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Keaton Wagler admitted his shots were not falling early, but he never allowed that to affect his confidence as the LA Clippers defeated the Golden State Warriors 104-101 in their preseason opener on Sunday.
Wagler scored 15 points in 30 minutes, shooting 3-of-15 from the field and 1-of-11 from three-point range. He stayed aggressive throughout the game and ultimately delivered the decisive basket, hitting a 19-foot step-back jumper with 14 seconds remaining to put the Clippers ahead 102-101.
“I think it’s just all the work that I’ve put in throughout the years,” Wagler said when asked about maintaining his confidence. “My teammates were saying to me, like, keep shooting it no matter or misses. This is preseason. This is the time to get better. And the only way to get better is to shoot shots.”
“I just went out there and tried to play free, play confident. Shots didn’t really fall tonight, but I stayed confident the whole game.”
Wagler said the game-winning shot was particularly enjoyable because of the atmosphere at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
“It was crazy. The crowd was into it and it was really fun for a preseason game,” he said. “Just kind of set the tone for our first game, but it was really fun to be out there with my teammates to compete and being that close of a game and be able to come out on top was great.”
The Clippers guard also emphasized the importance of not being afraid of the moment.
“I think it just keeps me balanced on the floor and knowing to be confident in those moments, not be afraid of the moment,” Wagler said. “Being down one at the time, being able to go down there and hit that shot. Just keeping my head on straight and being confident is the biggest part.”
Wagler explained that he initially considered pulling up for a three before deciding to attack the basket and use a step-back after seeing his defender give him space.
“I thought it’d be better if I get closer to the rim,” he said. “Once I saw him kind of backing up a lot, I know I get to my spin move, and there’s a big in the paint, so I just went to the step back.”
Despite his shooting struggles, Wagler felt he contributed defensively and showed some of the qualities he wants to bring to the Clippers.
“I might not have played my best offensive game, but I thought defensively I held my own, got some steals, was in the right spots,” he said.
Wagler identified playing at his own pace as an area he wants to improve after his first preseason appearance.
“I think just being more comfortable and just playing at my own pace,” he said. “I might have started a little bit sped up, jitters a little bit, but once I got settled in, I kind of slowed down.”
“I think that’s just something that is going to be for me is when I have the ball in my hand, just being able to create plays like I do in practice and at training camp.”
