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“As you guys probably know, I was a little disappointed in the way we came out in the first half. I thought we came out and we just floated. I felt like our guys thought they could just show up and win the game. And Orlando took it to us, and they got whatever shot they wanted. They were really comfortable within their offense, so they didn’t have to play against any resistance at all in the first half. In the second quarter, when we had the second team in there, they tried to pick it up a little bit and they did for a few minutes, but then we went flat again. I was disappointed in everybody defensively in the first half. Offensively we weren’t good, but to me the biggest key was our lack of physicality on the defensive end of the floor, or lack of sense of urgency on the defensive end of the floor. We talked about it at halftime, and I thought our group came out in the second half and showed the ability to bring it from within and go play the game the right way, or like we’re capable of playing. So for us defensively in the second half, I liked what I saw. Also, we finally had some good moments moving the basketball. Twenty assists on 33 field goals is pretty good. We talked about keeping the turnovers down. We had 12 as opposed to 25 or 26 in the last game. That’s pretty good. I thought Sergey Karasev and Henry Sims, I thought their defense in the second half was outstanding.”
(On Anthony Bennett’s performance):
“It was good. We know the young fellow can score. That’s what he did in college. He can score in a lot of different ways. You guys only saw a taste of it. Believe me, he can put that thing in the hole. So just to see it go in the hole in a few different ways, it was great because he needed that confidence boost. For me, I took a timeout because he’d hit three or four in a row, and he was extremely animated. One time he decided to take the play off at the wrong end of the floor. He let his guy catch on the post, and his guy turns middle and scores the basket from half a foot away. Yes, he’s fun to watch. I enjoyed it. But, he’s got to remember if he’s going to celebrate, and bring energy and all of that other stuff, do it defensively first, and offensively second. If he wants to rest, he’ll rest on offense, not defensively.”
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“We are not looking too far ahead right now. We are just trying to make it through preseason and take it game to game. We had a great showing in our first game against Milwaukee. We came here and kind of let the game slip away in the first half. We came out and competed in the second half. It is a day to day process. We are trying to get everybody better and everybody on the same page.”
“It starts with me. I am leading this team especially on the defensive end. It starts with my ball pressure. The guys behind me are going to pickup their pressure once they see me pick it up.
That is basically what happened. It was a collective effort. Five guys on a string on the defensive end and that is how we got easy buckets on the offensive end.”
“My rookie year was a rough one. Just from a mental standpoint and with the lockout it was a grind. With A.B. (Anthony Bennett) we are bringing him along. Just like we challenge ourselves, we will challenge him. That is our jobs as teammates and his brother is to challenge him every night. He thinks he is tired but he can give us a lot more. He knows that and we know that. That applies to all of us. We think we are tired, have a three hour practice, then come into a game…that is just a mental grind. We don’t get tired around here.”
(thoughts on Victor Oladipo): “He is going to be great. He is going to be great in this league. The size that he has at the point guard position…and then he can move over to the two. He can guard the one and two. His potential is out the roof. When I was coming up with him because we are about the same age, he was known as just a defensive player. Now to see his offensive game develop it is just great to see. He has come into a league where the point guard position is definitely front loaded and there are going to be nights where guys come at him, but he is prepared for that.”
(On addition of Jarrett Jack): “He is going to add versatility not only on the offensive end but more or less on the defensive end.”
“Our coach demands nothing but hard work and effort. That is the thing that I believe has been carrying us so far during this preseason.”
(on why he chose to sign with Cavs as a free agent): “First and foremost our Coach. He has always been somebody I have always been a fan of even though I had never played for him but watched him from afar. Also the nucleus they have in place with Kyrie, Dion, Anderson, Tristan and the list goes on. There are a number of guys who contribute during the course of the 82 game season. It was definitely something I wanted to be a part of.”
“I think it (defensive philosophy) fits everybody. I think when you are in tuned defensively that makes the offense that much easier to get into. We have guys who are more than capable on the offensive end. The offense is the easy part. Defense is the part you have to try to get guys to buy into and we try to make that priority number one.”
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Anthony Bennett Part 1[swf file="https://i.cdn.turner.com/dr/nba/teamsites-nbateams/release/cavaliers/sites/cavaliers/files/content/audio/2013/10/131011-postgame-bennett.mp3" player="onepixelout"]
Anthony Bennett Part 2[swf file="https://i.cdn.turner.com/dr/nba/teamsites-nbateams/release/cavaliers/sites/cavaliers/files/content/audio/2013/10/131011-postgame-bennett-2.mp3" player="onepixelout"]
(On Arron Afflalo’s efficiency):
“He was extremely efficient and I think he (Afflalo) would agree with the times where he keeps the game extremely simple, good results normally do happen. Great shot selection tonight for us and it’s great to see.”
(On Oladipo playing against Kyrie Irving):
“I think overall he did pretty good. Good challenge for him tonight. I think he ran the offense pretty well. We extended his minutes a little bit. Sometimes you have to do that to play that position and to be able to will yourself through it and will your team some but overall good night for him.”
(On his team maintaining focus on defense when the offense isn’t working):
“I think they were a little bit more physical in the second half and it bumped us off our cuts a little bit, just more physical with us. I say if we don’t allow them to have 46 free throws we would be in pretty good shape.”
(On whether their struggle is simply pre-season rust):
“That’s a really aggressive and physical team and I talked about that before the game. It was going to be a challenge for us. That’s a team that even on the free throw line; Varejao is going in for rebounds so you don’t have plays off. We outrebound them which is weird but they shot 46 free throws. Sometimes that was them getting second chances. You’ve got to give yourself a chance a little bit, not 46 free throws.”
(On E’twaun Moore):
“I think what he’s (E’Twaun) provided for us, especially when he was healthy last year, was making open shots for us. A guy that defensively can guard multiple positions and E’Twaun’s tough. I like that toughness about him. He’s only played a half in each of the two games and production-wise he’s been doing some effective things for us on the floor.”
(On Nikola Vucevic’s offense in the post):
“He (Nikola) showed a real aggressiveness tonight. He wanted the basketball; he wanted his teammates to give it to him. He got a good position on the post. We’ll keep working with him on his patience. He had a great pass out of the post tonight to Vic (Oladipo). He’s a great passer and a willing passer. That’s good when you’ve got a guy like that that’s on the box for you. He’ll continue to work on his moves, his go-to moves, and work on his pace on the post as well but overall great position tonight and he really wanted the basketball.”
“I worked on my post game this summer. It was one of the areas where everything improved because I think that will help the team. I can score inside or hit some buckets, then I can pass the ball outside. I feel like I’m a pretty good passer, I can help a team playing inside-out.”
“I like moving around the floor. I need to play whatever Coach puts in and just run it. You’ve got to be active, you have to move around. As a big, you got to set screens, then you have to roll, you just can’t be standing on the court.”
“I’ve always been very comfortable with my left hand, both hands; I’ve been working on it a lot. So I’ve always been like that, right-handed and left-handed.”
(On starting): “It’s a little different, you’re out there with the first group and you have to set the tone for the rest of the guys. The first group is pretty responsible for that, (there is) definitely a difference than coming off the bench.”
“I like it because Nik and I play well together offensively. Defensively, we know how to work off each other, there isn’t like a “you’re out there by yourself in an island.” I’m going to be here, or I have to get back. I know he has mine so I think we work well like that. Coach likes it, we love it.”
“Nik’s a more skilled big. Lefty, right, lefty hook, right hook, that’s what he does. I just do the dirty work, things he shouldn’t have to do when he’s that for the team.”
“I spent most of the summer just trying to get my ball handling and point guard skills down. I’m used to playing off the ball a lot but now I’m with the ball. A lot of ball handling drills, passing, Steve Nash-type stuff.”