HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “This game was kind of similar to the last few games we’ve been playing. We’ve been playing solid defense. Offenwsively, we’re moving the ball for the most part and playing well with the lead. Just doing a lot of good things.” On bench production: “The bench has been very solid. Gerald Henderson again had a very good game. Slow start offensively but he had a lot of good looks that just didn’t drop for him, but he had a lot of energy, a lot of bounce, and was good defensively. AC continues to do what he’s doing. Same thing with Ed. Who am I missing? And Meyers, so the bench has been pretty solid. The rotation has kind of fallen into place. It’s nice to know that when we bring those guys in that they provide a little punch for us.” On holding four teams under 100: “I really like the way we’re focused defensively. A couple weeks ago, we talked and did a little bit more than talked – the practices have certainly helped, but I like our demeanor at the defensive end and the price we’re taking in our defense.” On upcoming game vs Toronto: “Well, second best team in the east. They’re playing very well, they’re very well coached, they’re playing with a lot of confidence. Their backcourt is very dynamic. I haven’t watched a lot of film on them yet but they’ve certainly proven that they’re an excellent team.” On withstanding run from Bucks in third: “I thought Milwaukee played well, they were aggressive. I didn’t like the way we started offensively, we turned the ball over three times in the first three minutes and had a couple isolations and kind of lost some of the rhythm we had. We changed the lineups when Noah got hurt, bringing Meyers and Ed in and that always kind of opens things up for us a little bit. I thought Milwaukee really did a good job of defending in the third quarter and made it difficult for us.”
GERALD HENDERSON On bench playing well “I think our bench has done good, whatever decisions coach has made, it’s on him. We played well, brought good energy off the bench and I think it starts on defense. I think it showed in a lot of the numbers and it showed in the results of the games.” On looking like you have extra bounce to your step: “I felt good. I’ve felt good the last couple weeks. It was really just me going out there thinking about defense. We’ve made an emphasis the last couple weeks to really lock in on our defense and we’ve done a really good job so I think it’s helping everyone play better.” What’s been difference with your play lately? “Just making some things happen. I think my defense has been better like I said. It’s given me some energy on both sides of the floor and I think it’s gave the team some pretty good energy.” Does it help that rotation has shortened a bit? “I can’t say or not, but I know we’ve done well the last couple weeks, especially the bench coming off and just bringing energy however the game has started. We’ve done pretty good.” Do you find anything unique about this bench unit? “I think we have a special ability to play defense. We have guys with really good instincts and just the ability to guard their position, perimeter and bigs. With that, after some time now, we’ve really learned how to play well with each other, so just looking at staying consistent with that and keep it going.”
HEAD COACH JASON KIDD On the Blazers’ starting backcourt: “They were them. They came out and they were in character, they put a lot of pressure on the defense really well for about 40 minutes tonight.” On the turning point of the game: “Well we got it to five, we got it to six and we just couldn’t get a stop. We gave up a wide open three, we gave up an offensive rebound that was a dunk or a backdoor layup. We’re close, we just have to make some plays defensively. Come up with the rebound that they got with a back two or they got another possession and capitalized on it. Again, offensively I thought guys were sharing the ball, we had some misses in the paint that caused them to come out, we missed a layup or two and then they get an and one and then they get a three pointer off of the missed layup so those are things that can’t happen. We’ve got to be able to score in the paint.”
Jerryd Bayless On the Trail Blazers: “They’re a good team. They have a bunch of guys that can do a lot of things and we just didn’t get the stops we needed tonight. Gotta move on to the next one.” On his field goals tonight: “I think I got something going. I’ve haven’t been making a lot lately so it was good to finally see it go in again. Hopefully it continues, and hopefully we figure out a way to win.” On the team’s spirit: “It’s fine. We’ll be alright. It’s a tough stretch but all teams go through it. We just got to battle out of it.” On calls regarding Damian Lillard: “Dame played to score and they let him do a lot of different things out there so he’s a pretty good player and has got a lot of success.”
Khris Middleton On the fourth quarter: “We just broke down too many times I think. CJ had a game going all night that broke us down. We just couldn’t get stops when we needed. We couldn’t make plays that they don’t finish.” On the spirit of the team: “It’s tough right now. We’ve taken a step back. We still have one more game on this road trip so we have a couple days…Just try to find a way to win this game coming up.”
Do you know what McCollum and Henderson said that pissed off the Talkin Ball crew? Alluded to McCollum telling them how to do their jobs and Henderson ripping into him for asking if they were showcasing him
