What They Said!!! Grizzlies at Pelicans 12-01-15

Grizzlies Head Coach Dave Joerger:

On Marc Gasol’s performance:

 “Marc was very aggressive. He’s been carrying the load for us and he was very aggressive. We were struggling to get going early in the game, especially on the defensive end of the floor. It was good for him to get going. He got to the foul line, which helped us set our defense a little bit better.”

 

On how the game started:

“Early on, they made a lot of shots. I think (they) made four of their first five threes. We started giving up blow-bys and corner cuts.”

 

Grizzlies Guard Mike Conley

On Marc Gasol’s performance tonight:

“It was a lot of fun to watch and be a part of. We were all rooting for him. I know he feels good about it as we all do.”

 

On Gasol’s career-high 38 point game:

“He was just aggressive. I think every opportunity he got with the ball, he looked to score first before making a play. He is aggressive like that and we saw what he is capable of doing. ”

 

Grizzlies Forward Vince Carter

On defensive performance tonight:

“We did leave them with some open shots, but at the same time we defended the ball well. It was good to see everyone tighten up defensively and hit some shots when we needed to.”

 

On Marc Gasol:

“First and foremost, he had his jump shot working for him. Once he started working in the post, he was very aggressive and made things happen for us.”

 

Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry:

On the performance of Memphis’ post players:

“I thought their offensive rebounding was the story of the game. Even when we were doing well at the start of the game, it was mainly our offense. We didn’t do a very good job of stopping them in that situation. I mean they had 27 points in the first quarter. We just shot the ball extremely well. We shot 70 percent in the first quarter. The game was not going to be won in the first quarter. It was going to come down to the offensive rebounding and the points in the paint. That was the difference in the game if you ask me. Every time we did come up with a defensive stop, they end up getting back. If you look at the rebounding and give up 13 offensive rebounds with the points in the paint, it’s such a big discrepancy in that situation. You are going to struggle with a team like that. They are a very physical team. They want to play possession by possession. If you give up 113 points in game, you probably aren’t going to have an opportunity to win.”

 

On how much was physical and how much was mental in tonight’s game:

“I thought they were a very physical team. Between (Marc) Gasol and Zach (Randolph) and even a guy like Mike Conley who do such a good job of getting into you and disrupt what you’re doing. But you have to match that physicality, and we didn’t do a very good job of matching that physicality. We have to find a way to do it. I thought there were some bright spots. To have Tyreke (Evans) back. It seems to me that he is pretty healthy and ready to go. I thought that Norris (Cole) had his moments, although he didn’t shoot the ball well. But he had his moments. I think he will be okay there. I think we got to do a better job of rebounding the basketball. That’s just the bottom line.”

 

Pelicans Forward Ryan Anderson:

On defending Marc Gasol:

“I think that one guy can’t win a game. He’s a great player. Obviously, he’s got a lot of recognition because he’s a talented player, and the team’s got a lot of scoring power. He’s a big reason for that. Some guys are going to have it going, but I think we could have gone a little bit harder and defensively we just need to step it up a little bit.”

 

On playing with some key returners:

“There’s some adjustments. You have to get used to certain guys. For me, I’ve played with these guys for a little while now, so I’m pretty used to it, but there is a certain level of a team dynamic that you’ve got to build some chemistry back. It’s not just going to happen overnight. There were glimpses of great basketball tonight, and that’s what we need to take into tomorrow.”

 

Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis:

On reintegrating key returners:

“It’s tough when you have two of your key guys come back and all the lineups are messed up and everybody’s trying to get back accustomed to one another. But that’s not an excuse. We’ve still got to come out and play defensively. Offensively we’ll be fine, but defensively we’ve got to come out and plot better than what we’re doing the past couple of games.”