What They Said!! Grizzlies at Lakers 03-22-16

Post Game Quotes

Grizzlies, Lakers

 

Grizzlies Head Coach David Joerger

(On letting the game slip away down the stretch)

 

“It didn’t slip away. We came out and didn’t play. They started out 9-0 and we played catch up the rest of the way.”

                                              

(On how difficult it is to lose when Tony Allen shot 12-12 from the field)

 “We had 20 turnovers. We gave up too many offensive rebounds. They beat us to loose balls and their guard play was just too much tonight. We had a tough night. We didn’t have a lot of good or positive individual performances, and second of a back-to-back with a team waiting for you for four days. Maybe that was it. We missed a lot of shots. We took some questionable shots which hurt our defense. We have some stuff to clean up and just keep getting better.”

 

Grizzlies G Tony Allen

(On trying to get back into the game)

“Yeah, it was one of those games where they took advantage of us coming off a back-to-back. No excuses. That team played hard. They were all over the place getting second chance points. I thought we turned the ball over. They scored off our turnovers. They played with a little more energy than us tonight. They out-hustled us. They had a little more pep in their step, I believe. They’re a young, talented group. They are the future of the NBA. Take nothing away from those guys. We just should’ve came out here and been much better defensively. We needed it more than they did. Obviously, they were the aggressors tonight.”

                                              

(On his lasting memories of Kobe Bryant)

“I love everything he brought to this game. I respect him. He is a man of his word. He gave me his shoes. He’s going out in style. I can tell you that. Salute to the Mamba.”

 

Grizzlies G/F Vince Carter

(On playing Kobe Bryant for the last time)

“I’m happy for him. He seems relaxed and ready to move onto the next phase of his life. For us being called old in this profession, he’s still a young man with a lot of life to live. Yes, he’s put a lot of miles on his body, but at the same time you can see that he’s happy with his decision. I think that’s one thing as athletes, when you get near the end, we struggle with that. When it’s time to walk away or when you walk away, you still get that itch to come back and play. I’ve joked with him about that all four games, and I was like, ‘you’re coming back, you’ll be back.’ He seems pretty locked in on his decision, so that’s a good thing.”

 

(On Kobe’s farewell tour)

“He deserves it. There are guys who walk away from the game and choose not to, and some guys who probably should have went, and he’s one of them. He deserves it. He’s done a lot for the league for many leagues. Everywhere he goes, he definitely earns the respect of the fan, whether you like the Lakers or him or not. I think that says a lot about who he is. He just wants to win. I think now people should give him his due before that.”

 

 

Lakers Head Coach Byron Scott

(On keys to winning the game)

“I think we made some pretty good defensive plays, Jordan [Clarkson] came back and got a couple of steals. Obviously we hit free throws, the biggest problem was just turnovers tonight. I saw poise, I saw our guys just stick with what we were doing, and Julius [Randle] got a couple of big plays as well. So I just saw a lot more poise tonight.”

                                              

(On his thought process when he pulled Kobe Bryant out of the game)

“That he played all of the minutes I wanted him to play. I told him, ‘I want to see what these guys can do the last four or five minutes.’”

 

(On Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle’s games)

“I like what we did. Again, you want to see those guys in situations like that when a game is on the line. They both made some big plays and that’s what it’s all about. Hopefully this can carry over and continue to grow with their confidence in one another out there and that trust with one another that we keep talking about.”

 

(On D’Angelo Russell exiting the game with a bruised shin)

“I asked him if he was okay, because I saw him out there kind of limping and grimacing. He said he was fine. When I took him out of the game, the thought process was to bring him back in the fourth quarter. Then Gary [Vitti] talked to him and a few minutes later he said he couldn’t go back in. Hopefully it doesn’t swell up big time and like I said, we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”

 

 

Lakers F Kobe Bryant

(On the difference in the fourth quarter)

“We covered some mistakes. I felt like we played hard. Certain stretches in the game we made the right defensive play.”

 

(On how the young guys played tonight)

“I thought they played well. I thought they played hard. I think the next level for them is just covering coverages the right way, understanding who they are closing out to, playing personnel a lot better and I think it is time for them to make that jump. Offensively with rebounds and things of that sort, they seem to be doing that pretty consistently. Now it is time to lock in on those little details.”

 

(On if he feels as though he helps the younger guys at the end of the game)

 “Throughout the game. Throughout the game just being in their ear consistently about certain close-outs and angles and things like that. I think it is just the repetition of hearing when those things happen and they can start correcting themselves.”

 

(On how his shoulder felt tonight)

“My shoulder feels great. It feels great, it feels fine. I didn’t have any aches and pains tonight. I was able to move pretty freely. I haven’t ran or shot the ball since the last time I played. So in the first half, I had to get my sea legs a little bit.”

 

 

Lakers G Lou Williams

(On the difference in the fourth quarter)

“We stayed poised. We stayed poised and at the same time, we made plays down the stretch.”

                                              

(On the key to tomorrow’s matchup vs. Phoenix)

“We still have a bad taste in our mouth. They came in here a few days ago and beat us up pretty good. We didn’t put one of our better games together and they kind of put it on us on our home floor, so we’ve got to keep that in mind and get ready to go.”

 

 

 

Lakers G Marcelo Huertas

(On his recent success)

“Like I said before, this is just the way I play the game. I try to involve everyone and look for others. I think it’s part of the point guard’s job to create for others and look for open shots. I’m just trying to do my job. It’s just a matter of reading defenses to see who’s open or who’s more open to take a better shot. Sometimes some of the shots are not open, but still you get a good look and that’s important. A lot of times to catch and shoot is better than shooting off the dribble, it’s a higher percentage shot and we all know that. I try to set them up for a quick shot.”

                                              

(On the difference in the fourth quarter)

“In those close games, you have to win them on the defensive side. First of all, you have to play good defense, rebound the ball, but also on offense you have to make smart decisions. I think towards the end of the game we knew how to find open shots, we didn’t turn the ball over and I think that’s a big part of it.”

 

Lakers G Jordan Clarkson

(On the balanced effort tonight)

“It was good, we were moving the ball and that starts on the defensive end. We got out on transition, on the defensive end is where we got the win tonight.”

                                              

(On Marcelo Huertas’ recent success)

“He just gives us better flow on the offensive end, he keeps everybody happy. At the end of the day, he does a good job controlling the team and really finding everybody.”

 

(On his big night after some off nights)

“I’m just letting the shots come to me to be honest with you. I feel like I took a couple of bad shots, but not as many as I’ve been taking. I really felt balanced and really concentrated on my footwork.”