|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v SPURSMay 21, 2014Gregg PopovichSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Game Two San Antonio – 112 Q. This was a six‑point game with a couple minutes left in the first half. What happened there in your assessment in the final couple minutes? GREGG POPOVICH: I don't remember. You know, I'm assuming we probably made some shots, maybe they turned it over. I don't know. Q. Can you talk about your defense tonight, especially on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook? I think they were 16 for 40 in the game. GREGG POPOVICH: Well, whenever great players have nights like that, it's never one thing. I'm sure at times we guarded them well, and I'm sure at times they had open shots that they didn't make. It's always both of those things. It's never one. Q. When you look back on this game, however briefly you may do so, what will stand out to you? GREGG POPOVICH: I thought our transition was better in this game than it was in Game 1. And I thought that just in general, defensively we were pretty active. We had active hands, created some turnovers. I thought our defense was solid tonight, more so than Game 1. Q. The play where Manu is throwing the pass from one corner to Danny Green into the other corner, do you have anyone else on your roster that can make that throw? GREGG POPOVICH: I'd rather not comment on who does what on what play if you don't mind. Q. Can you talk about Danny Green, looking back from 2012 up until now, how much he's grown in his confidence as far as playing within the team but still getting his shots? GREGG POPOVICH: Well, you're right, he's come a long way. We cut him a couple of times, and other people cut him, and he went to Europe and he went to Russia and he went to the D‑League and he went all over the place. But the light went on, and he became a little bit more aggressive so that he could play at the defensive end, also. But I think his confidence grew shooting‑wise, and I think that he gets a lot of credit for persevering and ended up where he is right now. Q. You hit the threes, but especially Green, but it was a lay‑up drill. Anything unusual? Are you doing anything differently to spring those guys loose? GREGG POPOVICH: No, no. I'm not that clever. Q. Is one of the big differences in Danny Green this year more threes in transition, quicker in the shot clock than last year? GREGG POPOVICH: I don't know. I haven't looked at that stat to see what he does. If he's open, I want him to shoot it. Q. Just speak about the head of your snake in Tony Parker and his performance tonight. GREGG POPOVICH: Well, Tony, he runs the engine for us. His aggressiveness and his ability to find people both at the same time really keep us aggressive and active offensively, and defensively he works very hard at it. As you said, he is the head of the snake for sure. Q. You had to take Leonard out early halfway through the first quarter, foul trouble. Didn't put him out for a long time, Durant didn't do very much on the court when Leonard was on the bench. How key was that to keeping the game under control? GREGG POPOVICH: Well, we like to have Kawhi out there because of his length, and theoretically at least one would think he makes it tougher for Kevin. But we wanted to have him for the second half, so I kept him out a little bit longer than maybe I normally would have with two fouls. But as you said, during that period, we were able to get away with it, so it worked out. 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
|