MALACHI FLYNN: [INAUDIBLE].

- A couple of questions for you virtually. Go ahead, Doug.

DOUG: Hey, Malachi. Thanks for coming by. How important was it for you to get an extended run tonight, just to get speed back, not conditioning as much as game speed, and get used to what the NBA speed is like after not playing for a while?

MALACHI FLYNN: Yeah, it was-- I think it was huge for me, to be honest, even though the outcome wasn't what we wanted. I think just playing 25 plus minutes after being out for, it felt like a month and a half almost of [INAUDIBLE] at time. So it felt good. And I think moving forward into playoffs, it'll help me.

DOUG: Nick's been telling us for weeks that the request of you was to play hard all the time. "Get dirty" was what-- the phrase he uses. Playoff basketball is a dirty game. Are you excited to see how your game will translate into that tough kind of atmosphere?

MALACHI FLYNN: Definitely. I think-- I mean, like I said before, playoffs is what you want to play at. At the end of the day, the regular season don't matter. It's about what you do in playoffs. So I think all of us are looking forward to it.

DOUG: Thanks, Malachi. Safe trip back.

MALACHI FLYNN: Yes, sir.

- Thanks, Doug. Last question for you, Malachi, comes from Aaron Rose. Go ahead, Aaron.

AARON ROSE: Hey, Malachi. What makes Nick's such a good coach?

MALACHI FLYNN: A lot of different things. I think his game planning is really good. His defensive schemes, he comes up with a lot of different stuff to throw off their offense. And for us, he gives us a lot of freedom to play with. Everybody has a lot of freedom to just kind of do whatever.

But we still have a method to the madness, if you want to say that. So he does a lot of good things, and I think he gets us to play really hard every night in and night out. I think you look around a lot around the league, teams don't play hard every night, and I think he gets us to do that.

AARON ROSE: Messi earlier in the year called him a mad-- or a mad scientist, or something like that.

MALACHI FLYNN: Yeah, for real. Nah, for real.

AARON ROSE: Well, I guess, do you feel that way?

MALACHI FLYNN: Sure. He's-- I mean, he's always coming up with just something different that you-- that you're not used to seeing in the NBA, like boxing in one end, just like anything. You know, you're not used to seeing that in the NBA, and he'll throw out anything. So-- and it works.

AARON ROSE: Thanks, Malachi.

MALACHI FLYNN: Yeah.