duncan228
03-08-2009, 06:14 PM
Post Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/quotes_090308.html)
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “It was a great basketball game. Down the stretch, everybody wanted to win. I’m thrilled we got the win against a team that is playing well and playing hard.”
On George Hill - “He did a good job on Steve Nash and that’s saying a lot. He handled himself well. He didn’t foul him and he made it tough to get shots.”
On Tony Parker - “He’s been carrying us for awhile now. He does a great job throughout the game. He’s been special.”
On using the small lineup - “They had five small, so we put in five small. But we played Kurt (Thomas) and Tim. We changed it up.”
On Kurt Thomas - “He’s been getting good minutes. He’s been playing good basketball. He played good defense tonight and he’s hitting his mid-range shot from the pick-and-roll.”
On Manu Ginobili’s status - “Probably another one-to-two weeks. When he’s ready, he’ll play.”
George Hill
On the game - On playing against Steve Nash: “Steve is a great player. He’s one of the players I watched in the NBA before I got here (the NBA). I just tried to give him his respect and defend him the best I could.”
On being in the game during crunch time - “That’s one thing I can do, I can defend. I try to defend the best I can and Pop (Gregg Popovich) knows that in situations like that I’m just blessed to be a part of. To get in in crunch time and guard a reigning MVP is just a blessing.”
On what Gregg Popovich said to him before subbing him in - “He said, ‘George get in, you’ve got (Steve) Nash. You’ve really got Nash so pick him up full court and work him.’ That’s what I like to do. Guarding Tony (Parker) all day in practice is kind of similar to guarding Steve Nash.”
On how Tony Parker’s played the past few games - “He’s the Tony that everybody watches on TV. An All-Star point guard and one of the best point guards in the league and to sit there and watch him I learn every time.”
Tony Parker
On the game - “We had a pretty good lead but then with Phoenix it’s never over. They’re always going to come and hit a big three and with in transition Steve Nash had some big plays. You just have to stay focused at the end of the game because with Phoenix you never know what is going to happen.”
On scoring opportunities as the game progresses - “I was trying to do the pick-and-rolls and take advantage of Shaq and my outside shot was going. Late in the fourth quarter I was trying to get to the free throw line because they were in the penalty. I wasn’t trying to settle for jump shots, I wanted to make something happen and create for myself and my teammates.”
On the collisions with Shaq - “I just tried to make sure I was okay on the landing. I knew he was going to hit me hard but that was fun. I like those kind of plays.”
Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry
On the game - “It basically came down to a stretch in the fourth quarter where we let them get a little separation. I think we were up by one then they scored the next seven points, and that was the difference in the game. I thought we did a good job of keeping them out of the paint. They had 30 points in the paint and we had, I believe 56; we did a good job at that”
On Grant Hill - “I thought that Grant (Hill) did a great job on Tony Parker in the first half. He (Parker) gets real difficult to guard as the game goes on. He’s always in attack mode and it gets real difficult to keep him in front of you for 38 to 40 minutes.”
“We had some opportunities to score and we didn’t take advantage and it came back to haunt us. But I thought we played hard and did a good job. I thought we did what we needed to do to win the game; we just didn’t quite get it done. It’s kind of been this way the whole trip where we play well but we have nothing to show for it, because we’re not into moral victories. We play well then we have a stretch where things don’t quite go our way and it’s hard for us to recover from that.”
On Shaq - “I thought Shaq did a great job on Tim (Duncan). It’s just really hard to contain Tony. He’s been on an unbelievable roll the last six or seven games. As I said in the pre-game they’re not going to beat themselves. You’re going to have to make plays to beat them. They’re probably the smartest team in the NBA, as far as execution and doing what they want to do. I thought we battled. All I can ask from our guys is to play as hard as they can and play unselfishly and I thought they did that; we just didn’t get it done.”
Shaquille O’Neal
On the road trip - "Kind of disappointed, especially when we were right there in all four games. It’s just the story of our season. We’ve got to find a way to make stop…we let a lot of game slip away. We just have to keep fighting over these next 19 or 20 games and just make a strong push and hopefully we can get into the playoffs.”
On if they can make the playoffs - "We have to. It’s kid of too early to pull out the old TNT slogan, but it’s win or go home time now. We gotta get it done.”
On what they need to improve - "We just need to make stops. We like each other. There’s no problems on the team. There’s no cliques on the team. We shoot the ball well. We just have to find a way to make stops, especially at opportune times. Tonight we went back and forth, and then Mr. Parker, who is from Belgium and I thought he was from France, I found something out today! He heated up there and hit a jumper at a great time and then my twin brother Finley stepped up and hit a shot. This is an excellent team…they’ve been together a long time, so we just have to find a way to make stops.
Grant Hill
On the game - "It was kinda the same script as the last few games. We played well…we were in the game…fighting to stay in the game. We just didn’t do enough to get over the hump. Hopefully now we can go home for a few games…get some of that home cooking, and hopefully get some wins.”
On their chances for making the playoffs - "We’re still mathematically in it. We’re in a tough stretch right now. We gotta win the games against the teams we are supposed to beat and we gotta try to beat some of those teams that are ahead of us. We have a lot of opportunities to win a lot of games. It’s amazing…the other day we were on top of the world with good wins and playing real well, and then we had a tough week. That’s the NBA for you. It can be humbling and tonight San Antonio played well and did what they had to do and they got the win.
Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich
On the game - “It was a great basketball game. Down the stretch, everybody wanted to win. I’m thrilled we got the win against a team that is playing well and playing hard.”
On George Hill - “He did a good job on Steve Nash and that’s saying a lot. He handled himself well. He didn’t foul him and he made it tough to get shots.”
On Tony Parker - “He’s been carrying us for awhile now. He does a great job throughout the game. He’s been special.”
On using the small lineup - “They had five small, so we put in five small. But we played Kurt (Thomas) and Tim. We changed it up.”
On Kurt Thomas - “He’s been getting good minutes. He’s been playing good basketball. He played good defense tonight and he’s hitting his mid-range shot from the pick-and-roll.”
On Manu Ginobili’s status - “Probably another one-to-two weeks. When he’s ready, he’ll play.”
George Hill
On the game - On playing against Steve Nash: “Steve is a great player. He’s one of the players I watched in the NBA before I got here (the NBA). I just tried to give him his respect and defend him the best I could.”
On being in the game during crunch time - “That’s one thing I can do, I can defend. I try to defend the best I can and Pop (Gregg Popovich) knows that in situations like that I’m just blessed to be a part of. To get in in crunch time and guard a reigning MVP is just a blessing.”
On what Gregg Popovich said to him before subbing him in - “He said, ‘George get in, you’ve got (Steve) Nash. You’ve really got Nash so pick him up full court and work him.’ That’s what I like to do. Guarding Tony (Parker) all day in practice is kind of similar to guarding Steve Nash.”
On how Tony Parker’s played the past few games - “He’s the Tony that everybody watches on TV. An All-Star point guard and one of the best point guards in the league and to sit there and watch him I learn every time.”
Tony Parker
On the game - “We had a pretty good lead but then with Phoenix it’s never over. They’re always going to come and hit a big three and with in transition Steve Nash had some big plays. You just have to stay focused at the end of the game because with Phoenix you never know what is going to happen.”
On scoring opportunities as the game progresses - “I was trying to do the pick-and-rolls and take advantage of Shaq and my outside shot was going. Late in the fourth quarter I was trying to get to the free throw line because they were in the penalty. I wasn’t trying to settle for jump shots, I wanted to make something happen and create for myself and my teammates.”
On the collisions with Shaq - “I just tried to make sure I was okay on the landing. I knew he was going to hit me hard but that was fun. I like those kind of plays.”
Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry
On the game - “It basically came down to a stretch in the fourth quarter where we let them get a little separation. I think we were up by one then they scored the next seven points, and that was the difference in the game. I thought we did a good job of keeping them out of the paint. They had 30 points in the paint and we had, I believe 56; we did a good job at that”
On Grant Hill - “I thought that Grant (Hill) did a great job on Tony Parker in the first half. He (Parker) gets real difficult to guard as the game goes on. He’s always in attack mode and it gets real difficult to keep him in front of you for 38 to 40 minutes.”
“We had some opportunities to score and we didn’t take advantage and it came back to haunt us. But I thought we played hard and did a good job. I thought we did what we needed to do to win the game; we just didn’t quite get it done. It’s kind of been this way the whole trip where we play well but we have nothing to show for it, because we’re not into moral victories. We play well then we have a stretch where things don’t quite go our way and it’s hard for us to recover from that.”
On Shaq - “I thought Shaq did a great job on Tim (Duncan). It’s just really hard to contain Tony. He’s been on an unbelievable roll the last six or seven games. As I said in the pre-game they’re not going to beat themselves. You’re going to have to make plays to beat them. They’re probably the smartest team in the NBA, as far as execution and doing what they want to do. I thought we battled. All I can ask from our guys is to play as hard as they can and play unselfishly and I thought they did that; we just didn’t get it done.”
Shaquille O’Neal
On the road trip - "Kind of disappointed, especially when we were right there in all four games. It’s just the story of our season. We’ve got to find a way to make stop…we let a lot of game slip away. We just have to keep fighting over these next 19 or 20 games and just make a strong push and hopefully we can get into the playoffs.”
On if they can make the playoffs - "We have to. It’s kid of too early to pull out the old TNT slogan, but it’s win or go home time now. We gotta get it done.”
On what they need to improve - "We just need to make stops. We like each other. There’s no problems on the team. There’s no cliques on the team. We shoot the ball well. We just have to find a way to make stops, especially at opportune times. Tonight we went back and forth, and then Mr. Parker, who is from Belgium and I thought he was from France, I found something out today! He heated up there and hit a jumper at a great time and then my twin brother Finley stepped up and hit a shot. This is an excellent team…they’ve been together a long time, so we just have to find a way to make stops.
Grant Hill
On the game - "It was kinda the same script as the last few games. We played well…we were in the game…fighting to stay in the game. We just didn’t do enough to get over the hump. Hopefully now we can go home for a few games…get some of that home cooking, and hopefully get some wins.”
On their chances for making the playoffs - "We’re still mathematically in it. We’re in a tough stretch right now. We gotta win the games against the teams we are supposed to beat and we gotta try to beat some of those teams that are ahead of us. We have a lot of opportunities to win a lot of games. It’s amazing…the other day we were on top of the world with good wins and playing real well, and then we had a tough week. That’s the NBA for you. It can be humbling and tonight San Antonio played well and did what they had to do and they got the win.