What They Said!! Grizzlies vs Clippers 03-19-16

POST GAME QUOTES

GRIZZLIES 113, CLIPPERS 102

 

GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH DAVE JOERGER

Opening Statement:

“It seems like every night I come in and say that it was a good game. For us tonight, it was a culmination of all the hard work that these guys have put in, and they’ve stuck together and just stayed with it. To be rewarded with a win against a pretty darn good team, they deserve it. Those guys in that locker room deserve it. They did it collectively, though they did have some big performances. Zach (Randolph) got us off to a quick start. Tony Allen had a tremendous game of picking and choosing his spots to cut and when to space. He did a great job defensively. Ray McCallum hits a couple shots and Lance (Stephenson) gets into the lane a couple of times. It’s going to have to be collectively. I was very impressed with our guys to keep battling away, and they deserve tonight’s win.”

 

On if Zach Randolph’s performance tonight will affect his teammates:

“In the game, yes, but also in the course of our journey. He comes back, and the young guys who have never played with him before go, “Whoa, we’ve got a go-to guy.” Some of you guys travel (with the team) some of you guys don’t, but it’s been tough. You can start wearing down and thinking, “We can’t get it done,” but what he does is give you that belief that you can get it done. Hopefully we’ll get Bird (Chris Andersen) back going forward. I’m not saying we’re going to run the table the rest of the year, but it just makes everybody feel better. That’s a happy locker room, and it’s a relief that we got off a losing streak and have a level of confidence going forward.”

 

On if he ever thought he would see Zach Randolph record a triple-double:

“I didn’t know anything about it until Mike Conley kind of made mention of it. I said, “Tony Allen got a triple-double?” So I didn’t really know, and I definitely had my wires crossed. To have Zach (Randolph) play his whole career—I can’t believe he’s never gotten one before. It does go to show you how much his game has evolved and continued to grow. Maybe he was a guy who was always known as a great scorer and a great rebounder, but now he’s attracting double teams. He might not know some of the full names of the guys he’s playing with, but he’s kicking it out to them and getting guys shots. You’ve got to give him a lot of credit. To listen to him yell at Ray McCallum all night, “That’s what we need. Way to go,” and even when he missed a shot, “That’s okay, great shot.” To do those kinds of things, we have great veteran leadership, and I’m pretty sure Matt Barnes is jumping up and down at home right now, celebrating the win.”

 

GRIZZLIES GUARD RAY MCCALLUM (14 POINTS, 3 ASSISTS)

On Zach Randolph:

“It was definitely great to have him back out there. I’ve known Zach since I was about three years old. We are both from Indiana. Our families are real close. He was giving me confidence all night. He kept telling me to shoot the ball every time he found me. In the first half I was missing a lot of shots. I told him to keep finding me and I’ll make sure I knock it down. We just followed his lead. He brought us home tonight. It was a great win for the team.”

 

On support from the team:

“They have been great. This is a veteran ball club right here. These guys have been through a lot and have a lot of experience. For a young player like myself coming here and learning, picking their brain and constantly being out there and talking to them. When I come to the bench I have Mike (Conley) in my ear. It’s been a great experience for me. This is my fifth game. I’m getting more and more comfortable out there. The chemistry, I think, is getting better. Having those guys come back tonight and play was huge for us. It was a big win.”

 

On the game:

“This was a game that we knew we had to win. No excuses. I know the last four games have been a little rough for us. We’ve had maybe four or five different guys out there who just got here. Coach (Dave Joerger) was joking one time; some of us don’t even know each other’s name out there. We are trying to get a feel for one another. I’ve been here for a week and I feel comfortable. I think as a group we feel comfortable. Having Zach (Randolph) and those guys back tonight. The crowd was behind us, it gave us a lot of energy.”

 

 

GRIZZLIES FORWARD ZACH RANDOLPH  (28 POINTS, 11 REBOUNDS, 10 ASSISTS)

On finding out he could achieve a triple-double:

“Toward the end of the game, Mike told (me).”

 

On the play achieving his triple-double:

“Me and him (Tony Allen) talked about it. I told him, ‘If I get it, cut to the basket. Make a move and cut to the basket.’ That’s what he did. That’s our play.”

 

On the game:

“Tonight’s game was one of those games where you look at the locker room and you see all the guys are down. And we have a lot of new guys; guys that have never really played in the NBA before. They got minutes and they are hungry. That’s all you can ask for is fun. TA (Tony Allen) had a great game and Little Ray (Ray McCallum), everybody, Lance (Stephenson). This team won. And if we go out and compete, that’s all we can do. Give 100 percent. That’s what I told the young guys and tell our guys. Just leave it all on the court and whatever happens, happens.”

 

 

CLIPPERS HEAD COACH DOC RIVERS:

On the game:

“I just thought that they were the tougher team. I thought that it was clear from the start. It all started with Zach (Randolph). He came in on a mission and I thought that his leadership, you know, he led them but I thought that him and Tony Allen were just the two toughest guys on the floor. So, you deserve to lose when that happens.”

 

On the possibility of playing the Grizzlies in the postseason:

“They should have confidence. They really should. Listen, they played with some competition. They don’t put your jerseys up and say, ‘This is your name, and this is your name, and you get to win.” You’ve got to compete, and the one thing their guys are good at is competing. They’re a tough team, they’re a physical team, and you know, that’s not good enough. That’s how the playoffs are going to go. So, we have to be a more physical, mentally tough team.”

 

On the prior game vs. the Houston Rockets:

“Well, I don’t care about the Houston game, honestly man. I’m just disappointed that we got out-competed tonight, and it was clear. I actually thought it started in practice yesterday. It was a waste-of-time practice, it was a waste-of-time game for us today and it was a waste-of-time shootaround. I should’ve flown like half the team straight to New Orleans today. It would’ve served us well to let them go sit there and rest, because we didn’t do anything today. That’s on me too, though. I’ve got to get them ready, and they weren’t ready to play.”

 

On why the Clippers lost the game:

“If I knew that, I would be the smartest guy in the world. So, who knows, but the bottom line is that they came in and kicked our butt and they deserved to win the game.”

 

On Jeff Green:

“I think he had (eight) stitches in his head. I don’t know anything other than that. He took a pretty hard blow.”

 

CLIPPERS FORWARD JEFF GREEN (8 POINTS, 1 REBOUND)

On the injury to Jeff Green’s head:

“It was eight stitches. I can’t really tell you how it happened. All I know is that I was pushed, caught an elbow and saw all the blood. That was pretty much it.”

 

On Zach Randolph coming to check on Jeff Green:

“I know DeAndre (Jordan) and Chris (Paul) came over but other than that, I don’t really know who came over and checked. It wasn’t something that he (Zach Randolph) was trying to do. It wasn’t on purpose, so it is all good.”

 

On going through concussion protocol:

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to go through it. I’m pretty sure I’m going to pass. I’ll have to see what the doctors say.”

 

On Doc’s (Rivers) comments after the loss:

“They showed up and they came out like they wanted it more. That’s how they’ve been playing for the last couple of weeks. We just came out a flat tonight.”

 

 

CLIPPERS GUARD JAMAL CRAWFORD (7 POINTS, 3 REBOUNDS)

On toughness of the Grizzlies tonight:

“Obviously they are undermanned, so they just leave it all out on the court. They won the 50-50 game. They got extra possessions. Once you give a team like that confidence, it’s tough to turn off.”

 

On Zach Randolph giving the Grizzles a spark:

“Yeah, I have seen it happen in this league. When you’re playing like that, you’re obviously in a playoff position. With all of the injuries, they have nothing to lose. All of the guys coming off the bench are coming from the D-League or they have been in the game for a while and they are able to mix them all together.”

 

On Doc (Rivers) comments about focus:

“I didn’t sense it, but he obviously has a different view. He’s sitting there watching and we are playing. You have to trust what he’s saying.”

 

On the next game:

“We just need to flush this one down the toilet. We can watch tape on how to get better, but at this point we know what we need to do. We just need to do it and have a quick turnaround as we play again tomorrow.”