|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v SPURSMay 27, 2014Gregg PopovichOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA: Game Four Oklahoma City – 105 Q. When you pulled it to 12, did you consider bringing back your starters, and if not, why not? GREGG POPOVICH: No, because I didn't see any sense in it. Q. You went deep to the bench midway through the third quarter. What was your thought process at that point? GREGG POPOVICH: Thursday. Q. Rest the starters? GREGG POPOVICH: Yeah. Q. How did it get away after that strong start? GREGG POPOVICH: We didn't play smart on a consistent basis, and all of a sudden we were going to see if Serge could block a shot or something. I thought about passing a picture out on the bench. They'd know who Serge was. But really unwise basketball all of a sudden. Instead of hitting open people that are out there, we started attacking the rim unwisely, and that turns into blocked shots. We had seven turnovers in the first half but really 14 because of the seven blocks. Those are all like turnovers. And so that precipitated the 20‑0 fast‑break points at game time. So you've got to play smarter against such great athletes. They're talented obviously, but the athleticism and the length gives you a small margin of error, and you'd better be smart the way you play, and you can't afford to screw that up as many times as we did. And I think we have to play harder. I think they're playing more physically than we are. They're still getting more 50/50 balls, and playing with more determination than we did in these two games, so I give them credit for that. Q. Looked like not only were Westbrook and Durant engaged offensively together but defensively it looked like they were successful against Kawhi and of course Westbrook did his thing, what were your thoughts on their defense? GREGG POPOVICH: I thought they did a good job. They're great players. That's what they do. Q. The miscommunication that you had with Tim Duncan, what was that about, and also, were you happy with the way that your bench competed physically against them? GREGG POPOVICH: I just said I was disappointed in our physicality. Q. And the miscommunication between you and Duncan on the bench? GREGG POPOVICH: I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean miscommunication? Q. It looked like he was going back and forth, arguing with what appeared to be you or someone else. GREGG POPOVICH: I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Q. Westbrook really got going there in the second quarter, dominated the game on both ends. What was going on that you let him get going defensively and offensively? GREGG POPOVICH: He's a great player. Q. But he hasn't done that for extended stretches of the series, but‑‑ GREGG POPOVICH: Well, you'll have to ask him why. Q. You've seen a couple games now with Ibaka in there, they're throwing Jeremy Lamb in there a little bit. It looked like sometimes Danny Green wasn't getting many looks tonight, he was in the early games. How much did you have to adjust or how much did you have to focus and play better? GREGG POPOVICH: This has got nothing to do with adjustments, it's about playing smarter and harder for more consistent minutes. 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
|