What They Said!!! Grizzlies at Suns 02-27-16

POST GAME QUOTES

GRIZZLIES 111 , SUNS 106

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH DAVID JOERGER

(On tonight’s game…)

“Good game as far as seeing some young talent, Alex Len played terrific, Devin Booker showed why he was a top 13 pick. You have that kind of talent, those are guys that you can really develop and they did a great job. They were ready to play, I thought they played with a lot more focus than we did. We gave up 15 offensive rebounds, 12 threes. We feel like we’re a three-point shooting team so at times we chuck. Our offense didn’t help our defense to get set and allowing 111 points tonight, but fairly sloppy game with the number of turnovers and free throws. But I’m happy for those guys, happy for Earl (Watson), I love (Mirza) Teletovic and I love their young guys, they’re only going to keep getting better.”

 

(On what was the key as every time as they got close but couldn’t get the shot or stop…)

“Well we shot 40 percent so tonight we didn’t make a lot of shots, took care of the basketball but we just didn’t come out with the right mindset and focus. They got seven threes at halftime, Ronnie Price hits three threes and they got excited. Like I said Teletovic is tough to guard and we had Jon Leuer and we love him, he can make threes so I’m happy for them.

 

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES FORWARD ZACH RANDOLPH (19 POINTS | 4 REBOUNDS)

(On why it was so difficult at the game’s start…)

“We got off to a slow start I think and I don’t know… we can play a lot better than we did. You’ve got to give them credit, they played good. The young fella Len had a great game, he hit some big shots. We needed it man, but we’ve just got to move on and get ready for the next one.

 

(On the Grizzlies shot selection…)

“We’ve got to get better, that’s not us. We’ve got to get better shot selection, work the ball with the team we’ve got, it’s just we’ve got to be different and play different. So that’s something we’ve got to work on.”

 

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES GUARD MIKE CONLEY (19 POINTS | 8 ASSISTS)

(On if he saw the Suns confidence building…)

“When you’re playing against a young team that’s pretty much got nothing to lose, you give them confidence early in the game, they start playing at a much higher level and they started making plays. P.J. Tucker had a hell-of-a game, I thought that he really kind of set the tempo for them both offensively and defensively. Everybody kind of followed suit and it was their night.

 

PHOENIX SUNS HEAD COACH EARL WATSON

(On finally getting a win)

“We’re staying within the process. It’s just one win. It’s not a celebration, it’s not a championship, it’s not a major leap in the right direction. It’s one step forward. What I’m more impressed with is this: we probably played the most physical, aggressive team in the NBA. They hit us, they elbowed us. What did we do? We hit them back, we elbowed them, and it became a brawl. But we did not only brawl with them, we never slowed down our pace. So it wasn’t an 85 to 92 victory. It was in the 100’s. We had our pace, we had our aggression. We stayed focused.”

 

(On Alex Len’s start and strong play)

“We talked about establishing points in the paint. After the trade we couldn’t establish that. So what do we do? Started big, started Alex Len…I texted him today. I said, ‘hey Len, are you ready to start?’. He texted me back, ‘whatever you want’. I said ‘it’s time. It’s time for you to make that step forward. It’s time for you to be our number one option.’ Let’s let Book ease to the number two option and make it easier for him. Now you have to defend the paint, which will make it easier for Booker on the perimeter, and that’s a good balance.”

 

“It’s (Len starting) not going to change the rest of the season. It’s time for Alex Len to get experience. He hit clutch shots, clutch jump-shots, clutch rebounds, clutch defensive sets he had to guard and defend. He and Booker, they need this opportunity. And within this opportunity we can still win, but we have to accept the challenge and stay involved in the process, and it’s just one step forward.”

 

(On the positives he takes from their losses this season)

“When we lose so much, it’s a choice. You either take it and you start dreaming of endings. How can we not be better, but what we emphasize as a staff, and as a family and as a program: we’re going to take this losing, and out of losing we’re always going to find something positive. And the positive thing is, one day we’re going to be in a game. A team is going to make a run, and when we get to a timeout and we’re emotional, we have to realize we’ve been through the worst already. We’ve been through the worst, so this is nothing. This is a step. Let’s take the step forward and shut off the run.”

 

(On Matt Barnes’ physical play against Booker)

“What he (Matt Barnes) said was interesting. He said, ‘he’s good. He’s going to be really good. I got to do something to slow him down. So Booker is going to get his bumps and bruises, and guys respect him. But they’re going to also challenge him. He’s 19. You can’t let the 19-year old show you up on the floor when you’re 36. So Matt, who’s like 36, had to do something to let him know. I think Booker took it and he played well.”

 

(On playing with the “twin towers” lineup)

“When you play he (Len) and Tyson or he and Mirza, it’s a tough cover, because you got two 7-footers you have to beat on offense…Who’s playing two 7-footers anymore? We have this trend of playing small-ball, and we know the greatest small-ball team is the Warriors. We’re not going to catch them. Let’s create a new trend. Let’s let Alex Len get experience.”

 

PHOENIX SUNS FORWARD P.J. TUCKER (17 POINTS | 11 REBOUNDS)

(On if he feels relieved after a win tonight…)

“No, the only thing I’m excited for is Earl getting his first win. It’s much deserved. We just got to take it game-by-game, try to build off this. We’ve had games where in the Spurs game, we looked good or we turned a corner, then we’d take a step back. I think this team can’t afford to take any steps back. We got to progress. It’s a great win, but let’s try to string some together and try to keep it going.”

 

(On making sure the game ball got to Earl Watson…)

“He’s been working hard. He really cares. It’s a tough situation, not wanting to wish anybody, especially for their first time being a head coach, but at the end of the day he really cares. He’s been putting work in and trying to motivate guys to get guys to play. Me and him have become close and I just have a lot of respect for him. So I just wanted to make sure I gave it to him.”

 

(On outrebounding the Grizzlies…)

“That’s the game for Memphis. You got to win the rebounding battles. They’re so good (at) offensive and defensive rebounding, they’re such a ‘bang-bang’ team that if you don’t rebound, you’re going to lose the game. We talked about starting Alex (Len) and Tyson (Chandler) together, I loved the lineup. We’re big, we’re strong, and I very seriously doubt we ever get outrebounded with that lineup. We like stealing rebounds from each other; we always laugh and joke because we’re all really good rebounders. Being able to close that paint down even more and getting our guards to stay in front of other guards, with that lineup, it could definitely work for us.

 

PHOENIX SUNS CENTER ALEX LEN (22 POINTS | 16 REBOUNDS)

(On starting the game alongside Tyson…)

“He (Watson) texted me before the game saying, ‘you’re going to start. Be ready.’ And I said, ‘yeah I’ll be ready, let’s get this win. We’re going to get a win for you.’ And he was like, ‘no, let’s get it for us.’ I said,’ let’s do it.’”

 

(On whether he was surprised by the rebounding margin…)

“Not really because me and Tyson were in the starting lineup. We just have to win the rebounding when you have two seven-footers in the lineup.”

 

(On staying positive during the losing streak…)

“It was tough, especially after those two big losses to the Clippers and the Nets, those bad, bad losses. We just kept our heads up and kept fighting.”