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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: TRAIL BLAZERS VS. WARRIORS

May 14, 2019

Terry Stotts

Oakland, California - Pregame 1

Q. Can you give us an update on Rodney Hood's situation?
TERRY STOTTS: I've just been told that there is no update, but he's warming up, see how he feels, and we'll go from there. I mean, there's still a possibility that he plays.

Q. Was there anything significant that you learned about your team in that last series?
TERRY STOTTS: I don't know if we necessarily learned anything. I think it just kind of reinforced what we already thought about ourselves, that we're a good team. We stay together. We trust each other. Backs to the wall, and keep fighting, keep playing. So I don't think it's anything that we learned. Like I said, just reinforced kind of who we are as a team.

Q. Obviously you guys have been through so much off the court, on the court. How high is the resiliency of these guys to be here at this point when so many people said the season is over?
TERRY STOTTS: I'm tremendously proud of the team, what we've done, it's all been chronicled. But every team usually has to fight through something to get to this point, and we've had our share. But I think it's a testament to our guys and how they believe in each other.

But as a coach, when you see things like that and when teams fight and persevere and have success, it's very rewarding.

Q. I was lucky enough to work in Portland years ago and cover the Blazers and I know there's a special synergy and a special relationship the city has with the team. For those that might not be familiar with it, what is it like to coach up there, to be a part of that community and be integrated into that little -- it's really a special kind of a feeling, isn't it?
TERRY STOTTS: It really is. When you have a team like the Blazers, such a big part of the community, and there are other teams in the NBA like Salt Lake or smaller market teams, San Antonio, where the team is such a fabric of the community, and to be a part of this run, to get to the Western Conference Finals, it's been almost 20 years since they did it. It was disappointing not to be able to go back to Portland after winning Game 7 in Denver because I know how much the city is buzzing right now, how excited they are about the team, and it was disappointing not to be able to just kind of feel that for a little bit.

Q. We just saw video of Damian [Lillard] coming in in an Oakland A's jersey. It's clearly something special for him to play, and this is the last season at Oracle. He had a game-winner here his last visit. Have you sensed what this means to him?
TERRY STOTTS: Yeah, it is special. He is Oakland. He is very proud of Oakland, Brookfield. He comes back, he's part of the community. I know he enjoys coming back here and seeing family and playing here. For this to be the last year of Oracle, and he's told me how many countless times he came here, he used to speak in here, it's a special story.

You can't make that up. I mean, it's like the local kid grows up and hopefully hits a few game-winners here, as well.

Q. The Warriors wrapped up their series in six. They had the weekend off. You guys survived the Game 7, came right to the Bay. What do you think about the differences about how both teams arrive at the series, and how have the last couple days been for your guys mentally?
TERRY STOTTS: Well, we haven't had much time, obviously. Denver seems like a week ago now. You just -- NBA players are resilient, physically and mentally. I think everybody is prepared for it whether you've had days off or not had days off. You look at Denver, they had a seven-game series and they turned around and played us and beat us in Game 1.

That's one thing that's really enjoyable about coaching NBA teams and players is how they're able to move on to the next task and be prepared.

Q. Those Blazers-Warriors series in 2016 and 2017 were pretty competitive, but obviously the series didn't go that deep. Do you see signs that this year's team is better equipped to take the Warriors deeper into a series than those two teams?
TERRY STOTTS: I'll say this: I think we're a better team now than we were those two years. We've gained experience. A lot of the guys when you look at Dame, CJ [McCollum], [Al-]Farouq [Aminu], Moe [Harkless], Meyers [Leonard], we have some carry-over from those teams. But I think all those guys have gotten better over time.

Those were -- especially the first time we played them, that was a very competitive series even though they beat us 4-1. I thought we played them some good games. The next year not so much, but they only lost one game their entire run. The Warriors were a special team that year that they swept us. But this is a new year. They're a different team, we're a different team. But we'll see how it goes.

Q. Could you share your thoughts on Zach Collins and his development the last couple years?
TERRY STOTTS: You know, Zach is -- anybody who watched the Denver series, he has an impact on the game defensively. He's fearless. He's competitive. He can impact the game. In Game 6 against Denver, he made some big plays, played the entire fourth quarter. For a young guy to play, especially a young big guy to play at this level and have an impact is pretty impressive, but he's a unique guy, and he's only going to get better.

So this is -- Denver was a different kind of test for him because of the big guys that they had. Golden State is going to be a different test for them, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he responds. He had a good game I think the last time we played Golden State. He played well, had some impact plays. I expect that he'll just continue.

Q. Before the season, if somebody told you you were going to sit here in the Western Conference Finals, would you have believed them?
TERRY STOTTS: Yeah, I would, because when you have -- first of all, when you have an All-NBA player like Damian, you always have a chance. I felt like as bad as it was losing to New Orleans and getting swept last year, as disappointing as that was, I didn't think it was as bad as it seemed, although it seemed pretty bad. We had a really good season last year. We picked up some players that we felt would help us.

In this league anything is possible. I was talking with Tim McMahon about our run with Dallas, and nobody expected us to do what we did that year. There's always -- you always have a chance, and that's why you play the season, that's why you play the Playoffs. I don't know if I would have bet money on it, but I'd have believed it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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