HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS On Vonleh: “Obviously he played really well in the second half, fourth quarter. He made some big plays. That was pretty evident. I think it took him a little while to get back into the rhythm. His first half, I think it was an adjustment for him to get back to playing at that level, but certainly he made big plays especially at the offensive end, but defensively got some rebounds. I was really happy for him. It’s been a tough month for him to be out of things and for a young man who loves to work and loves being on the court, it’s been a tough month.” Is that as aggressive as you’ve seen him? “Well, by virtue of the fact that Damian and CJ and all of those guys aren’t on the floor, obviously he’s getting the ball and had more opportunities, but he plays one on one – we don’t look to go to him, but in this situation we did and he delivered.” Have you seen that from him behind the scenes? “I think he’s gotten better, no question. He’s one of the hardest workers that we have and we’ve got a lot of hard workers. He’s put in a lot of time. Again, last year was a year of fitting in and he did that well and I was glad that he was able to take advantage of the situation tonight.” On group that finished the game: “I was really happy for the five that finished the game. They made big plays. Obviously Noah carried us offensively with his baskets but defensively, they were aggressive. They rebounded, they contested shots, and I was glad that in that situation to be able to come from behind and get a win, it’s good for them.” In general, how did this game compare to the first preseason game? “I was disappointed. I didn’t think we played as well as we did against Utah. Offensively, I didn’t think we passed the ball as well. You’ve got to give Phoenix credit for the way that they defended. They had about eight Earl Watsons out there just getting after people and pressing up and being aggressive. You can really tell Earl has kind of made his mark with that team already and they’re going to be a handful to play throughout the season by virtue of how they play. That being said, I don’t think we adjusted quick enough to the style of play, both transition defense, penetration off the ball, one on one play. Offensively yes we did miss some shots, but I don’t think we helped each other out very much. We only had six assists at halftime, but like I said, I want to give Phoenix credit because they had something to do with that as well.” DAMIAN LILLARD What did you think of guys that “I thought they did great. It was a little bit of a heated game, it was a competitive game, and those guys went in there and took the challenge. They jumped in the fire along with the rest of us that had been playing the first three quarters of the game. I was proud of what they did. They competed on both ends of the floor. We came up with big defelctions, big defensive rebounds, and we executed late in the game. We won the game getting stops and executing down the stretch. On Vonleh: “That was big time, but I’ve always thought highly of Noah. Even in the summer, when I talk about wanting to be the first person to get to the gym, the person that I see coming in is him. He’s always over there going through three shirts in a workout because he sweats so much. It’s fun to see him go out there, even though it’s just preseason, to go out there and play well down the stretch of the game. He’s been hurt, he couldn’t go in camp like he wanted to and he looked good out there.” Have you seen him that aggressive? “When he got back to practice, we kind of laughed at him a little bit and told him he had something on his mind, he had some pent up aggressive, because he was attacking the offensive glass, jumping over the top of everybody, fouling, just all over the place – and he brought that same thing tonight. Down the stretch, he played aggressive. He was bouncing around out there and he looked good.” On importance of young players seeing veterans’ support: “It was good because it wasn’t at the end of a blowout where – it’s like I hate when you get up by 30 and a guy make a shot, and you’re jumping up and down, I feel like that’s showing up your teammate. I was glad that we could genuinely be happy for him in a real game situation where he’s getting buckets and getting rebounds and blocking shots, situations that we need him to do it to win the game. So I was really proud of that.” How do you feel things are coming along with the rotations? “I think it’s coming along. I thought we did a better job in the Utah game as far as this guy handles, we want to do this, we want to do that. I think they made it harder for us to get to what we wanted to get to because of their style of play, but we had to find a way. It was a little bit rough. We didn’t move the ball as well as we did in the first game due to what they did defensively, but I was proud of the way we found a way. Guys didn’t stop playing, we just kept playing, the bigs kept sprinting into screens, we stayed aggressive and we found a way going into the fourth to have a lead.”
HEAD COACH EARL WATSON Thoughts on tonight’s game: “Good game for our group. As you know, we have three teenagers that we play a lot of minutes. We came here tonight to face a really talented and deadly team and our players did well. Down the stretch our young guys got extended minutes, finishing the game with two nineteen year olds and an eighteen year old, so it was a great experience for them in the NBA. And Portland did a great job finishing and closing.” On what made the difference down the stretch of the game: “I think youth had something to play with it, but Portland’s intensity took up to another level. They played guys who were hungry, who’s been in our situation before, so when they had that opportunity to close it, they had that experience and we have to gain that experience, especially with our young guys.” On his impressions of the Blazers: “Dame and CJ are always dynamic, they come in and play well. Evan Turner adds another dynamic mid-range scorer, which helps them out a lot. Dame and CJ can score in the mid-range, but Evan is a mid-range specialist, which I think gives them balance in their attack.” DEVIN BOOKER On what made the difference late in the game: “Two young groups playing. They had better execution, we had a lot of rookies out there that I don’t think they understand though experience that every possession matters. Noah Vonleh got hot, should’ve been digging, when somebody gets hot you’ve got to help them. But that was the end of the game.” On how he felt in the 3rd quarter: “Just like I was just telling [Eric] Bledsoe, there’s night like that where you have it going and then your teammates are looking for you. So if I’m hot I just keep shooting, so that’s what I did. Credit to their guards they have a lot of good guards on their team and this is a matchup that we’re going to have to face trying to get into the playoffs so we know that we have to go for 100 against them every night.” On what he’s sees as the next step he will take to improve: “One, pick up defensively. Two, work on my body. Three, just stay consistent through 82 games. Instead of up and down just try to stay at one level. People know what they’re going to get out of you every night and like I said get in better shape and get ready for the regular season.” On having so much youth to their team: “Bright future most definitely but like you said Coach Earl trusts all of us and that’s what’s most important and we’re not trying to wait for the future like I just said, we’re trying to make an immediate impact. If Coach trusts you like that it gives you the supreme confidence every time you step on the floor. So that what I’m trying to get to our rookies, the confidence I have. Every time you step on the floor that you’re the best player and that’s just how you have to take the floor every time.”
Postgame Notes - October 7, 2016 Portland 115, Phoenix 110 Preseason Game #2 Home Preseason Game #2 • Noah Vonleh finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds (six offensive) in his preseason debut. Vonleh registered one double-double through his first two NBA seasons (none with Por.). • Noah Vonleh recorded 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting and hauled in seven rebounds in the fourth quarter alone. • Shabazz Napier scored a team-high 20 points on 5-of-12 shooting (8-9 FT), marking his second consecutive game with at least 10 points. Napier is one of three Trail Blazers players to have scored in double figures in both of Portland’s preseason games (Lillard/McCollum). • Damian Lillard scored 11 of his 18 points in the third quarter on 3-of-6 shooting (5-5 FT). • Evan Turner scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting (6-6 FT), marking his first game of 10-plus points as a Trail Blazer. Turner scored in double figures in 47 games with Boston last season. • The Trail Blazers bench outscored the Phoenix reserves, 58-45, marking the second time in as many preseason games that Portland’s reserves have outscored the opposing bench. Portland’s bench owns a +29 scoring advantage over opposing benches this preseason (+14.5 ppg). • Phoenix guard Devin Booker scored 19 of his game-high 34 points in the third quarter on 8-of-11 shooting.
Shoutout to Earl Watson! Great guy and going to be a great coach! Good to hear Terry give him a shout out.
