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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE: PELICANS v WARRIORSApril 20, 2015Monty WilliamsOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game Two Warriors – 97 Q. Coach, did you feel like in that last five minutes they just really shut you down, or was it poor execution or a combination of both? COACH WILLIAMS:  Probably a combination of both. We both struggled to score the way we typically score. They're 109, 110 points per game. They were at 97. We were at 87. But the whole second half we just couldn't get much going. The offensive rhythm is important against a team like Golden State because they can run it down your throat, and I thought that's what they did in the second quarter. If you look at it, they had two bad quarters and two great quarters. The fourth quarter was okay, but they held us to 16. So I really thought the second quarter when they had 38 points was a bit of a hold for us, because we had played good defense in the first, and then in the second quarter they got a great rhythm, and it took them right into halftime with a plus. Then we came out in the second quarter and held them to 16, and then, like you said, down the stretch, there were times where we tried to push it, and we got a stop and we turned it over, then they rammed it right back down our throat. Those are the possessions where you want to make sure if you have a lay‑up, take it. If not, you have to slow it down. So we'll be better at that. But I can't fault our guys tonight. They fought their tails off and gave us a chance to win. I think it was a two‑point game with four minutes to go, and we just fumbled a little bit down the stretch. Q. There have always been comments from people that a team has to get to the playoffs, especially a young team going through it for the first time. What are you seeing from your guys now that you have two games about their adjustments to this new level and what they're learning? What this process has been for Anthony in particular, but your team in general? COACH WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think everybody's‑‑ you can't say it enough about just getting here and understanding what it's like. I was speaking to Reggie before the game, and he understood exactly what I was talking about. Like all the things I talk about in practice and guys look at you like you're crazy, and you get in a position like this and now they understand. All the tricks, how physical it is, the atmosphere is different. At the same time, I don't think it's overwhelmed us. I think it's new to us, but I think we've settled into it. It's just we're playing against the best team in the league and we're fighting tooth and nail for every possession, but your point is well taken. It's hard to mimic this in practice. It's hard to mimic the physicality. It's hard to mimic the fouls that don't get called. It's hard to mimic all that stuff, and we have to learn to do the same thing. Our guys are growing up on the fly. And Anthony, and we've had some talks the last few days, and it's all sinking in now. He understands why we push the way we push. And it's only going to make us better, but right now we've just got to focus on the next game because that's what we have in front of us. Q. Can you talk about the playoffs and the intensity and the atmosphere? COACH WILLIAMS: Just all of it. Every talk I've had about him from a basketball standpoint is about this. He's a great player, but in order to be the best that he can be it's these moments where you've got to get used to it. And he embraces all of it. He wants to learn and experience all of it. I think he's settled into what it's going to be like. I don't think he's having a problem with it. I think in the first quarter the other day it was like this is different. Then after that, he's like, okay, I'm good. I think from here on out, he's going to be fine. Q. There were a couple of plays late where Davis seemed to be going up against two, three guys. Was that him trying to do too much do you think? COACH WILLIAMS: No, because if he makes the shot, nobody says a word. He's done it before. He's carried us all year long. I get your point that they have‑‑ they pack the paint. We went through a drought where we couldn't make ab outside shot, so at that point he's thinking I've got to go. But I'm not going to second‑guess what he's doing. There are opportunities to pass out, but he makes so many of those shots, and nobody says a word. He's missed a couple, and now‑‑ so I'm not even going to do that. Q. For a lot of people watching nationally, this is the first time they've seen Anthony Davis on a national stage. He scored 35 points in Game 1, 26‑10 tonight. Do you ever have a moment where you forget he just turned 22? COACH WILLIAMS: I don't have time for that. I really don't. I don't mean to be curt, but I'm telling you my responsibility as a coach is to push him and get him to be the best he can be. To a degree I may push him too much because I'm not looking at his age. I see the gift, and when you have that, it's your responsibility to get the most out of it. I try to do that with all of our guys. That's why they don't like me that much during the season. I don't have time to look at their age. I'm aware of giving them too much responsibility at times from a leadership standpoint. But as far as developing him as a player, I've got to push and coach every day, and that's my job, and I don't duck that responsibility. Q. When we talked this morning you mentioned that Ryan Anderson, it's tough with the match‑ups that they provide against him. He played nine minutes tonight and you were searching for more offense. What does he need to do to get back into rhythm and back into the rotation? COACH WILLIAMS: It's not so much what he needs to do. They do a really good job of taking stretch fours out, because they have Draymond, and Harrison, and Andre who can both. All three of them can play the three and four. And they can switch out on a point guard. If you can do that to a team, you can take them out of the offense. Ryan hasn't shot the ball well this series, but that doesn't mean he won't play the next game. He's got to be ready to go out there and do what he does. I just didn't like the match‑ups tonight. The game started picking up in pace, so it wasn't a good match‑up for him or Lexi from that standpoint. We didn't shoot the ball extremely well. It wasn't just Ryan, there were a lot of us who missed shots tonight. Q. How about Tyreke Evans? He seemed to be playing close to his level? COACH WILLIAMS: Yeah, he was okay. I thought I played him too much though. You know, I felt it during the game, but they were all so bent on staying in the game. I wanted to take him out, and then down the stretch I felt like he got a little winded. A couple times he went to the basket. Those are times he gets the foul or he finishes over somebody and he was a bit short. But he looked fine tonight. I mean, he was typical Tyreke. And I thought his defense was pretty good too. Harrison tried to drive on him early and Tyreke blocked his shot. We were much better with our switches tonight. And a lot of it was due to him being on the floor because he's so dog gone strong that you can't just run through Tyreke. He's about 230. I thought he played a decent floor game. Down the stretch I think we all fumbled a little bit. That wasn't just Tyreke. Q. Guys struggled in the first half when Anthony went out, and you played him the whole second half. How can you manage his minutes in the future or get more production when he's out of the game? COACH WILLIAMS: I talked about managing minutes, but last time I checked, this is the playoffs. So we've got the rest of the summer to rest. We're trying to win games. So he's our best player, and if I need to play him 48 minutes, I'll play him 48 minutes, you know. So managing minutes is based on wins. Tyreke is different. He's coming off a bit of an injury. AD, he can play minutes. He's the one that fights me all the time about coming out of the game. Now there are times where I may be able to get him out for a couple of minutes and get him back in. But tonight wasn't one of those nights. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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