“It’s a learning process, everything is new for me”

Over a period of several weeks, Maquime Raynaud moved from the end of the bench to the role of starting center for the Kings. The Frenchman took advantage of Domantas Sabonis’ injury to take his chance and gain the trust of your coachDoug Christie.

Former Stanford student has started his team’s last sixteen games and he ranks tenth best scorer and fourth best jumper among beginners. After that a heavy defeat of the Kings at Golden Statepreviewed his first season with Basket USA.

Maxim, it’s 84-84 three minutes into the third quarter, and you concede a 13-0 run that turns into 41-12 at the start of the final quarter. What happened?

13-0… There was enough on this passage momentum. We weren’t skilled, we didn’t defend ourselves. And then, from there, it’s complicated to come back. They are confident, they share the ball very well, and we are a little stagnant offensively. It’s hard to come back when there’s a mountain to climb.

This is your seventh defeat in a row, you have won only eight games this season. Why doesn’t mayonnaise set? What is it that you can’t get a common click?

I think it’s a bit complicated. We have to play a little better in defense, make stops. The few games where we defended well, like against the Mavs, where we held them to 100 points, was good. After that, it’s matches where we don’t give our shots, so it’s complicated. We have to go back to the basics. It starts with the defense. You have to defend hard if you want to play fast and open your shots. After that it’s complicated: you’re halfway through the season, that’s when everyone’s a little tired. It’s hard to click anything at that moment.

Personally, what is your assessment of this first part of the season?

I’m just learning. A lot of learning. Everything is new for me: being on the field, being in training, talking to the media, talking to everyone. Everything is new to me. I study every day, because everything comes first. That’s what I remember the most. And then, obviously, there are some games in which we still succeed… For example Houston: we take them to overtime, we beat them at home… We fight well. After that, there are matches where you have to learn to limit damage. It’s a huge learning process. It’s a baptism of fire: you throw yourself into it and you have to get used to it.

What kind of routine before each match?

Your coach told us the same thing. The first thing he mentioned was the “beginner’s wall” and manual labor. How do you handle the physical impact and the number of matches compared to what you experienced in the NCAA?

Obviously you have a lot more games, longer games, against athletes… All the best athletes in the NCAA are “normal” players in the NBA… So obviously you want to get in good physical shape and start preparing for next year. He is absolutely right about that. Every time you get to a higher level, there is always a transition.

From a basketball standpoint, can you explain to a beginner the difference in level, the difference in nuance with college basketball?

It is the whole. They shoot in a higher percentage, the game is played faster, there are fewer wastes, it is more physical. All dimensions of the game… you advance two or three levels. That’s the main difference.

We saw you do a pretty long video warm-up and about twenty very careful minutes, with a lot of support. Can you tell us a bit about your pre-match routine?

You are watching a video. And then, during the warm-up, you make the shots you will find in the match. Towards the end, work on the angles you want to develop for next year. Then a big pre-game video session in the locker room of the evening’s opponent. Then a classic warm-up with the whole team.

Tristan Thompson among his models

Domantas Sabonis is injured and out for several weeks. What is your relationship with him?

He is always there to talk to you. I trained with him a little during the summer. He is always a good mentor.

You have a lot of veterans on your team, big guys like Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, Dennis Schroder. Is it intimidating to arrive as a rookie in a locker room like this?

It’s scary for the first two weeks. And then after that, it becomes your everyday life.

Are there any players you specifically study to develop your game?

You look at everyone. You look at Šengun, you look at Jokić, you look at Rudi if you want to work in defense. I can also watch Tristan Thompson, when he switches to everything. It’s really very diverse.

Even though you’re still in California, is it special to play here in San Francisco, a little closer to Stanford?

It’s great because I still have friends here. And then the Bay Area is where I started. So obviously it’s nice. It’s good to see everyone again.

Comments collected in San Francisco.