duncan228
04-11-2009, 12:09 AM
Post Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/quotes_090410.html)
Gregg Popovich
On the game - "I thought it was a good effort for 48 minutes. We had much better focus than the last game. That tenacity is really important against the teams we're playing, especially a team like Utah. A lot of people participated. Tony (Parker) did a fantastic job running the show."
On Tony Parker's defense - "Tony has grown in that regard; he doesn't play just half the court. He did as a good a job as possible on another good guard."
On Tim Duncan - "He had nine or ten rebounds and did a good job contesting shots. He did good work."
On Drew Gooden - "I think Drew is beginning to feel more and more comfortable with every game and every minute he gets. We're really happy with the way he's playing."
Ime Udoka
On the collective effort of the team with Manu Ginobili out - "Manu does so many things out there. We're not trying to emulate what he does on the court it's a matter of stepping up our game and being more aggressive and bringing what we do to the table. I think as we get going as a collective unit we’ll be tough to stop."
On defending Utah's offense - "We know we have to come out physical. They play hard, cut hard and doing everything out there hard. We just have to match their intensity and I thought we did that in the first half. We played well in the second half as well but let up a little at the end and it got closer than it should have."
On carrying the effort from this victory of to the road trip - "It starts with effort, getting out there and playing hard but I think we need to step up our game defensively with Manu being out. We don't have the same margin for error defensively because we're not as physical. Just come out and play hard and get a few road victories and finish it up at home."
Roger Mason Jr.
On Tim Duncan's play - "Clearly, that's a difference for us. If he's not healthy than we're in trouble. I thought he played great early and I wanted to keep feeding him the ball. When Tony went out he kept finishing."
On some of Tim Duncan's passes getting deflected - "Because he was getting scores early on, they started bringing the double team and a lot of times passes get deflected."
Jazz Head Coach Jerry Sloan
On the game - "Every time they had a two or three point lead, we gave them two or three good plays where they had good shots. They're a smart team. They take the kinds of shots they know they have a good chance on. On the other hand we're taking pot luck shots. Tough shots out on the perimeter where you don't have a chance to get the offensive rebound. If you keep playing there's still a chance to win the game."
On Tony Parker tonight - "Tony Parker is tough to deal with. When they are setting screens and if he can see daylight, he's quicker than a devil. I thought Deron Williams played him well for the most part tonight, but our bigs need to be more active in trying to help in those situations."
On Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer struggling tonight - "That happens to players sometimes. It's something that I don't like to see. You just have to keep working at it."
On the Jazz losing to the Spurs in this arena - "I don't think we can beat them anywhere; a parking lot or anywhere else. This building has got us spooked, I guess you might say. I think it's their players that are doing it. They've had great players and they do a great job and it's tough for us to match up against them."
Deron Williams
On having a chance at the end but the Spurs holding them off - "That's what good teams do. They make plays down the stretch and the Spurs did a better job of that tonight."
On guarding Tony Parker all night - "He's a guy you can't really guard by yourself. I don't think anybody in this league could stop him one-on-one. I feel the same way…the best players in the league, they feel the same way. I thought we did a lot better job of helping in the second half, but they just made some plays down the stretch and we didn't. We missed some tough shots and we missed some easy layups. That gives them confidence."
On falling to the 8th seed - "Well, we put ourselves in this position. Nobody else did. We lost tough ballgames. We had injuries, but we're still in the playoffs and we still have a chance to win the last three."
Carlos Boozer
On the game - "I thought we had a chance to win the game at the end, but we missed some free throws and missed some layups. They made some free throws and made some layups. We had a chance, but we have to regroup for tomorrow night."
On trying to get himself into a rhythm - "The first half was tough, but the second half I thought I played a lot better. I was more aggressive. I did better on both sides of the ball. For us we missed some plays when we had a chance to win the game."
On coming together as a team - "We need to. Going into the playoffs we've got to believe in each other and believe in our system. We're not going to change it…you know…coach isn't going to change the system. We have to run it better and execute it better and help out a little better on defense. We had moments when we played really good defense, and then moments when we didn't. We have to come out and be consistent for 48 minutes."
On his health - "I think I feel close to it…not 100%...but close enough."
On dropping to the 8th seed in the West - "We just have to go play and stop thinking about this stuff so much and worrying about what seed we’re going to get. Let's just go play and get our swagger back and get our confidence back. We have three games to do it before the season gets real. The playoffs will be here in a minute and we gotta get back on track and get that fire back."
Gregg Popovich
On the game - "I thought it was a good effort for 48 minutes. We had much better focus than the last game. That tenacity is really important against the teams we're playing, especially a team like Utah. A lot of people participated. Tony (Parker) did a fantastic job running the show."
On Tony Parker's defense - "Tony has grown in that regard; he doesn't play just half the court. He did as a good a job as possible on another good guard."
On Tim Duncan - "He had nine or ten rebounds and did a good job contesting shots. He did good work."
On Drew Gooden - "I think Drew is beginning to feel more and more comfortable with every game and every minute he gets. We're really happy with the way he's playing."
Ime Udoka
On the collective effort of the team with Manu Ginobili out - "Manu does so many things out there. We're not trying to emulate what he does on the court it's a matter of stepping up our game and being more aggressive and bringing what we do to the table. I think as we get going as a collective unit we’ll be tough to stop."
On defending Utah's offense - "We know we have to come out physical. They play hard, cut hard and doing everything out there hard. We just have to match their intensity and I thought we did that in the first half. We played well in the second half as well but let up a little at the end and it got closer than it should have."
On carrying the effort from this victory of to the road trip - "It starts with effort, getting out there and playing hard but I think we need to step up our game defensively with Manu being out. We don't have the same margin for error defensively because we're not as physical. Just come out and play hard and get a few road victories and finish it up at home."
Roger Mason Jr.
On Tim Duncan's play - "Clearly, that's a difference for us. If he's not healthy than we're in trouble. I thought he played great early and I wanted to keep feeding him the ball. When Tony went out he kept finishing."
On some of Tim Duncan's passes getting deflected - "Because he was getting scores early on, they started bringing the double team and a lot of times passes get deflected."
Jazz Head Coach Jerry Sloan
On the game - "Every time they had a two or three point lead, we gave them two or three good plays where they had good shots. They're a smart team. They take the kinds of shots they know they have a good chance on. On the other hand we're taking pot luck shots. Tough shots out on the perimeter where you don't have a chance to get the offensive rebound. If you keep playing there's still a chance to win the game."
On Tony Parker tonight - "Tony Parker is tough to deal with. When they are setting screens and if he can see daylight, he's quicker than a devil. I thought Deron Williams played him well for the most part tonight, but our bigs need to be more active in trying to help in those situations."
On Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer struggling tonight - "That happens to players sometimes. It's something that I don't like to see. You just have to keep working at it."
On the Jazz losing to the Spurs in this arena - "I don't think we can beat them anywhere; a parking lot or anywhere else. This building has got us spooked, I guess you might say. I think it's their players that are doing it. They've had great players and they do a great job and it's tough for us to match up against them."
Deron Williams
On having a chance at the end but the Spurs holding them off - "That's what good teams do. They make plays down the stretch and the Spurs did a better job of that tonight."
On guarding Tony Parker all night - "He's a guy you can't really guard by yourself. I don't think anybody in this league could stop him one-on-one. I feel the same way…the best players in the league, they feel the same way. I thought we did a lot better job of helping in the second half, but they just made some plays down the stretch and we didn't. We missed some tough shots and we missed some easy layups. That gives them confidence."
On falling to the 8th seed - "Well, we put ourselves in this position. Nobody else did. We lost tough ballgames. We had injuries, but we're still in the playoffs and we still have a chance to win the last three."
Carlos Boozer
On the game - "I thought we had a chance to win the game at the end, but we missed some free throws and missed some layups. They made some free throws and made some layups. We had a chance, but we have to regroup for tomorrow night."
On trying to get himself into a rhythm - "The first half was tough, but the second half I thought I played a lot better. I was more aggressive. I did better on both sides of the ball. For us we missed some plays when we had a chance to win the game."
On coming together as a team - "We need to. Going into the playoffs we've got to believe in each other and believe in our system. We're not going to change it…you know…coach isn't going to change the system. We have to run it better and execute it better and help out a little better on defense. We had moments when we played really good defense, and then moments when we didn't. We have to come out and be consistent for 48 minutes."
On his health - "I think I feel close to it…not 100%...but close enough."
On dropping to the 8th seed in the West - "We just have to go play and stop thinking about this stuff so much and worrying about what seed we’re going to get. Let's just go play and get our swagger back and get our confidence back. We have three games to do it before the season gets real. The playoffs will be here in a minute and we gotta get back on track and get that fire back."