	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: TRAIL BLAZERS VS. WARRIORS

May 18, 2019

Terry Stotts

Portland, Oregon - Pregame 3

Q. What's the urgency you feel to make the most of these games at home?
TERRY STOTTS: The urgency tonight is pretty obvious. You know, we don't want to go down 0-3. That doesn't bode well. So I think, you know, not looking past tonight is important. This is the game that matters right now.

Q. You've been here long enough and you've probably been around the league long enough. What does it mean to these people to have the Conference Finals back in Portland?
TERRY STOTTS: I think it's great for the city. This is such a -- it's a great basketball town, so it's a great Blazer town. To have it back here, you know, it's easy to remember for me, the 1992 Finals and the success that they have had here. So to be a part of it is pretty special, but I'm happy for the fans and the town.

Q. There was an incident at a school very nearby here yesterday where a kid showed up at school with a gun and so forth. I'm sure you heard about it. Do you have any comment on it?
TERRY STOTTS: To be honest, I hadn't heard, so I can't comment.

I would like to say that guns don't belong in schools. Does that count? I don't know if I needed to say that -- probably do.

Q. What are some things you didn't do in Game 2 that you can apply to Game 3 here?
TERRY STOTTS: We need to handle the their pressure better. That three- or four-minute stretch at the start of the second half, they really -- their defense fueled their offense, and they got back into the game with it.

So we have to do a better job of that. Honestly, the last four, three or four minutes of the game, they took advantage of their opportunities and we had opportunities that we didn't.

The main thing for me in the second half was that first four or five minutes in the second half.

Q. Are you going to keep the starters the same or make any changes?
TERRY STOTTS: Well, if I were, I wouldn't say it, so -- you had to ask.

Q. With Game 2, do you think it will be more of a motivating thing the way it went down at the end or will there be any kind of mental letdown? How do you see Game 2 now going forward?
TERRY STOTTS: I don't think we'll have a letdown by any means. I think it was encouraging after our poor offensive game in Game 1, and to bounce back with some good offense for the majority of the game in Game 2 was very encouraging.

From a defensive standpoint, even though we made changes, they still scored. They have great offensive players who make great reads. So the most encouraging thing was our offense, but to answer your question, there's not going to be a letdown.

Q. In the first quarter, you were up by 15. Y'all were shooting the ball really well but did you see anything else that you maybe thought you could have done better, even though you shot so well to be up 15?
TERRY STOTTS: Anything we could have done better offensively?

Q. Or defensively. Either one.
TERRY STOTTS: Defensively, yeah, we've talked about things that -- we made some changes. There are some things that we can do better from a defensive standpoint.

Offensively, I was really encouraged that the things we emphasized going into Game 2, we did, and they were successful. But defensively with the changes that we made, we just have to do a better job doing some of the things that we're not accustomed to doing.

Q. In the NBA, a lot of times people will target certain defenders or try to avoid certain people. We watched Draymond Green have a really good strong game in Game 2. As you watched what he was able to do on the defensive end, what makes him such a difficult cover?
TERRY STOTTS: From his defensive standpoint, he's a great help defender. He makes great reads. He's very alert. He anticipates well. He's physical. You know, not to discount what he does on the ball, but I think his ability to be a virtual help side defender, protect the paint and can still close out on the perimeter or get a rebound, I think that's where he gives them a lot of versatility.

Q. In Game 2, you employed the three-guard lineup with [Damian] Lillard, [CJ] McCollum and [Seth] Curry. What do you like about that lineup against this team in particular?
TERRY STOTTS: From an offensive standpoint, [it] gives you a lot of space. You have three elite three-point shooters, so when you can add spacing to the court, it opens things up at your offensive end. Seth made some really good defensive plays as well but obviously what they give at the offensive end is the reason we go with it. I'm pretty sure if we went with them for a short amount of time in Game 1, but I thought it was pretty effective in the second game.

You know, it helps when you make shots, too.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297