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NBA PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE: WARRIORS v CLIPPERSMay 1, 2014Mark JacksonOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game Six Warriors – 100 Q. Mark, tonight's game was similar to Game 1 it seemed like with the fouls and the manner in which it was played. Why do these games suit your team? COACH JACKSON: Well, that's who we are, and we've proven that when we play our brand of basketball. We're awfully tough to beat. When we don't, then it makes it interesting. But I know there are people that want to speed up the process. This is who we are. Part of the process is going through things, learning how to be consistent. I'm proud of my guys. It's been an incredible, incredible ride. Now against a three‑seed with two of the top 10 players in the world and a future Hall of Fame coach, we are going to Game 7 in spite of all the sideline music, and I like my chances because I've got a group of guys that want to do whatever it takes to win. You look at Jermaine go down. Mo Speights' ready. Hilton Armstrong, ready. Jordan Crawford, ready. Draymond Green, a gamer. I thought David responded. I'm proud of these guys. It wasn't our best night. We missed 14 free throws. We shoot 38% from the field. Klay gets 9 points, and we win a ballgame. I look forward to Game 7. Q. It seems like you guys were on fumes at the end. That had to be the longest five minutes or so as you looked at the clock there. COACH JACKSON: Yes, and they made shots. They made tough shots and you're thinking oh, my goodness, you know. Can we get out of here and make sure there is a Game 7? But that is the way we want to leave ballgames where we're on fumes. It's a shame that we leave ballgames with something left in the tank. And I thought tonight everybody that stepped on the floor was engaged. They were involved. We made mistakes, but they battled. They battled. Q. Last season we were talking about how young this team was. Just a year later, that lineup that was on the floor at the end of the game, can you talk about the growth of this team and where they are right now? COACH JACKSON: I can think of folks saying why are we playing small? Why is Draymond Green in the game? It's because of moments like this. We didn't play for last year or the year before. We played for the future, and he's ready because of those moments. Those guys just competed. I'm excited to see this young basketball team experience a Game 7 on the road. They haven't experienced it as players. It's new to Klay Thompson. It's new to Stephen Curry. It's new to Draymond Green.  It's new to all my guys, other than the veterans that have been around and been on other teams. It's new to me. It's going to be a lot of fun because a lot of folks didn't think we'd be here. Q. Any update on Jermaine and that play he got hurt on? It seemed he pretty much got tackled there? COACH JACKSON: Sprained right knee. We'll see how he feels moving forward. As far as the play, I didn't get another look at it, so I'm not sure. I'm sure the league, which does an outstanding job of monitoring plays like that, will take a look at it and make decisions. Q. Coach, I'm reminded of so many great battles in years past when teams played each other, 9, 10, 11, 12 times back when the league was much smaller. It seems that that is the kind of series this has become. The familiarity. No yapping, no posturing, no guys pushing each other tonight, just great, hard basketball. COACH JACKSON: We're getting after it, both teams. I think‑‑ I'm not sure that both teams love each other, but I'm pretty positive that both teams have tremendous respect for each other. I can only speak for my team, and I know how Doc feels about me. And he knows how I feel about him. But I think we've got great respect for them, and that's a team that's going to have to be dealt with, not just now, but for a long time to come. We'd like to think the same way about ourselves. But I think it's important to realize that people have been begging to call this a rivalry. It's series like this, moments like this, games like this that put you in position to really call it that way. It's been a great series. Q. You had both David Lee and Draymond Green get their fifth foul in a about a minute of each other. You left Lee in and took Green out. Can you talk about that decision? COACH JACKSON: Well, I'm fighting for my life. My guys are fighting for their basketball lives this year. One thing I told the guys this morning, this group will never be together again, our group. So we've got to do whatever it takes to find a way to prolong this thing, to find a way to advance. Don't rob ourselves. With the foul trouble, I rolled the dice. I looked at it like I had options. Those guys gave me what they had, and then it was time for‑‑ I thought Harrison gave us great minutes battling bigger guys and being on the boards and made some shots. I can't say enough how proud I am of these guys. Q. Why do you think this group will never be together again? COACH JACKSON: It's a fact. This team won't be the same team next year. Meaning there will be a draft choice. There will be a guy that signs somewhere else. We'll add coaches. Something is going to take place where this group will not be together. Said the same thing last year and it's clear. It's not guessing anybody's next location. It's just a fact of the league. What I want to do is maximize this group's potential and all that we've put into the tank. Q. You gave a speech to your guys in the second quarter that they caught on the telecast, and you touched on some of that sideline music. Were you in a different state of mind? COACH JACKSON: I touched on? Q. Some of the sideline music, you kind of referenced the stuff going on the outside. Were you in a different state of mind tonight? COACH JACKSON: No, I'm in that state of mind all the time. I'm an emotional guy, so I've found myself in huddles ready to‑‑ my wife will call me and say you looked like you were ready to cry. I'm amazed that it's me. I'm amazed that it's these guys. I'm amazed that we were picked for this opportunity. I don't take it for granted, and I want to let them know how proud I am of them and how hard they fight. Some folks don't like it. Some folks don't like it, and that's fine. But the way that this team conducts itself, in spite of everything that we've gone through, all the lies, all the adversity, all the sources, I could not be prouder, because what we are doing collectively speaks against it. Somebody's lying. Q. You talked about all these young guys that haven't been in a Game 7 on the road, what do you say or do to prepare them for it? COACH JACKSON: We're going against two of the top 10 players in the world. I'm going against a future Hall of Fame coach. They are the No. 3 seed against a We Are One crowded house. We are an excellent road team. We're excited. We earned this platform. We're going to embrace it, and we're looking forward to it. There is no time ‑‑ one thing I realize, I once played for an incredible coach, I'm not going to say his name, gave the most incredible pre‑game speeches. We had a Game 7 once on the road, and he gave one. My only thought during that time was as a player, we didn't need it that day. I don't have to tell my guys anything in Game 7. They knew exactly what we've got to do. Q. With all due respect to Don Nelson, the last time I can remember a coach who brought a team together like this was Al Adelsbach in 1975, now you have a long way to go before you get to that level. But talk about the family aspect that you've created? Because it just seems like a lot of these guys would run through a wall for you. I know that is an old expression, but it seems so applicable. COACH JACKSON: Thank you so much, and those are some incredible coaches that you named and Hall of Fame coaches. If I can do half of what they've done, I'd be extremely proud. What I will say is the best coaches that I played for, I'd run through a wall for. The best coaches that I played for, I knew they cared about me. Didn't mean they always liked me, but I knew they cared about me, and because they cared about me, I'd run through a wall for them. And I learned that. If I ever got an opportunity to coach, I want every single one of my guys to know I care about them. Whether I play them 48 minutes or don't play them at all. I'm thrilled to death to know that that's the case here. It's not tricking them, because they know I feel the same way. I love them. I've said from day one, I want to know them as people. I want to know their families. I want to know their interests. I want to help them. No matter which way it goes, mission accomplished. Q. What about the time you picked up all this business with the Clippers and their owner? Is that going to be so much more intense in Los Angeles for Game 7? How would you deal with that in Los Angeles? COACH JACKSON: That's old news. The Commissioner has handled it, so there is nothing to deal with for us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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