What They Said!!! Grizzlies vs Kings 03/02/16

POST GAME QUOTES

GRIZZLIES 104, KINGS 98

GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH DAVE JOERGER

Opening statement:

“That was a good game for us. It was kind of a crazy game. We saw a lot of different things out there tonight. We played very polished in the first half. We had five turnovers. Shots weren’t falling, but we were getting in the paint and we had a lot of points in the paint at halftime. In the second half, we just didn’t come out with the focus. They come out and go 6-0 and they had what I think was a 10-0 run. What I really liked about our team was we fought through some adversity. We turned the basketball over, nobody is trying to turn it over. We missed a lot of shots, nobody is trying to miss shots. We just hung on and kept fighting and fighting. I think you have to give a lot of credit. Mario Chalmers did a nice job late on Belinelli (Marco). It was nice to have two playmakers on the floor, we could move Mike (Conley) around a little bit. I don’t know when Bird’s (Chris Andersen) played 27 minutes last, but he did a terrific job. I thought our bigs in general were very good. JaMychal Green was very active, did a good job around the glass. Then our young fellow (Jarell Martin) was our leading rebounder there, he had eight rebounds in 10 minutes. So, we sprinkle in some doses of this and that, we’ve got different lineups and different guys out there for different reasons at different times. Guys fought hard and it was a hard fought win, so we have a very happy locker room.”

 

On Mike Conley:

“He’s very settling for us. He hit 60 percent of our three-pointers tonight and that was fantastic. It seemed like we just couldn’t make an open shot and I thought we got some good looks, but he just did a really nice job of getting the ball where it needed to go, picking and choosing his spots when he needed to go. They were hard-trapping him and he found ways to get out of it at times, made some big shots out of a timeout. I just thought he had a really solid game on both ends of the floor.”

 

On Grizzlies’ defensive effort against DeMarcus Cousins:

“I thought, in the first half, he was really baiting us to come down and we were coming down too soon and he was picking us apart. He hadn’t even put the ball on the floor yet. But, when somebody’s as talented as he is, you’re going to give them a lot of credit. We were a little bit nervous about it. I think Bird (Chris Andersen) did a great job on him. He fronted him at times, he bodied him at times. The guys is an amazingly talented player, so we tried to pick and choose our spots when we went down to get him. Again, they came out early in the first half and were dinging us off of double teams or late double teams. They came out in the first two plays of the third quarter and got a layup. Then he kind of knew when we were going to come. We tried to get to him when he got late in the paint, but he’s so big. Foul trouble definitely affected him tonight, both he and Zach (Randolph)…Zach came up with couple big buckets when they were making their run. That was super for us coming down in the fourth quarter.”

 

On JaMychal Green’s improvement:

“He’s finding his confidence and guys really appreciate playing with him. He does a great job showing in the pick-and-rolls and guards always like that – when you’re loud and telling guys ‘Here’s where you don’t get your head taken off.’ Guys appreciate that.  He’s active. How many guys this year has he run down from behind, guards especially, the bigs as well? He plays with a lot of heart and he knows, or he should know and I have to keep telling him, I’m going to play him, I love him. I’m just going to keep moving it around. I played Ryan (Hollins) in the second half, just in a short burst, only because I didn’t want to keep running Bird’s (Chris Andersen) legs out and just to give about two minutes on Cousins (DeMarcus) with a bigger body in front of him and then brought Jarell (Martin) in. I thought he did a nice job.”

 

On Jarell Martin:

“The biggest thing for him is just to lay some pavement down, be healthy for a while, find a rhythm, find the speed of the game – it’s certainly different. The space of the game is different. I think you’re going to see a guy who is going to blossom hopefully into a very athletic rim-runner, a pick-and-pop guy, a guy who can shoot a little bit and can handle a little bit, can do a little bit of everything as his game grows. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but it’s not Summer League. We’re trying to win every single game we can and if I thought, ‘I have to play this game to develop him,’ I’m going to play him because I think he helps us. Just in doses, especially, gives him some confidence that he’s a part of what we’re trying to do here and hopefully he just keeps getting better and better.”

 

GRIZZLIES FORWARD JAMYCHAL GREEN  (15 points, 3 steals)

On his career-high and being comfortable on the court:

“It is safe to say that. With the injuries we’ve taken I had to step up. Marc (Gasol) is not here so certain players just have to step up and do different things. So I just try to be prepared and try to bring that energy and that effort.”

 

On his teammates supporting him:

“It means a lot, just because we have a veteran team and for the vets to speak to me and tell me things to help better my game. I really appreciate it so I’m just taking it all in.”

 

On his first quarter put back:

“It felt great. I’m trying to get like Vince (Carter). I live for those dunks coming off of the rim. It’s just the right time and the right place.”

 

On what the team did to hold off DeMarcus Cousins in the second half:

“We live on the motto “Grit and Grind” so we take that serious. So anybody coming in they are going to have a hard time. We hang our hat on the defensive end so coming in, Boogie (Cousins) wanted to score so we had to pack the lane and keep bodies on him. I think we did a great job.”

 

On Jarell Martin:

“He had a great game tonight. He came in five minutes and had six rebounds. You can’t coach that. He is out there just playing hard and we need that type of play from everybody on the team. If everybody gives 100 percent then we shouldn’t lose.”

 

On competing against Rudy Gobert:

“I just have to use my quickness. Show him the ball, hopefully he’ll jump for it . We know he is a shot blocker; he’s tall and athletic. So we just have to play around that.”

 

GRIZZLIES GUARD MIKE CONLEY (24 points, 5 assists)

On deciding to be aggressive in the fourth quarter:

“I think I saw earlier in the game that I could have a lot of opportunities to make plays and score. I kind of took it easy in the second and third quarter. Then the game got a little tight and in the fourth quarter I decided just to go for my offense a little bit more when I had a shot, take it, don’t pass up any open looks and they were falling for me.”

 

On being on the court with Mario:

“When you have two ball handlers out there you don’t have to worry about so much as a point guard. You can just go out there and play basketball. Rio makes my job a lot easier when he is making plays for me and vice versa. So I was happy to finish the game the way we did.”

 

On playing against Utah:

“Honestly, I think these games are almost harder than the teams you play in the first four seeds because if they are trying to fight for that last spot, that eighth or seventh spot, in the playoffs then they’re giving you everything they have. So all of those games are going to matter and we have to take care of business here at home and get some wins while we can.”

 

On JaMychal Green:

“JaMychal has been patient. He has done everything we have asked of him. He has come in early and done all the work. He leaves late. He just does what a pro is supposed to do and now he is getting his opportunity to play. He has done a great job hustling and doing things on the defensive end and knocking down jumpers on the offensive end.”

 

KINGS HEAD COACH GEORGE KARL:

On the breakdown in the second quarter:

“I think our black holes are always similar. Turnovers, and we got out-worked on the boards and they got their young athletes that jumped around, bounced around and were very good. We lost the rebounding attitude. They were physical and our offense kind of got ordinary because…They have some really good defenders that can be very physical. The second quarter was our black hole. They were playing a complete game and starting the game with maybe a little more physicality. My issue, being in Memphis, is you don’t win here unless you’re a little dirty, a little gritty and a little physical. They have changed their mantra a little bit, they are still grabbing hold and Mike Conley is a great defender, Tony Allen is a great defender, (Matt) Barnes can be a good to great defender, Lance Stephenson can be a physical defender. It was basically the second quarter.”

 

On players that filled in tonight:

“We had foul trouble and it wasn’t a good rhythm and again we fought through some negative basketball karma but in some odd way there is that elusive way of on the road we kind of have that black hole and we don’t play at a high enough level to sustain some of the good stuff that we do.”

 

On starting Darren Collison next game:

“Yeah. I am hoping Rondo is going to be able to go. He twisted his ankle pretty good. It seems like we aren’t getting killed with injuries, but if you think about it, we are getting killed with injuries. Seth Curry played the best game of his career, (Rajon) Rondo misses a game, and we thought he was going to be out for a few games. Our personality hasn’t evolved in a way. It’s great to see them, how they compete and try to help the team. Sometimes you need a full roster.”

 

On a tough NBA schedule:

“I don’t like to complain about the schedule. There are moments in your season that you get a nice schedule and there are moments in the season where you get an awful schedule. Sometimes the combination of injuries, and coming in at the wrong time make the schedule more difficult. Dallas is an interesting team. I’m watching film on them tonight. They have a lot of good players. They’re playing a lot of guys 25-30 minutes. (Chandler) Parsons is playing as well as he has all year. Dirk (Nowitzki) is Dirk. Their point guard is a rotating point guard. (JJ) Barea is playing good. David Lee has come in and helped them. It’s amazing how many guys they have that are contributing, not in a big way, but they get their 20-25 minutes. They have achieved as much as any NBA team this year.”

 

KINGS FORWARD QUINCY ACY (11 POINTS, 3 REBOUNDS)

On the message at halftime:

“We were getting outplayed and just playing soft. It kind of lit a fire under us, and we responded well. It let us know what we were capable of, but we can’t be digging holes for ourselves like that.”

 

On playing with foul trouble:

“We definitely had to adjust our style of play. We picked up a few early fouls, but that’s the way the game goes sometimes.”

 

On the high number of turnovers in the first half:

“They were mental mistakes and just sloppy plays. Those lead to easy transition points, and I think we got outhustled a few times on 50-50 balls. We just can’t have that if we’re fighting for a playoff spot.”

 

 

KINGS  CENTER DEMARCUS COUSINS (18 POINTS, 16 REBOUNDS)

On the run the Kings made in the third quarter:

“I think we picked up the defense. We got a little more aggressive and a little more physical to match their physicality, so the game changed for us.”

 

On if the Grizzlies did anything to throw him off his game in the first half:

“It really was just the foul trouble that threw me off a little bit, but I’ve got to find a way to play through that. I think they zoned up the paint a lot and took away a lot of angles, so I had to be a lot more passive than usual, so it was a combination of a lot of things.”

 

On what it takes to play hard for all 48 minutes:

“We just have to be aware and show urgency from the beginning of the game, and not when someone has to light a flame under our (butts).”

 

On how this Grizzlies team is different than the last time these teams played:

“They are different. It’s still a very defensive-minded team, but their guards are in more in attack mode now. Still a very tough team, though.”