Post#11 » by SD2042 » Sat Mar 28, 2009 7:48 am
Glad to say I was wrong about the regret thing. The Grizz actually got a win against the Kings.
Post-game quotes
Memphis Grizzlies
Head Coach Lionel Hollins
On playing with a lead
“We had to play right to the end so they didn’t really throw in the towel. It is nice to get a 15 to 20 point lead and be able to relax and play with that lead versus a two- or three-point lead or from behind. I am just happy we were ahead most of the game and our guys executed and played well and we came away with the win.”
On what they did well
“Tonight, the ball movement early was outstanding. The patience, we just made good decisions. We have been working on that a lot in practice the last couple of days. We came out and got a win with that kind of execution.”
On how important winning is to a young team
“When you are trying to change a culture and a style of play, when you win, it rewards them for the work they are doing. If you don’t see any wins, then they say ‘well maybe this works but maybe it doesn’t work.’ But when you get wins, they start believing in it. Unfortunately, we have had a lot of tough games since the all-star break. The wins have been slow.”
Mike Conley
On being on their game
“Guys were just able to see the open guy and guys were ready to shoot the ball when they were open and ready to pass the ball when they were not open. That was a big key; knowing when to shoot and when not to shoot. We had it going early.”
On regaining control after the Kings’ third quarter rally
“We wanted to slow it down. We knew they were attacking us and getting a lot of threes and open buckets. We wanted to get it inside to Marc (Gasol) and let him do what he does. Draw some defenders and get to the free throw line. We slowed it down, got back to our tempo and we went from there.”
On getting revenge for an earlier loss
“It was a game everyone was looking forward to because they came and beat us with eight players at home. That was kind of a slap in the face to us. We wanted to come back and set an example and throw down. We wanted to be in the game from the beginning and set the tempo.”
Sacramento Kings
Interim Head Coach Kenny Natt
On the loss
“Well, needless to say, it was a very disappointing loss tonight after having four days off in terms of games. I thought we had four days of good practice but it didn’t carry over tonight unfortunately. We were bad defensively and gave up 32 points in the first quarter to (Memphis). We got off to a slow start and they got their confidence going – that was the story.”
When asked if it was more of the same from what he saw Sunday against Philadelphia...
“More of the same –we got off to a slow start once again. Once the (other) team picks up their confidence, starts playing together and starts hitting shots, it makes it tough for us to focus in as a group to execute and score on our end of the floor. We had trouble scoring in the second quarter – we only scored 15 points – but they were hitting pretty much everything. They ended up shooting 53% from the field (in the game). We just didn’t do a good job of executing our offense. What that led to primarily was that we didn’t play defense on our end of the floor and get stops, which then spurs our offense on the other end.”
When asked about the slow start tonight in particular after the game on Sunday...
“I don’t have an answer for it – I can’t explain it.”
Andres Nocioni
On how he is feeling
“I think I felt much better, so it’s good to have one week for rest. My knee feels much better."
On the loss
“We threw away the first half (tonight) then in the second half we tried to pick up the energy and play better offense and better defense and it was too late. You just cannot do it that late. We need to start playing much better in the first quarter. We need to bring energy and play harder and try to compete every time. This is what we need right now."
“I think everyone gives effort on the team, but sometimes we are just not doing the right thing to win. It is frustrating. It’s frustrating for everybody. We need to pick it up and pick our heads up and try to think about what we need to do the last 11 games and that’s it."
On what the team can do to improve
“We need to try and build some chemistry and a team for the next year. This is what we need to do, so right now we need try to think about it. We need to think about practice everyday and try to play together everyday. So we can try to build something for the next year.”
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