What They Said!! Hawks at Grizzlies 11-27-15

GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH DAVE JOERGER

On the game:

“Tough night for us.  I thought it was a good game.  I think the first six, seven minutes of the game were as good an offense as I’ve seen us run in many many years.  The ball was really moving, and certainly when shots go down it makes it look a little bit better.  With our ability to make shots tonight where the ball was going in, we lacked urgency defensively.  They got too many easy baskets.  Certainly, they shot 39 threes.  Deep penetration was a problem.  We chased our tail far too much.  Hats off to them.  They made a lot of shots.  They shot a lot of free throws.  We didn’t get to the foul line as much as they did.  Maybe we’ve fallen in love with the three a little bit, where we had chances to attack and close out and get to the line or get to the lane, get to the rim and maybe to the foul line.  It was a tough night for Mike (Conley) and Marc (Gasol).  Marc looked to be running a little bit on fumes there.  I’m having to play him long stretches.  They doubled him and he made the right play.  Sometimes, like I said, we just have to punch it out to him or attack the rim a little bit more.  That can’t falter our effort.  We’re playing hard.  Guys are playing together.  It’s a good team that we played tonight who is a specialist in playing small ball.  Playing small ball has been fairly new for us the last couple weeks here.  They kind of out-small balled us tonight.”

On Atlanta’s performance:

“To their turnovers, we didn’t apply any pressure.  They were winging the ball all over the floor.  That’s where you turn your head and you give a back cut.  Offensively, they were really nice tonight.  It’s a little scary as a coach when you’re shooting as well as we were and you’re only up three or four or five at halftime.  You kind of know what’s coming.”

On the end of the first half:

“Dennis Schröder happened.  He just went everywhere he wanted to go on the floor and was kicking out.  His plus-minus maybe wasn’t great, but he got to places on the floor, didn’t make a lot of shots, but we were just too soft defensively as far as getting out.  We only had five deflections in the first half, which is a really really low number.  We usually have that every seven or nine minutes.  Our activity level defensively was what was really concerning and what we talked about at halftime.”

 

GRIZZLIES GUARD COURTNEY LEE (14 points, 4 rebounds)

On how the Hawks were getting open shots:

“I think they were pushing the ball and stretching the floor. (Al) Horford was out there with (Paul) Millsap, and the other big guy. They were stretching the floor. There was no rolling off picks. It was all pick and pop, and I think we were back a little bit. They had a lot of action where (Kyle) Korver and Paul (Millsap) setting back picks and running around. You can’t leave his body because he’s such a deadly shooter. They pretty much pushed the tempo and spread the floor.”

On the lack of deflections in the first half:

“You’ve got to credit them. They’re a playoff team out of the east, and they do a good job of taking care of the ball, especially under (Jeff) Teague’s and (Dennis) Schroder’s watch. Like coach said, we only had five, but we’re used to getting 15. That being said, they’re a good team, so we’ve got to at least meet somewhere in the middle and get a little bit more active defensively.”

On coming off the bench:

“It’s tough, because you’ve got to find ways to stay loose and keep your rhythm while you’re sitting there. I try to focus on the game as much as possible and see what’s going on out there. It’s part of being a professional. Throughout your career, everybody has a role, either as a starter or they come off the bench. It’s just about how you handle it.”

On the Philadelphia 76ers:

“They have nothing to lose. You could say their backs are against the wall, but it’s really not, because they’re still out there hunting for that first win. They’re playing pressure free, and they’re playing loose. Those are the most dangerous teams.”

 

ATLANTA HEAD COACH MIKE BUDENHOLZER:

On the game:

“To go on the road and face a Memphis team that guards and executes and has been together for a long time, I think it’s a good win. Our guys played well individually and collectively. The ball was moving and we got a lot of good looks. I think this was a good road win.”

On the third quarter:

“I thought we changed the feel of the game and I think that was important. And then they made a run and we were able to kind of take that punch. But I thought the second quarter we did a lot of good things too. I think just after that first quarter and after 36 points, I think they were shooting like 70 percent. I thought we had really three quarters of pretty good defense and good basketball.”

On playing through frustration:

“I think you have to play through everything on the road. It’s physical. Everyone is always frustrated. Can you get us frustrated and can you continue to focus and go onto the next play. That’s always the challenge.”

On Paul Millsap:

“I thought Paul was great. I think he set a tone in a lot of different ways with the boards and rebounding, screening, and everybody sees the points. I think he is doing a lot of other things at a really high level.”

On Mike Muscala:

“I think Muscy (Mike Muscala) is getting more and more comfortable and more and more confident. Al (Horford) got his fifth foul and I think we were up seven or eight or maybe even 10 and I just thought that we could maybe buy a minute or two. We were able to kind of run it out with Muscy and it was some good growing experience for him.”

On their three-point shooting:

“I felt like there were a lot of open opportunities. I didn’t feel like any of them were really bad shots or contested shots. I think Memphis is a really good defensive team and they make things difficult in the paint. Sometimes you have got to take what the defense gives you and if you can make them pay and hit them at a decent percentage. Whatever we had, I think offense was not our problem.”

On first quarter adjustments:

“I thought they executed and the way they were playing and screening and cutting off the ball. I thought they were very good. I think our defense could be better but I was very impressed how they executed offensively and made shots. When you do those two things, you execute and make shots, then you might have a quarter like that.”

 

HAWKS GUARD JEFF TEAGUE (20 POINTS, 7 ASSISTS)

On the fourth quarter:

“We got some stops. We were able to make some great touch-ups.”

On three-pointers:

“It’s the open shots we were getting. We were getting a lot of swing, swings to open threes. We just tried to take the best shot available. They just happened to be threes tonight.”

On the game:

“It’s a big win. We know that they are a really good team. They play hard and have a whole lot of talented players. We just have to bottle this all up and take it to San Antonio.”

 

HAWKS FORWARD PAUL MILLSAP (23 POINTS, 14 REBOUNDS)

On three-pointers:

“I don’t recall any of them being forced. We had open looks, a lot of open looks that we just didn’t make. Credit that to guys getting in the lane, setting screens, making an extra pass and that’s how our offense is pretty big.”

 On being a leader:

“I figure if I’m being put in that situation it’s a ‘learn as you go’ type thing. With the different personality is something I have to learn. I take the responsibility to heart. I have to do it. For myself and for the guys on the team.”