Post#8 » by SD2042 » Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:31 am
Post-game quotes
Grizzlies
Head Coach Lionel Hollins
On the loss:
“We just kept battling. We got the court open so that we could attack. We got off of some screens and knocked down some shots. Early on, they were doing a good job of being physical with us, knocking us off screens, keeping us from coming off screens. It was a sign of a good team that got embarrassed yesterday that came back to try to get redemption, and they did. I just told our guys in the locker room that we played Boston, Detroit, and now Portland, all very physical games. Get ready for Wednesday because it is going to be the same way. As we progress, this is how you have to play and how you have to be prepared to play against the good teams. They are all going to be physical. They are all going to be knocking you around.”
On keeping the big men on the floor:
“We had no more people. Darrell (Arthur) gets hurt, Darko (Milicic) gets hurt, so we don’t have anymore big people.”
On the focus for the rest of the season:
“I just want us to continue to learn and get better. These are all little lessons playing these good teams in a row. Being physical and having to be tough physically and mentally in order to endure. We played well in Boston. We beat Detroit. We got hammered in the first quarter (tonight) and we came back and we battled. We just didn’t have enough bodies and we didn’t have enough energy.”
On Portland’s defense against O.J. Mayo:
“I thought they did a good job on O.J. They kept him from coming off screens. They switched, they got on top of him. They were waiting on him when he caught the ball, but he kept battling and kept fighting. Eventually, we got him into some pick-and-rolls. We opened the court and got him into dribble-drives and he was able to get open and make some shots. They are a very good defensive team.”
Rudy Gay
on the game:
“It was tough, especially with me playing extra minutes and not totally being 100 percent. It kind of takes a toll on you near the end of the game. People that don’t usually have minutes were playing extra minutes. Even though they play last night they have a deep bench.”
O.J. Mayo
On his play:
“I struggled with anything on the offensive end, coming off the ball. My job as a professional ball player is to get better in that area every year. I have to listen to Coach [Lionel] Hollins to do anything that can make our team better. [Mike] Conley and [Marc] Gasol depend on me. I’m going to them more. Throughout the course of the game, if that’s the way it’s going, I’ll keep rolling with that.”
It’s been a fun year. I’ve been maturing throughout this year as a ball player and as a person. I think I get the team going as a person. As a ball player, I’m at the crux of my career. You never know, the sky’s the limit.
On Rookie of the Year:
“I think [it’s pretty far from my mind.] We’re a young team. We’re working on getting better as a team. [Derrick] Rose is on a team with a possibility to make the playoffs. I guess he has a good shot at it. We just need to get better as a team and set a foundation for next year.”
Mike Conley
On losing teammates in tonight’s game:
“When you lose guys like [Darrell Arthur] and Darko [Milicic], hard working guys that crash the boards and that we rely on to get our points from, it’s tough. Then we can’t play our game. We can’t play our style of basketball.”
On the loss:
“We were trying to get the pace up for us. We were trying to get some easy buckets. We just had to rebound; that’s the one thing. We knew they were going to miss some shots. We didn’t get too many offensive rebounds. It really hurt that transition. We weren’t making shots tonight. I don’t know what that is with us in the first quarter. It just wasn’t our night. Guys were getting good looks. We just weren’t knocking them down. We were trying to get to the rim. It just wasn’t going our way today.”
Trail Blazers
Head Coach Nate McMillan
On the game:
“We had a guy who had a hot hand (LaMarcus Aldridge). We didn’t force it to him. It was just within a flow of the offense. When we get that type of movement, we have guys who can shoot the ball and it just happened to be the guy who was receiving it a lot. He knocked down his shots and had a hot start. I thought the team started well and established the offense.”
It’s good to get to 42 (wins) but that’s not our goal, we have a few more games to get through this season. The goal is to get to the playoffs. These guys have done a really good job.
@ 
If Warrick is drawing LMA, this is a loss. I rather have Darko defend against LMA, but LMA may be too quick for Darko.
