duncan228
11-22-2008, 02:26 AM
Recap, video, and highlights here. (http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/081121.html)
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “We had a lot of guys play very well tonight, floor game and shooting. We really played good D for 48 minutes, and I thought it was a complete game by a lot of people.”
On if he thought the team would ever cool off shooting tonight - “That’s not exactly our game, shooting that well every single night, but it sure was nice to see that.”
On Roger Mason Jr’s big night - “He’s a very aggressive player and a very underrated player we thought when we brought him in. I think when we get everybody back he will give us the depth that we’ve been looking for. I thought he was excellent at both ends tonight. He rebounded and he played good D, took advantage of offensive situations and played a really fine all-around game.”
On George Hill handling the tough physical play - “That won’t bother him. He’s a very mentally tough young man and he’s learning constantly like a sponge. He’s figuring out the position and starting to see how the game is played. Hopefully with a whole season under his belt he’ll really be a factor by playoff time.”
When asked if this was the most aggressive game Hill has played yet - “He did this a couple times in the past, but I would say that he was ready to shoot it tonight. He didn’t just drive the ball, if he was open he took the shot.”
On Roger Mason Jr’s play at point guard - “He played very well. He’s capable of playing three positions and he enjoys playing all three of them. It’s not a burden for him and it doesn’t make him less aggressive. Sometimes I think he’s even more aggressive with the ball.”
On Manu Ginobili’s improvement, and if he may return in the next few games - “Manu will play when he is ready.”
Roger Mason, Jr.
On the game - "It was a good night for us. We got a win. I think we shared the basketball. It feels good to get a win.”
On his own shooting tonight - "I just wanted to be aggressive. Coach decided to start me at the point today, and early on I wanted to make sure I got to my spots. My teammates did a great job finding me. We got on a roll early and kept it going.”
On his approach playing the point rather than other positions - "I have the ball in my hands a little bit more, so I am able to make more plays. Coach tries to keep me involved any way he can, and I just try and stay aggressive.” “I thought that, off the bench, George Hill gave us a spark defensively. He was able to do some things and disrupt the tempo and I think got everybody going. It spread around…everybody was hitting shots.”
On Hill’s play tonight - “I think he’s maturing. He’s got to take it game by game as young player. One thing he can always bring is energy. I thought he did that.”
On playing multiple positions this season - “It’s tough because you’re learning a new system and then you’re learning multiple positions. You’ve got a coach out there in Tim, and I think he’s been patient with the guys. Coach Pop gives me a little lee-way to do my thing out there. The combination of those two guys has made it a little more flexible.”
George Hill
On the game - "Before the game Coach Pop talked to me about being aggressive. He told me he was going to being me off the bench today. He said the only thing I want you to do is be aggressive and look for your shot and get people involved…especially be aggressive on the defensive end and I think that’s what started everything.”
On adjusting to the NBA - "I think it’s a big adjustment. Anytime you come to an organization like this that already has their players to play around it’s a big adjustment. I think the players we’ve brought in this year have been a big help [to the veterans].”
On the physical play in the NBA - "That’s just me…that’s my personality. I’m a mellow person, but I’m competitive. I like the challenge…I like to be aggressive.”
Jazz Head Coach Jerry Sloan
On the game - "They just got after us tonight. They were terrific defensively and they took us out of our offense as we started going a little bit on our own. We never did have much of a team concept both on the offensive and defensive end. We couldn’t get over screens, we didn’t have any energy, as I was wondering where our team’s energy was. For a young group of guys I would have thought we would have had more energy as that is happened to us the last 2-3 times on the road as I’m really concerned about that.”
On once Spurs got run at halftime if Utah players felt that they weren’t going to come back - "I don’t remember how down we were at halftime. That was a situation where instead of being down eight or nine and just play defense, we let them come down and score with a couple seconds on the clock. But [Spurs] came out to destroy us as they did a good job of doing it as we didn’t stand up to them and that’s what we go to do, especially this team. We haven’t beaten them in 45 years, so it’s kind of disheartening.”
On lesson learned without Ginobili and Parker - "That’s what they get paid to do, that’s why I was concerned about our guys. They get paid to play on the road the same as they do at home and we didn’t come out with any energy as I was concerned about that and we’ll see about it as we go forward.”
On Hill and Mason’s performances tonight - "Well, one of the things that hurt us was they ran their up-screen a couple of times and we never did give any kind of help or any indication despite what we were doing on defense. We already talked about it at shootaround and then they go back out there and had no idea of what we had just talked about.”
On the absence of Boozer and Williams - "It doesn’t make a better difference whether they play or not. These other guys get paid on the first and fifteenth to compete and I never saw that. We were so far off of guys on screens that players like Finley were wide open and those are kind of shots that even if you have been in the league for a month that those are the kinds of shots that he takes. ”
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “We had a lot of guys play very well tonight, floor game and shooting. We really played good D for 48 minutes, and I thought it was a complete game by a lot of people.”
On if he thought the team would ever cool off shooting tonight - “That’s not exactly our game, shooting that well every single night, but it sure was nice to see that.”
On Roger Mason Jr’s big night - “He’s a very aggressive player and a very underrated player we thought when we brought him in. I think when we get everybody back he will give us the depth that we’ve been looking for. I thought he was excellent at both ends tonight. He rebounded and he played good D, took advantage of offensive situations and played a really fine all-around game.”
On George Hill handling the tough physical play - “That won’t bother him. He’s a very mentally tough young man and he’s learning constantly like a sponge. He’s figuring out the position and starting to see how the game is played. Hopefully with a whole season under his belt he’ll really be a factor by playoff time.”
When asked if this was the most aggressive game Hill has played yet - “He did this a couple times in the past, but I would say that he was ready to shoot it tonight. He didn’t just drive the ball, if he was open he took the shot.”
On Roger Mason Jr’s play at point guard - “He played very well. He’s capable of playing three positions and he enjoys playing all three of them. It’s not a burden for him and it doesn’t make him less aggressive. Sometimes I think he’s even more aggressive with the ball.”
On Manu Ginobili’s improvement, and if he may return in the next few games - “Manu will play when he is ready.”
Roger Mason, Jr.
On the game - "It was a good night for us. We got a win. I think we shared the basketball. It feels good to get a win.”
On his own shooting tonight - "I just wanted to be aggressive. Coach decided to start me at the point today, and early on I wanted to make sure I got to my spots. My teammates did a great job finding me. We got on a roll early and kept it going.”
On his approach playing the point rather than other positions - "I have the ball in my hands a little bit more, so I am able to make more plays. Coach tries to keep me involved any way he can, and I just try and stay aggressive.” “I thought that, off the bench, George Hill gave us a spark defensively. He was able to do some things and disrupt the tempo and I think got everybody going. It spread around…everybody was hitting shots.”
On Hill’s play tonight - “I think he’s maturing. He’s got to take it game by game as young player. One thing he can always bring is energy. I thought he did that.”
On playing multiple positions this season - “It’s tough because you’re learning a new system and then you’re learning multiple positions. You’ve got a coach out there in Tim, and I think he’s been patient with the guys. Coach Pop gives me a little lee-way to do my thing out there. The combination of those two guys has made it a little more flexible.”
George Hill
On the game - "Before the game Coach Pop talked to me about being aggressive. He told me he was going to being me off the bench today. He said the only thing I want you to do is be aggressive and look for your shot and get people involved…especially be aggressive on the defensive end and I think that’s what started everything.”
On adjusting to the NBA - "I think it’s a big adjustment. Anytime you come to an organization like this that already has their players to play around it’s a big adjustment. I think the players we’ve brought in this year have been a big help [to the veterans].”
On the physical play in the NBA - "That’s just me…that’s my personality. I’m a mellow person, but I’m competitive. I like the challenge…I like to be aggressive.”
Jazz Head Coach Jerry Sloan
On the game - "They just got after us tonight. They were terrific defensively and they took us out of our offense as we started going a little bit on our own. We never did have much of a team concept both on the offensive and defensive end. We couldn’t get over screens, we didn’t have any energy, as I was wondering where our team’s energy was. For a young group of guys I would have thought we would have had more energy as that is happened to us the last 2-3 times on the road as I’m really concerned about that.”
On once Spurs got run at halftime if Utah players felt that they weren’t going to come back - "I don’t remember how down we were at halftime. That was a situation where instead of being down eight or nine and just play defense, we let them come down and score with a couple seconds on the clock. But [Spurs] came out to destroy us as they did a good job of doing it as we didn’t stand up to them and that’s what we go to do, especially this team. We haven’t beaten them in 45 years, so it’s kind of disheartening.”
On lesson learned without Ginobili and Parker - "That’s what they get paid to do, that’s why I was concerned about our guys. They get paid to play on the road the same as they do at home and we didn’t come out with any energy as I was concerned about that and we’ll see about it as we go forward.”
On Hill and Mason’s performances tonight - "Well, one of the things that hurt us was they ran their up-screen a couple of times and we never did give any kind of help or any indication despite what we were doing on defense. We already talked about it at shootaround and then they go back out there and had no idea of what we had just talked about.”
On the absence of Boozer and Williams - "It doesn’t make a better difference whether they play or not. These other guys get paid on the first and fifteenth to compete and I never saw that. We were so far off of guys on screens that players like Finley were wide open and those are kind of shots that even if you have been in the league for a month that those are the kinds of shots that he takes. ”