http://www.grizzliesonline.com/index.ph ... vs._hawks/Another game, another loss.
Head Coach Lionel Hollins
On the game
We had too many turnovers-12 turnovers between the starters. Defensively, we weren’t very good. We gave up 71 points in the first half, came back in the second half and only gave up forty. The problem is we shot 51 percent, and not even in the ball game because of 24 turnovers. We played too fast, were trying to do everything too quick. If somebody yelled their name, they threw it rather than taking a look to see if they’re really open- a lot of bad decisions. We have a lot of work to do defensively. In the second half, we did a much better job effort-wise defensively. We just have a lot of work to do.
On communicating
Communication is a big part. Everyone wants to do it consistently, then we reach in and foul, and now the big guy can’t block the shot because the other guy is too close. It gets physical. We need to be more aggressive and play harder.
On being aggressive
In order to be a good defensive team, we have to be aggressive and physical. We have to have a mindset to be able to take hits. Guys are coming, you step in front of them, you’re going to get hit. The first half, we tried to play offense with them and it was ok the first quarter, we scored 30 points, and they scored 37. Second quarter, we quit scoring and started turning the ball over. We hit 58 percent in the first half, and were down 20 – 71-to-51. That’s not a good sign at all. We just have to work and continue to work. We’ve had a lot of areas that we’re trying to show up with so many young guys and new guys, trying to get them to work well offensively and get them up to speed. That’ll help some of the turnovers, the rest will be taken care of by decision making and not playing too fast.
On opening night being two weeks away
We have a long ways to go. We struggle a little bit offensively. It’s difficult even when you don’t have new guys. We’re trying to help them make the right decisions