What They Said!! Spurs at Grizzlies 12-03-15

GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH DAVE JOERGER

Opening statement:

“Hats off to San Antonio, they played well tonight. It was competitive from a standpoint that we felt like we gave them a couple of easies and they made some tough shots at the end of the shot clock. We had a chance to hold them to 40 or 41, but you’re waiting on the powder keg to burst. The first half, their three Hall-of-Famers were 14-for-20 and then in the second half LaMarcus Aldridge goes 5-for-6 and Kawhi Leonard goes 7-for-9 including 6-for-7 from three, two of which kind of lit the lamp for them in transition. After that, he was contested so my hat’s off to them. They played better tonight and we just felt like they didn’t ever feel threatened by our offense. They could take free and loose shots offensively, move the ball around, and get what they wanted to. And if they didn’t get it, it wasn’t that big of a deal because we were struggling at the offensive end of the floor.”

On the challenge of defending Kawhi Leonard:

“He rose up over people that were standing in front of him and just made shots. We had people in front of him and he’s shooting over guys that are 6’7”, 6’8”. Matt Barnes is a pretty good defender and we had different guys on him, but at the end of the day he just rose up and made shots. Three-point numbers is a big discrepancy and that’s what they do, but in the first half we held them down to 2-for-6 and I think, obviously they go 10-for-18 and they’re scoring it, but it wasn’t the kind of threes where they rip it around and you’re chasing your tail. I thought they made some threes tonight where we were contesting and we were there.”

On Grizzlies not making threes in first half:

“It’s just shots not falling. We’re getting good looks. I thought we got a lot of good looks tonight, obviously they pack it in on Marc (Gasol) and Marc’s trying to score sometimes with two or three guys around him in a space where you can’t make the move you want to make because you have to score over two or three guys. They pack in in pretty good and I thought we didn’t knock down a lot of shots tonight.”

On whether Grizzlies’ loss was due to matchup problems or shots not falling:

“They have three guys going to the Hall of Fame and two All-Stars and they played very, very well tonight. We feel like we’re a good team and they’re certainly a good team and we look forward to playing them again next time.”

 

GRIZZLIES FORWARD MATT BARNES (4 points, 2 assists)

On the game:

“I think they were playing a lot more free on the offense today because our team wasn’t making shots. In the first half, it was Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili), and in the second half it was (LaMarcus) Aldridge and Kawhi (Leonard) who got hot. So, it was just one of those nights.”

On improving against good teams:

“We’ve just got to stay consistent, stay with what we know, and keep trying to get better.”

On falling short against good teams:

“It’s very frustrating. Even though it is December, you still want to try to set a precedent heading towards the New Year. But, we’ve still got a lot of time, and we’re going to get our stuff together.”

GRIZZLIES CENTER MARC GASOL (15 points, 2 assists)

On the game:

“It’s tough. They force you to take the shot that they want you to take. So, they’re good at it. They’re good at it. You’ve got to out-hustle them; you’ve got to out-will them. If you try to outsmart them, it’s not going to work. They’re a smart team. Everything that can be thrown at them, they are quick to change, and make changes really fast all at the same time. So, if you want to beat them, you’ve actually got to beat them physically.”

On ways to improve:

“We’ve got to move the ball better. We’ve got to move our bodies. We’ve got to run faster. We’ve got to get to the offense a little quicker. It’s that simple. For us to be that efficient, we’ve got to run the floor, we’ve got to get more assists. We average 25 assists per game, or something like that, and tonight we got 14. That’s not enough.”

 

SPURS HEAD COACH GREGG POPOVICH:

On the first quarter:

“I thought we were pretty sloppy at both ends. A lot of defensive mistakes and a lot of offensive mistakes in the first quarter, and then I think we shored it up and did a better job in the third quarter.”

On LaMarcus Aldridge:

“I thought LaMarcus did a great job of using variety. He got jumpers, he got down in the post and played, he ran the floor and sealed. He did a really good job of using variety in different offensive situations. He also played his [behind] off on defense, which nobody pays attention to. He was trying to block shots and was moving his feet, and doing a good job”

On if Aldridge has lived up to expectations:

“He’s an All-Star. He’s everything we anticipated.”

On what the Spurs can take away from tonight’s game:

“Well I don’t think anybody in our league, other than Golden State, the rest of us don’t play well for 48 minutes. That’s what we’re all trying to do, and so there are going to be moments in every game where you don’t play as well as in other portions of the game. It could be in the fourth quarter, or it could be in the first quarter.”

 

SPURS FORWARD KAWHI LEONARD (27 POINTS, 8 REBOUNDS)

On his three point shooting performance:

“In transition they gave me two wide open ones in a row and I knocked them down. After that, like I said, when I got the open look I just wanted to keep shooting until I missed a ball.”

On why he’s improved:

“Probably just more comfortable. Being my fifth year in the league, knowing where the three point line is, knowing when the contest is coming. It’s still early in the season. There’s going to be ups and downs from there and just my shooting.”

On holding an opponent to 85 points or fewer for the 10^th time this season:

“I think we just focus on ourselves. We really don’t know everybody’s defensive stats. We know that our offense isn’t where we want it right now and we have to come in and play a great defensive game to win.”

SPURS GUARD TONY PARKER (17 POINTS, 5 ASSISTS)

On Kawhi Leonard:

“He shot the ball very well. He’s been shooting the ball very well this year from the three-point line. I think his decision making is improving and he’s taking great shots and shooting with confidence right now.”

On getting momentum in the first quarter:

“I think it just happens. Defensively, I feel like we’re more advanced than in recent years. I feel like we’re very solid right now defensively. Offensively, it’s still a little bit of an adjustment with LaMarcus (Aldridge), but we’ll be fine. We’re still scoring 100 points so that’s plenty enough for us as long as we play great defense. That’s how we want to establish ourselves every game. Start with great defense and the offense will come.”