|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA ALL-STAR WEEKENDFebruary 26, 2012Scott BrooksORLANDO, FLORIDA West - 152 East - 149 Q. I talked to LaMarcus, he said he was definitely surprised with the lack of minutes he played tonight. Was that a case where a guy like that got to pay his dues, first‑time All‑Star? SCOTT BROOKS: Well, that's the toughest thing about being in this position. There's 12 guys that are deserving. It's such an elite, select company to be one of the 12 All‑Stars. This is his first time of probably many. I thought his minutes were really played hard and played well. Q. Talk about the injury to Kobe, and did you almost feel like, maybe I should take him out because it's the All‑Star Game but you know his competitive nature at the same time? SCOTT BROOKS: I knew he got hit in the nose and had a bloody nose, but other than that I didn't think it was bothering him. That's the type of guy he is. He's not going to let anybody know that he was in pain or had any issues until after the game I saw him. But the guy is as competitive as I've been around anybody. He was going to give everything and not let us know. But that's what makes him the special player that he is. Q. Kevin has done so much for you and you see him every night, but in this type of setting, the MVP award meant a lot to him. Does he continue to impress you and almost awe you as a coach? SCOTT BROOKS: You know, I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to coach him. The guy, he does a lot of things well. But the thing I love about him, he comes in every day and gets his work in, whether he has a big night or a night that wasn't so well. He just comes in and does his work. He's a tremendous kid as you all well know. Off the court he's classy, he's a special teammate. But what he does does not surprise me other than he did well at the Three‑Point Shooting Contest last night. That actually surprised me. Q. Is this a hard game to coach, an easy game to coach, frustrating to coach because you're limited in what you can do? SCOTT BROOKS: Well, going into it, I was concerned with our depth. I didn't think we were going to have‑‑ I was kidding. It's a fun game to coach. I was going into this week and thinking, I've got a great opportunity. I played in this league for over a decade, was never, ever, ever, ever, and rightfully so, in an All‑Star locker room, and I'm coaching a good team that put all of us, myself and my staff, in a position to be in front of 12 of the best players in the West. It's quite an honor and a privilege to be in this league, and I'm thankful that I had an opportunity to spend some time with a bunch of quality guys. As a coach, as a player you don't get time to really socialize and mingle with the players before the games or after the games. But I had a fair amount of time with the guys, and I loved every minute of it. I will cherish it for the rest of my career. Q. You had two of your own guys on the floor and your coaching staff. How special was that to have all those guys there with you tonight? SCOTT BROOKS: Well, they're both great kids that work extremely hard. They're real competitive. They're always about the team. They do a lot of good things for us. They've taken us to a good level, but we've got a lot of work to do. It's special. It's special for our organization, it's special for Oklahoma City to have our staff and have Kevin and Russell represent ourselves and the league, and the way they do it is very honorable. They come and do their work, and they're respectful, and they show great professionalism each and every day. Q. I wonder what you thought about Russell's one‑handed dunk down the lane in the fourth quarter? And also in general more how you like being able to play him at the two tonight? SCOTT BROOKS: Yeah, I'm sure you have the stat on his missed one‑handed dunks. He has some special ones that he doesn't finish on. But Russell is a tremendous athlete. He is the elite athlete of the world. I mean, he does things in practice and games that I'm amazed. But his aggressiveness towards the basket, we have to have that. I like Russell. I like Russell on the floor. He's one of our play‑makers. He's a scorer with our unit. He has to score. He has to take shots. He's a player. We can put him with James, we can put him with Kevin, and he's going to make our team better. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|