What They Said!!! Grizzlies vs Suns 03-06-16

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POST GAME QUOTES

GRIZZLIES 100, SUNS 109

 

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GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH DAVE JOERGER

Opening statement:

“Tough game for us. It was a tough matchup for us as they’re a good team. There was too much Devin Booker, too much Alex Len. Tyson Chandler got going, and we struggled to score. We’re a team that’s going to struggle to score when we’re the way we are right now offensively, so we’ve got to play great, great defense. Our defense has taken a couple steps back so we’ve got to keep building the trust. Just some simple things happened, some guys stepped the wrong way on a call. We’re still working on our coverages and we gave up too many easy baskets. Ronnie Price had another good game against us. You’ve got to give them credit; they came to play. I was a little disappointed because it was the second time I feel like they’ve gotten after us harder than we’ve gotten after them. There was a lot of talking and them letting us know all about it. It’s tough on us, but we’ve got to fight tomorrow and play another game tomorrow.”

 

On tonight’s shot selection compared to last week’s:

“I think we got worse shots. It’s just something to manage. It just is what it is. This is the way we’re made and if I’m going to try to run the Princeton offense or the triangle, it’s going to come out like a quadrilateral or something like that, isosceles. I can take away all their games and I think it’s better to play and give them freedom. Sometimes it’s not pretty, but I feel like let those guys get a chance to look at these players and go from there.”

 

On why post play was difficult after Chris Andersen left the game:

“They’re bigger.”

 

On if a quick turnaround is viewed as a positive after a tough loss:

“This isn’t that frustrating. We didn’t play very well. We’re not excited to go to Cleveland, no. We play tomorrow. It’s the NBA and you get an opportunity to play and go out there. Hoping to have Tony Allen back tomorrow, that will help and go from there.”

 

GRIZZLIES FORWARD ZACH RANDOLPH (6 points, 8 rebounds)

On the game:

“Tonight was one of those nights. I didn’t have a good game making shots, and we’ve got to get better. We’ve been playing good, but tonight was one of those nights. You’ve got to give (the Suns) credit, and a lot of credit to (Devin) Booker as a rookie. We’ve just got to get ready for more.”

 

On the matchup:

“I don’t think it’s a tough matchup for me. You know, they won one there and they got two of the wins and we’ve got one. So, we go out there again and play them in a couple of weeks. They’re a good team.”

 

On the upcoming road trip:

“We’ve got to be ready. It’s going to be a good test to see where we are at tomorrow.”

 

 

GRIZZLIES GUARD/FORWARD LANCE STEPHENSON (13 points, 5 rebounds)

On the game:

“It’s just one where we’ve got to watch film to see what we did wrong. We played a good team, and you’ve just got to play harder and figure out what we did wrong and correct it for next game.”

 

On the matchup:

“They came out, made big shots. Were very aggressive, and we just didn’t respond.”

 

On the upcoming road trip:

“You’ve got to have a short-term memory. You’ve got to go into the game and get ready for Cleveland, watch film, and get ready for them. It’s going to be a challenging game, and to see where we are at, be focused and play with each other.”

 

On the upcoming game against the Boston Celtics:

“We’ve got to bring intensity. We’ve got to bring the defensive mentality. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes, and just take our weak game and learn from it.”

 

On playing the Cleveland Cavaliers:

“We’ve got to see where we stack up against them. They’re a tough team, and we’ve just got to take this game as a playoff game with a playoff kind of atmosphere.”

 

On defending against the Phoenix Suns’ bigs:

“They aren’t difficult, they just spread big, and they shoot. It’s tough when you’ve got guards that are attacking and hit the bigs late and they can hit that shot. They played well tonight. We’re going on to the next, and we’ll watch film and see what we did wrong.”

 

 

 

SUNS

SUNS INTERIM HEAD COACH EARL WATSON:

On Chris Andersen’s exit:

“I think they battled with and without him. We were up by eight when he was still in the game. We don’t make any excuses. We’re missing a lot of guys too; we’re missing like 55 points. So, we make no excuses.”

 

On Suns having two defensive back-to-back wins:

“We’re taking steps forward in the right direction, we understand that. What I think we emphasize more than anything is: we don’t get discouraged in losses and we don’t fall in love with wins. We fall in love with playing the right way, doing things the right way, each possession, being selfless, playing with character, playing with passion and really just losing ourselves to the game to where the only thing that matters is the letters on the front of our jerseys, not the back. We’ve been instilling that for a while as a staff and as a program and it’s finally starting to come to life. So, this is a positive step in the right direction.”

 

On getting playmaking help from Devin Booker and Alex Len:

“I think it’s interesting with young players in this league. They have three years to become who they’re going to be. It’s rare for after three years to become someone different in a better sense of scoring more points. So, this is Alex’s third year and we want to make sure he has the confidence to become an amazing player and he had six assists tonight. He’s playing great. Devin is 19. Devin has a ton of confidence, he’s shooting shots from half court, and he’s learning how to make assists. He had nine assists and that was big for him. Our young guys, the future is bright. And the veterans are just being steady and stable. They love the young guys and are nurturing and they’re just going to continue to teach them and let them grow.”

 

On Devin Booker mixing it up with other players:

“I like it. I think we need it. It says a lot about the pride we have for the city we represent, the program we represent. For us, enough is enough. We understand it’s been a challenging season and once we surrendered to what we were as a family and as a group, we seemed to take strides forward. And once we realized our self-limitations and accepted them, we went past them as a group. So, we’re heading in the right direction.”

 

On tonight’s meeting with Grizzlies versus one on February 27:

“It’s a good group. I have tons of respect for their coaching staff and the program they have here. I have a respect for this city and these fans. They’re tough and they play with a lot of effort and a lot of tenacity. Our young guys are just growing quickly in front of our eyes and it’s great to watch. We’re starting to get a harmony when we play and our philosophy is more important than just trying to steal wins here and there and playing the wrong way.”

 

On Suns’ defense:

“We have a situation where we like to be transparent; it’s not always about basketball. For us, we had to get a lot of things…transparency and direct conversation helps this group a lot and us just being vulnerable as a staff helps them a lot. We’re doing a lot of things based simply just on nurturing, teaching, and just loving. We’re getting better, continuing to step forward, and we’re excited to get back home. Fifty percent on the road isn’t bad.”

 

SUNS GUARD DEVIN BOOKER (27 POINTS, 9 ASSISTS)

On playing Memphis:

“Memphis is obviously a great team. They have been a great team for a long time. They have always had that reputation. It is going to be a rough game and there is going to be talking, but that is the nature in basketball. It brings out the best in everybody, and at the same time, it is fun.”

 

On playing hard:

“That is what you have to do. Being a rookie in this league, everyone is going to be out to get you, especially me being the youngest player in the league. So I have to play with a chip on my shoulder. If you have that reputation in your first year that you are soft or that people can rough you up in the beginning of the game. You just can’t have that reputation. So every time you get out there, you have to have that chip on your shoulder and you have to be ready to pay.”

 

On Vince Carter:

“Vince is a legend in this game. We would talk a little bit during the game but overall you have to respect those people. But at the same time, with me being a rookie in this league, you can’t back down to anyone.”

 

On Alex Len:

“Obviously Alex (Len) had 31 and 15 last game. So I know teams are going to try to suck in on him a little bit and try to dig on his dribbles a little bit. I’m just trying to get space for him and once I start making shots they can’t leave me. So then they give Alex room to play.”

 

SUNS FORWARD ALEX LEN (19 POINTS, 16 REBOUNDS)

On the game:

“We’ve started to play defense. They did a great job in the first half and hit some threes. In the second half coach told us to try and limit their threes and just play inside-out.”

 

On the offense:

“We saw a lot of guys trying to play physical early. But with me playing with Tyson (Chandler), whenever they guard the smaller guy on Tyson, we just go down low to Tyson. If the smaller guy is on me, I just go down low and we just keep doing it the whole game. We are just playing the matchup.”

 

On passing:

“I just read whatever is there. If I have a drive to the basket, I’m going to go try and score. But if I see someone digging in, I’m going to try to find an open guy.”

 

On Playing with Tyson Chandler:

“We are trying to get a feel for each other. He knows where I like the ball and I know where he likes the ball. We are always trying to find the smallest guy. If the smallest guy is on me, I go down low. If the smallest guy is on him, we try to put him down low and keep feeding Tyson.”

 

Sharon Brown
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