What They Said!! Grizzlies at Mavericks 12-18-15

 

Memphis Head Coach Dave Joerger

“It was a big bounce-back game for them. We knew it before the game. We talked about it this morning. They [Mavs] did a great job. They were very focused tonight – came in after the Indiana loss and they were good for 48 minutes. They played through some times where things weren’t good for them, and we played hard, didn’t get a lot of shots to go in, [and] we’re struggling to have everybody have a good night on the same night. We’ve had some guys have tough nights on one night, [and] then the next night it’s a couple different guys, so we’ve got to all stick together. It’s a tough stretch and [we’ll] see how we come out on the other side.”

 

Game was still close in the second quarter, and then they pulled away – do you think they carried that momentum over to the third?

“They did. We just shot ourselves in the foot coming out of the last minute-and-a-half [of the second quarter]. We turned the ball over on a timeout play, then we took a 25-footer after fouling, and then we fouled again at the end of the quarter, and then we came out and turned the ball over on the first play of the third quarter. You can’t win on the road against a good offensive team spotting them 10 points. That’s tough for us to score and to come back after the deficit is very difficult.”

 

Their bench seemed like they were a major difference in the game…

“Their bench was fantastic. They were all +10 [point differential], most of ours were -10 in the first half. So, it was a tough night for some of those guys. But Chandler Parsons was really good coming off their bench, [and] did a nice job obviously. Charlie [Villanueva] got away from us and hit a couple threes, but the ones that hurt you – you can’t allow Dirk [Nowitzki] to walk into threes. That’s torture, because you’ve got to try to stay and keep your body on him as much as possible.”

 

Grizzlies Center Marc Gasol

On how they are feeling about the continuity after another change in the lineup

“Well, we haven’t had that continuity all season long and, obviously, in the last four games you can see that.  You can even see it throughout the game when in one quarter we play great defense and really good offense and then, all of the sudden, we stop doing that.  Every time we get hit, it takes a long time for us to get up.”

 

On what they can do to correct the issues and get things turned around

“If I knew what it was we would do it.”

 

On what was different about the Mavericks tonight as apposed to when the Grizzlies beat them by 14 points in Memphis

“They were able to do the things they wanted to do offensively.  They were able to move the ball around, they ran, they shot too many open threes and they got too many layups.  They got what they wanted offensively every time.”

 

On if they were surprised that JaVale McGee had such a big impact on the game

“We know what JaVale[McGee] is capable of doing.  Defensively, he is so long and able to cover a lot of ground with his athleticism and length.  We knew that.”

 

On where the confidence level is at for the Grizzlies

“It doesn’t matter, we have to come back tomorrow and play.  I don’t think confidence is an issue right now, it is more of a matter of being willing, consistent and giving yourself for the betterment of the team.”

 

 

Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle

On the play of JaVale McGee

“He was a big difference maker in this game. The thing we’ve got to watch with him, there are situations that are going to be ones where he fits. Tonight with Randolph, he’s got a lot of experience guarding Randolph. We looked at Powell first, and he’s getting in foul trouble right away. We gave him a look. JaVale has such great length, he’s a smart guy. He was able to play without fouling and he made a huge impact on the game, really at both ends of the court. He’s got really unusual length for a guy like that and he’s got great athleticism, too. He’s worked hard. It’s taken a while. We’ve got to be a little bit careful about how long we play him in terms of stretches of minutes. We can’t go more than six or seven minutes with him. He was one of the big differences in the game. I thought the other guy that was a huge difference in the game was Parsons. He came in and immediately got in the game on the defensive end with defensive rebounding. The shot making was there, too. Everybody will point to the shot making, but his attitude and disposition over the last 10 days has been a huge shift. He’s gained a lot of credibility in the locker room for what he did – basically offering to come off the bench to help the team. All his work is starting to pay off gradually, and I think he’s at a point where he understands he can’t get complacent with a couple of good games; you’ve got to keep going.”

 

On Parson’s role as a sixth man

“It’s certainly not going to be a ‘forever’ thing. Today’s Friday, next week will be Monday and Tuesday. Who knows what will happen then. Wednesday. The great thing about the whole situation is he has not waivered. He hasn’t come to me and said, ‘After a couple of subpar games, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.’ None of that stuff. He’s stayed the course. He’s been grinding harder, he’s been working harder. Going through this whole ordeal with the surgery, the difficult summer of rehab, the difficulty in getting reconditioned – this is when you become a true professional. This is when you really find out what it’s all about. Everybody does fine when everything is good. Everybody wants a nice cooked steak, but nobody wants to see you chopping up the cows in the back. The last five or six months, Parsons has been in the back butchering the cows – that’s the kind of work he’s had to do. I think it’s an analogy that has some accuracy; sometimes things aren’t pretty. McGee’s gone through it, too. McGee’s been 15 or 16 months; difficulty with a diagnosis. I can’t get in to his whole situation, but he went through great frustration. There was a question at one point whether he’d even be able to play, but our training staff has worked closely with him. He’s busted his butt. A night like tonight really is an important moment for him, for our team and with this franchise. I’m happy for those two guys, a lot of the guys – everyone who got in the game. The guys on the bench were in to it. We’re not a perfect team. We really have a bit of an eclectic roster, which is fine. It means the Charlie Villanueva’s of the world have to live with getting jerked in and out of games by guys like me, and they have to stay ready. He went in for a few minutes here, got jerked out. Went back in, played his game, hit a couple of huge shots – then he hit the three that I thought sealed the game over on the right side. These guys are professionals. The thing we can’t lose sight of is how we’ve got to continue to grind in terms of how we’re coming after opponents. We lost a little of that in Indiana, and tonight we got it back. We’ve just got to work to keep it.”

 

Mavericks Chandler Parsons

How did you feel about the game tonight?

“It felt great. First of all that’s a scrappy, tough team that’s always gave us problems. They got us at their place earlier in the year so we owed them one. I just competed, man. I played hard and coach has been on me to focus on defense and exhausting myself to make sure I get back into game shape until I feel 100 percent is going to be tough. Nights like this are a step in the right direction and it feels good.”

 

How close to do you feel to the old Chandler Parsons?

“It’s been tough. If I take two days off I feel rusty. I had to basically take 6 months off to rehab and get my knee better. It’s been a long time coming. Games like this are definitely a positive sign. When I’m out there playing it feels good. It’s all about stringing up a couple of them back to back and doing all the right things getting rehab, icing my knew, making sure there is no swelling, and work as hard as I can.”

 

How you moved the ball tonight

“I was taking what the defense gives me. I really like playing with JaVale McGee and the lob threat is a game changer for us. That’s not taking anything away from Zaza because he’s playing unbelievable and he played great tonight too, but when JaVale rolls like that and I’m handling the ball it gives our team another look. When pulling out shooters, him diving to the rim, and it just open’s up the whole floor for us. That’s what’s I’m going to do is continue to be aggressive and make sure everyone gets involved and I’m going to try and have more overall games like this.”