timaios
10-30-2008, 07:11 AM
http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/quotes_081029.html
Postgame Quotes: Spurs vs. Suns 10/29/08
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “It was a loss.”
On the teams play for the first game of the season - “It was not that great.”
On the three shot attempt by Tim Duncan - “Several people made poor decisions in the game down the stretch. It was the worst transition defense I’ve seen in years. I can’t imagine how bad it was. We didn’t rebound. It was our poorest performance in the pre-season up until this time. It was very disappointing.”
On the play of Roger Mason - “For his first game in a new system, he did a fine job.”
On the play of Tony Parker in the fourth quarter - “He was fantastic in the fourth quarter.”
Tim Duncan
On the game - “They were definitely more solid than us down the stretch there. They used their pick-and-rolls on Amare (Stoudamire) and Steve (Nash) nad made some great plays down the stretch there and we were kind of the exact opposite making turnovers that led to their transition breaks. They made some shots but all in all I thought our team fought hard and stayed in their as much as possible.”
On his three-point attempt at the end of the game - “We were allowed to push the ball and Pop (head coach Gregg Popovich) didn’t call a timeout and Roger (Mason Jr.) and Tony (Parker) were both covered and they threw it back to me and I thought I had an open look. We’re down three in that situation and I think I have a good look at it and I took the shot. Obviously, in retrospect, maybe a timeout would have been better. Maybe get it back to one of our guards. But I thought I was open and thought I should take the shot.”
On his first impressions of the Suns new offense - “I like what Terry Porter is doing. He’s slowed them down a little bit and using his skill players. Then down at the end there we saw the old Phoenix Suns using the old pick-and-roll and they did a lot putting the ball in Steve and Amare’s hands.”
On missing center Fabricio Oberto - “We knew not having him coming in to this game was going to hurt us. I thoguth we did a pretty good job covering it up. I thought Matty (Matt Bonner) came in a played some good minutes. Obviously Kurt (Thomas) went in there and played some good minutes and we found a way to get it done.”
Roger Mason Jr.
On the game - “It’s obviously disappointing because we didn’t come out with the win. But not only that, we didn’t execute and play as smart as we had to play. That’s disappointing.”
On how things fell apart in the last two minutes - “We had some break downs. That’s not what this team is about. We play smart and we didn’t do that at then end and they made us pay for it. I think we’ll learn from this experience and not let it happen again.”
On Tim Duncan - “He’s a dominant player. Same thing that I’ve seen from afar, same thing I’ve seen at practice and same guy that works hard every day. It’s no surprise to see him go out there and score the basketball the way he did.”
Suns Head Coach Terry Porter
On the game - “Obviously the first one (win) is nice especially when it’s on the road. Our guys really gut it out tonight. It was great to see our guys play to win the game down the stretch. They (the Suns) came up with some big stops and Amare (Stoudemire) was huge for us down the stretch; Steve (Nash) also made a couple of big plays. It was a solid win for us and it’s just a great way to start off the season.”
On the Spurs making the run - “You know they’re going to make a run, they always make a run. We just took the hit and regrouped and responded really well. It was really nice to see our guys do that in the first game out. We just have to keep our poise and do the things we have to do.”
On the Suns pick and rolls - “I thought this team has always been good at pick and rolls. It’s just natural for this team. It’s nothing that I’ve brought to this team, they’ve always had it.”
Shaquille O’Neal
On the game - "It was a good win for us, especially here in this building. We just came out, stuck to the game plan, and played well. We’re walking out of here with the win.”
On the Spurs’ pick and roll - "The pick-and-roll is one of the hardest things to stop in basketball. Tony Parker is one of the best. The thing about it is their main two are probably going to get off, we just got to slow everybody else down. We let Bonner and the other kid hit a couple of shots, we just gotta be better on defense. We want to be a defensive team this year. We did better down the stretch.”
On going to the line - "They’re going to want me to shoot them all the time, so I just have to go up there and hit them.”
On getting upset about the hack-a-Shaq - “I never get pissed. I’ve been saying my whole career it’s going to take more than mathematical strategies to beat me. The guy that’s going to beat me is going to be a guy that comes in when I’m on my way out, and that will be the only way he beats me. I’ve been doing this a long time. I don’t really get beat a lot. You may win a game or two using a mathematical strategy, but in the long run it will never work."
Amare Stoudemire
On the game - “It feels great. What we want to do is just continue to grow as a team…continue to get better. This is only game 1. We don’t want to get too high on this win. We have a big game tomorrow against New Orleans, so it’s the start of another season for us.”
On Phoenix’ execution of the pick-and-roll - "I think we did a good job. Defensively we did a great job of defending their screen-and-roll, and vice versa. I think they did a solid job, but we were just able to get it going. Being able to pass out of the double-teams and find the open guys caused a little confusion for them. It went well for us tonight.”
On Tim Duncan spotting up for the 3 - "I thought, ‘Oh no, not again!’ Luckily he missed that one, we got the rebound and went down the floor. They play solid basketball every game. They played well tonight. We just had the will and the courage to go ahead and get this one.”
On getting the win on the road against a rival - “It feels great. What we want to do is just continue to grow as a team…continue to get better. This is only game 1. We don’t want to get too high on this win. We have a big game tomorrow against New Orleans, so it’s the start of another season for us.”
Postgame Quotes: Spurs vs. Suns 10/29/08
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “It was a loss.”
On the teams play for the first game of the season - “It was not that great.”
On the three shot attempt by Tim Duncan - “Several people made poor decisions in the game down the stretch. It was the worst transition defense I’ve seen in years. I can’t imagine how bad it was. We didn’t rebound. It was our poorest performance in the pre-season up until this time. It was very disappointing.”
On the play of Roger Mason - “For his first game in a new system, he did a fine job.”
On the play of Tony Parker in the fourth quarter - “He was fantastic in the fourth quarter.”
Tim Duncan
On the game - “They were definitely more solid than us down the stretch there. They used their pick-and-rolls on Amare (Stoudamire) and Steve (Nash) nad made some great plays down the stretch there and we were kind of the exact opposite making turnovers that led to their transition breaks. They made some shots but all in all I thought our team fought hard and stayed in their as much as possible.”
On his three-point attempt at the end of the game - “We were allowed to push the ball and Pop (head coach Gregg Popovich) didn’t call a timeout and Roger (Mason Jr.) and Tony (Parker) were both covered and they threw it back to me and I thought I had an open look. We’re down three in that situation and I think I have a good look at it and I took the shot. Obviously, in retrospect, maybe a timeout would have been better. Maybe get it back to one of our guards. But I thought I was open and thought I should take the shot.”
On his first impressions of the Suns new offense - “I like what Terry Porter is doing. He’s slowed them down a little bit and using his skill players. Then down at the end there we saw the old Phoenix Suns using the old pick-and-roll and they did a lot putting the ball in Steve and Amare’s hands.”
On missing center Fabricio Oberto - “We knew not having him coming in to this game was going to hurt us. I thoguth we did a pretty good job covering it up. I thought Matty (Matt Bonner) came in a played some good minutes. Obviously Kurt (Thomas) went in there and played some good minutes and we found a way to get it done.”
Roger Mason Jr.
On the game - “It’s obviously disappointing because we didn’t come out with the win. But not only that, we didn’t execute and play as smart as we had to play. That’s disappointing.”
On how things fell apart in the last two minutes - “We had some break downs. That’s not what this team is about. We play smart and we didn’t do that at then end and they made us pay for it. I think we’ll learn from this experience and not let it happen again.”
On Tim Duncan - “He’s a dominant player. Same thing that I’ve seen from afar, same thing I’ve seen at practice and same guy that works hard every day. It’s no surprise to see him go out there and score the basketball the way he did.”
Suns Head Coach Terry Porter
On the game - “Obviously the first one (win) is nice especially when it’s on the road. Our guys really gut it out tonight. It was great to see our guys play to win the game down the stretch. They (the Suns) came up with some big stops and Amare (Stoudemire) was huge for us down the stretch; Steve (Nash) also made a couple of big plays. It was a solid win for us and it’s just a great way to start off the season.”
On the Spurs making the run - “You know they’re going to make a run, they always make a run. We just took the hit and regrouped and responded really well. It was really nice to see our guys do that in the first game out. We just have to keep our poise and do the things we have to do.”
On the Suns pick and rolls - “I thought this team has always been good at pick and rolls. It’s just natural for this team. It’s nothing that I’ve brought to this team, they’ve always had it.”
Shaquille O’Neal
On the game - "It was a good win for us, especially here in this building. We just came out, stuck to the game plan, and played well. We’re walking out of here with the win.”
On the Spurs’ pick and roll - "The pick-and-roll is one of the hardest things to stop in basketball. Tony Parker is one of the best. The thing about it is their main two are probably going to get off, we just got to slow everybody else down. We let Bonner and the other kid hit a couple of shots, we just gotta be better on defense. We want to be a defensive team this year. We did better down the stretch.”
On going to the line - "They’re going to want me to shoot them all the time, so I just have to go up there and hit them.”
On getting upset about the hack-a-Shaq - “I never get pissed. I’ve been saying my whole career it’s going to take more than mathematical strategies to beat me. The guy that’s going to beat me is going to be a guy that comes in when I’m on my way out, and that will be the only way he beats me. I’ve been doing this a long time. I don’t really get beat a lot. You may win a game or two using a mathematical strategy, but in the long run it will never work."
Amare Stoudemire
On the game - “It feels great. What we want to do is just continue to grow as a team…continue to get better. This is only game 1. We don’t want to get too high on this win. We have a big game tomorrow against New Orleans, so it’s the start of another season for us.”
On Phoenix’ execution of the pick-and-roll - "I think we did a good job. Defensively we did a great job of defending their screen-and-roll, and vice versa. I think they did a solid job, but we were just able to get it going. Being able to pass out of the double-teams and find the open guys caused a little confusion for them. It went well for us tonight.”
On Tim Duncan spotting up for the 3 - "I thought, ‘Oh no, not again!’ Luckily he missed that one, we got the rebound and went down the floor. They play solid basketball every game. They played well tonight. We just had the will and the courage to go ahead and get this one.”
On getting the win on the road against a rival - “It feels great. What we want to do is just continue to grow as a team…continue to get better. This is only game 1. We don’t want to get too high on this win. We have a big game tomorrow against New Orleans, so it’s the start of another season for us.”