duncan228
04-16-2009, 12:04 AM
Post Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/quotes_090415.html)
Gregg Popovich
On the game - "It was a great game. The fans got their money's worth tonight. I thought we hung in tough. We played better and better as the game went along. In overtime we focused really well. Timmy was fantastic defensively down the stretch for us. A lot of guys contributed tonight, so it was a good win to end the season...It was anybody's game; they're just as good as we are. There are a lot of good teams in the west and I think we played them a zillion times. Maybe we've won more or they've won more who knows. But two good teams played their asses off tonight and we were very fortunate to win."
When asked if he takes for granted that Tony Parker is playing the way he's playing - "I never take it for granted. It's his best year and he's carried us a lot with the injuries we've had. He's been a constant factor for us at both ends of the court. Thank heaven he's young. Lets hope he can handle it come playoffs."
Tony Parker
On winning the division - "That is nice. We've had a lot of injuries. With Manu (Ginobili) being out half the season, it was a tough season. There were a lot of ups and downs but at the end of the day we got that third seed and that's what we wanted."
On Michael Finley's shot - "It was a great play and a great design by Pop (Gregg Popovich) and Michael Finley knocked it down. It was a big shot."
On the end of regulation - "Eight seconds is a long time. We knew that when we were talking about that in the timeout, that it's a lot of time. We talked about if Roger's not open then the second option was Michael Finley and he was wide open and knocked down a big shot."
Roger Mason Jr.
On the end of regulation - "Pop (Gregg Popovich) drew up a heck of a play. He had me coming off for a shot, I didn't get a good look and the counter to it was for me to find Fin (Michael Finley). Tim (Duncan) set a good pick and Fin hit a heck of a shot."
On if he saw the game-tying shot - "I was walking back. I was hoping it was good and I saw it go through the net and made sure I checked the clock this time. It seemed like it was good."
On if they had the momentum going in to overtime - "I definitely think so. We missed some shots and turned the ball over and we weren't playing great but we kept hanging in there but when overtime came our energy level increased."
On going in to the postseason with momentum - "You always want to have momentum. We won a few games here and we're playing better. To win before the playoffs is good."
Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott
On the first four quarters of game before the overtime - "It was a real good game, I thought we played hard and that's all you can ask for as our guys competed. I thought Tyson looked pretty good, you could tell he was rusty but his energy and effort out there I thought was fantastic. He gives us some hope for this playoff series we have coming up against Denver. We just missed free throws, if we make our free throw percentage, which is 80-81 percent we win the game before it even goes into overtime."
On the difference of body language between tonight's game and the Houston game - "It was tremendously different, again, that's the all-time riddle with our team. We have games like that where we come and play hard and then we have other games where we look like we're very disinterested, so tonight was one of the games that I thought our guys really wanted the win big time as they came out and gave it everything they had. You have to give Parker and Finley credit as he hit a big shot, but it should've never gotten to that point. We missed about four free throws in the fourth quarter that really cost us the game."
On if miscommunication on the last play of the fourth quarter - "Everybody was switching, the only one I told to switch was David and he told Posey if they do come together, to switch. Again great pass over the top and just a great shot as Finley is used to those shots being a veteran."
David West
On the last play of regulation - "We had the game won tonight. The Spurs made some really big plays when it counted. The question of the night was, foul Roger Mason or let him pass the ball to Michael Finley. Ultimately I think we played really good defense at the end of the game forcing Michael to take the shot and he made it."
On playing Denver in the first round - "Denver is a tough team with a lot of talent. We need the players on this team to step up. We need guys to make the big shot and guys to make plays for this team."
On what is missing from the team - "The missing element on this team is guys who make plays. The Spurs had the play makers tonight. If this team wants to beat Denver we're going to need guys to make plays and that's the bottom line. We need to collectively as a team focus on the game of basketball."
On the playoffs - "I thought during last years NBA Playoffs we could compete against any team in the league. This year I feel the same however we really need players to step up and play basketball."
Final thought - "We need a collective team effort. We need the players on this team to make plays when we need them."
Tyson Chandler
On his health - "I felt alright. I knew I wasn't going to have the strength. I felt like I did okay."
On getting involved in the offense and defense - "I wanted to get out there and get up and down the court and get some contact. I did pretty well on defense. Little off on timing and communication, but I felt alright."
On getting back before the playoffs - "This is what I hoped for going into the playoffs. I wanted to get in and get a game under my belt."
On their confidence level going into the playoffs - "We're good. We put ourselves in this situation and now we have to deal with it. We know we face Denver. They're a great team. We've talked about them. We've got to bring energy. They've got a full roster."
Gregg Popovich
On the game - "It was a great game. The fans got their money's worth tonight. I thought we hung in tough. We played better and better as the game went along. In overtime we focused really well. Timmy was fantastic defensively down the stretch for us. A lot of guys contributed tonight, so it was a good win to end the season...It was anybody's game; they're just as good as we are. There are a lot of good teams in the west and I think we played them a zillion times. Maybe we've won more or they've won more who knows. But two good teams played their asses off tonight and we were very fortunate to win."
When asked if he takes for granted that Tony Parker is playing the way he's playing - "I never take it for granted. It's his best year and he's carried us a lot with the injuries we've had. He's been a constant factor for us at both ends of the court. Thank heaven he's young. Lets hope he can handle it come playoffs."
Tony Parker
On winning the division - "That is nice. We've had a lot of injuries. With Manu (Ginobili) being out half the season, it was a tough season. There were a lot of ups and downs but at the end of the day we got that third seed and that's what we wanted."
On Michael Finley's shot - "It was a great play and a great design by Pop (Gregg Popovich) and Michael Finley knocked it down. It was a big shot."
On the end of regulation - "Eight seconds is a long time. We knew that when we were talking about that in the timeout, that it's a lot of time. We talked about if Roger's not open then the second option was Michael Finley and he was wide open and knocked down a big shot."
Roger Mason Jr.
On the end of regulation - "Pop (Gregg Popovich) drew up a heck of a play. He had me coming off for a shot, I didn't get a good look and the counter to it was for me to find Fin (Michael Finley). Tim (Duncan) set a good pick and Fin hit a heck of a shot."
On if he saw the game-tying shot - "I was walking back. I was hoping it was good and I saw it go through the net and made sure I checked the clock this time. It seemed like it was good."
On if they had the momentum going in to overtime - "I definitely think so. We missed some shots and turned the ball over and we weren't playing great but we kept hanging in there but when overtime came our energy level increased."
On going in to the postseason with momentum - "You always want to have momentum. We won a few games here and we're playing better. To win before the playoffs is good."
Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott
On the first four quarters of game before the overtime - "It was a real good game, I thought we played hard and that's all you can ask for as our guys competed. I thought Tyson looked pretty good, you could tell he was rusty but his energy and effort out there I thought was fantastic. He gives us some hope for this playoff series we have coming up against Denver. We just missed free throws, if we make our free throw percentage, which is 80-81 percent we win the game before it even goes into overtime."
On the difference of body language between tonight's game and the Houston game - "It was tremendously different, again, that's the all-time riddle with our team. We have games like that where we come and play hard and then we have other games where we look like we're very disinterested, so tonight was one of the games that I thought our guys really wanted the win big time as they came out and gave it everything they had. You have to give Parker and Finley credit as he hit a big shot, but it should've never gotten to that point. We missed about four free throws in the fourth quarter that really cost us the game."
On if miscommunication on the last play of the fourth quarter - "Everybody was switching, the only one I told to switch was David and he told Posey if they do come together, to switch. Again great pass over the top and just a great shot as Finley is used to those shots being a veteran."
David West
On the last play of regulation - "We had the game won tonight. The Spurs made some really big plays when it counted. The question of the night was, foul Roger Mason or let him pass the ball to Michael Finley. Ultimately I think we played really good defense at the end of the game forcing Michael to take the shot and he made it."
On playing Denver in the first round - "Denver is a tough team with a lot of talent. We need the players on this team to step up. We need guys to make the big shot and guys to make plays for this team."
On what is missing from the team - "The missing element on this team is guys who make plays. The Spurs had the play makers tonight. If this team wants to beat Denver we're going to need guys to make plays and that's the bottom line. We need to collectively as a team focus on the game of basketball."
On the playoffs - "I thought during last years NBA Playoffs we could compete against any team in the league. This year I feel the same however we really need players to step up and play basketball."
Final thought - "We need a collective team effort. We need the players on this team to make plays when we need them."
Tyson Chandler
On his health - "I felt alright. I knew I wasn't going to have the strength. I felt like I did okay."
On getting involved in the offense and defense - "I wanted to get out there and get up and down the court and get some contact. I did pretty well on defense. Little off on timing and communication, but I felt alright."
On getting back before the playoffs - "This is what I hoped for going into the playoffs. I wanted to get in and get a game under my belt."
On their confidence level going into the playoffs - "We're good. We put ourselves in this situation and now we have to deal with it. We know we face Denver. They're a great team. We've talked about them. We've got to bring energy. They've got a full roster."