duncan228
12-06-2009, 01:12 AM
Post Game Quotes (http://www.nba.com/spurs/gameday/091205.html)
Gregg Popovich
On the game - "In some ways, it looked like a repeat of the Boston game. I was really pleased with the aggressiveness and hustle. Again, it was the turnovers for however many points; that was the killer again tonight. The turnovers are too much to handle, especially down the stretch when you're in the game and have a chance to win. That's our downfall."
On Carmelo Anthony and the defense they played on him - "He's a great player and he's leading the league in scoring. I saw some situations in the fourth quarter where we were late getting to him and that showed a lack of executing with guys that are trying to learn the system. We have to keep working at it. That's what it's all about."
Tony Parker
On the defense after forcing a three point basket by Carmelo - "There was lack of communication. That was a tough play. We played good defense, we were only down two. And we made the rebound. We just didn't communicate. Bad communication. And a little bit of bad luck. Hopefully it will turn around. It's a tough stretch for us right now. We just need to keep playing together."
On going to Utah - "They beat us twice already. It's going to be a tough game; it's always tough to play there. It's a big one to help us get back on the right track."
Tim Duncan
On turnovers due to lack of communication - "It's what's happening; it's the reason that we are closing these games. Defensively, I think we are heading the right direction and playing really good but if you turn the ball over and give them a lot of opportunities to score the ball, it's an eventuality they are going to do it. Whatever it may be, it's our main problem right now."
On the defense after forcing a three point basket by Carmelo - "It's just that stuff happens. It's just adding on to what's going on right now. It's just a bad play."
On going to Utah - "This stretch of games right here is really good for us. We need to turn a corner and learn things about ourselves and become a better team. I do believe we have, it hasn't turned into any wins but I think we have gotten better these last two or three games. Now we go to Utah a little desperate, they are a team that has beaten us twice, hopefully we can bring that energy to get a win"
George Karl
Opening statement - "In the second half our defense tuned in. I think offensively Carmelo had the good hand all night. We just kept going at them, but I think our defense was the key to the game. In the second half Parker didn't have as much freedom as he did in the first half. We got our hands on a lot of balls…got a lot of deflections. When Parker and Duncan had the ball we gave them both two guys and kept our hands active. I think Kenyon did great. His defensive presence on the court gave us a tremendous amount of confidence. It was a good win for us to start the road trip."
On Ty Lawson's defense - "I think that was the biggest surprise for me. We've always seen a guy that quick in our game. He's going to get opportunities because it's so difficult to keep quickness out of the game. Him being able to stay in front of some of these guys has been really impressive. I thought his minutes on Parker was a big part of our second-half defense."
On the second-half defense - "We just tried to give the ball a little more pressure. We were too soft on the pick-and-rolls in the first half. Duncan had such a great game going that we gave him a couple double-teams, too. We just tried to be more active. We were fearful we might give up the three-ball, but we did both…we covered the pick-and-roll and we didn't give up the threes."
On doubling Duncan tonight - "The great players on the low post are always a nightmare for teams defensively. They make you make that choice. I said at half that I thought Parker's penetration was more problematic than Duncan. We talked about doubling him the whole time, but we just said we'd read that until the fourth quarter when we gave it a couple of go's. Kenyon quarterbacks our defense and did a great job."
Chauncey Billups
On tonight's game - "I mean it was a good game as tonight you were looking at two really good basketball teams. We're coming in from off the road, they just suffered a tough loss, so we knew it was going to be a tough game for both of us. We knew we were going to have to grind it out."
On their performance in the fourth quarter - "I thought we executed well. Tony [Parker] got going in the fourth a little bit, Tim was going as well, as with this team we have to always know that those two are going to make things happen."
Kenyon Martin
On how big this game was on the road - "The San Antonio Spurs always play with confidence and toughness. This game was huge for our psyche and a good way to get our road trip started on the right note. It was a hard fought game and we knew they were going to play us tough like they always do but we stuck in the game and didn’t get rattled and made plays when we needed to."
On their defensive play - We changed our pick-and-roll coverage as we let Tony Parker dictate the game early on. We had to put bodies around them as our guys executed on the defensive end. And at the same note, we made plays on the offensive side as well."
Gregg Popovich
On the game - "In some ways, it looked like a repeat of the Boston game. I was really pleased with the aggressiveness and hustle. Again, it was the turnovers for however many points; that was the killer again tonight. The turnovers are too much to handle, especially down the stretch when you're in the game and have a chance to win. That's our downfall."
On Carmelo Anthony and the defense they played on him - "He's a great player and he's leading the league in scoring. I saw some situations in the fourth quarter where we were late getting to him and that showed a lack of executing with guys that are trying to learn the system. We have to keep working at it. That's what it's all about."
Tony Parker
On the defense after forcing a three point basket by Carmelo - "There was lack of communication. That was a tough play. We played good defense, we were only down two. And we made the rebound. We just didn't communicate. Bad communication. And a little bit of bad luck. Hopefully it will turn around. It's a tough stretch for us right now. We just need to keep playing together."
On going to Utah - "They beat us twice already. It's going to be a tough game; it's always tough to play there. It's a big one to help us get back on the right track."
Tim Duncan
On turnovers due to lack of communication - "It's what's happening; it's the reason that we are closing these games. Defensively, I think we are heading the right direction and playing really good but if you turn the ball over and give them a lot of opportunities to score the ball, it's an eventuality they are going to do it. Whatever it may be, it's our main problem right now."
On the defense after forcing a three point basket by Carmelo - "It's just that stuff happens. It's just adding on to what's going on right now. It's just a bad play."
On going to Utah - "This stretch of games right here is really good for us. We need to turn a corner and learn things about ourselves and become a better team. I do believe we have, it hasn't turned into any wins but I think we have gotten better these last two or three games. Now we go to Utah a little desperate, they are a team that has beaten us twice, hopefully we can bring that energy to get a win"
George Karl
Opening statement - "In the second half our defense tuned in. I think offensively Carmelo had the good hand all night. We just kept going at them, but I think our defense was the key to the game. In the second half Parker didn't have as much freedom as he did in the first half. We got our hands on a lot of balls…got a lot of deflections. When Parker and Duncan had the ball we gave them both two guys and kept our hands active. I think Kenyon did great. His defensive presence on the court gave us a tremendous amount of confidence. It was a good win for us to start the road trip."
On Ty Lawson's defense - "I think that was the biggest surprise for me. We've always seen a guy that quick in our game. He's going to get opportunities because it's so difficult to keep quickness out of the game. Him being able to stay in front of some of these guys has been really impressive. I thought his minutes on Parker was a big part of our second-half defense."
On the second-half defense - "We just tried to give the ball a little more pressure. We were too soft on the pick-and-rolls in the first half. Duncan had such a great game going that we gave him a couple double-teams, too. We just tried to be more active. We were fearful we might give up the three-ball, but we did both…we covered the pick-and-roll and we didn't give up the threes."
On doubling Duncan tonight - "The great players on the low post are always a nightmare for teams defensively. They make you make that choice. I said at half that I thought Parker's penetration was more problematic than Duncan. We talked about doubling him the whole time, but we just said we'd read that until the fourth quarter when we gave it a couple of go's. Kenyon quarterbacks our defense and did a great job."
Chauncey Billups
On tonight's game - "I mean it was a good game as tonight you were looking at two really good basketball teams. We're coming in from off the road, they just suffered a tough loss, so we knew it was going to be a tough game for both of us. We knew we were going to have to grind it out."
On their performance in the fourth quarter - "I thought we executed well. Tony [Parker] got going in the fourth a little bit, Tim was going as well, as with this team we have to always know that those two are going to make things happen."
Kenyon Martin
On how big this game was on the road - "The San Antonio Spurs always play with confidence and toughness. This game was huge for our psyche and a good way to get our road trip started on the right note. It was a hard fought game and we knew they were going to play us tough like they always do but we stuck in the game and didn’t get rattled and made plays when we needed to."
On their defensive play - We changed our pick-and-roll coverage as we let Tony Parker dictate the game early on. We had to put bodies around them as our guys executed on the defensive end. And at the same note, we made plays on the offensive side as well."