(On today’s game): “I thought offensively we did some nice things out there. I thought we some great looks from the perimeter - especially early in the game – that did not go in. The ball was moving fairly well, the spacing was good. We had some stretches where we couldn’t score. Dallas took advantage of it and they go some easy buckets – whether we turned it over or our floor balance was poor off of a missed shot. Dallas got some easy looks in transition and resulted in easy baskets for them. Also, as the game went along our pick-and-roll coverage wasn’t great all the time and they got some easy baskets because of it. We were a little late tagging, which made us a little late getting out and contesting shots and they knocked down some threes to stretch the game.”
(Where do you guys go from here?): “We need to keep pushing forward. Guys have got to keep grinding. We’ve got to keep grinding until we get out of it. The only thing we can do is work, keep our head up, and keep looking forward. Try to learn from what we did tonight.”
(You’ve talked a lot about not letting your offense dictate your defense. Are these situations you just have to play through?): “Yeah, we do. And a lot of times we’re a little reliant on our offense to take care of our defense. But right now we’re not going to outscore anybody, so we have to try and get back to be a little gritty. Grinding on the defensive end of the floor, and utilizing that to try and get us a win.”
(Where did this game get away from you guys?): “There were a few instances in the game where we gave ourselves a legit chance to get back into the game, but we just couldn’t get over the hump. A few defensive mistakes that I made myself, that included the rest of the team, and we just couldn’t get over that hump. It started with me. A couple of plays where I wasn’t on the weak side or my physicality was not there. We just got to learn from this and move on”
(Where you surprised you got outrebounded tonight by the Mavs?): “That comes from not getting enough stops on the offensive end. Taking a lot of shots and missing a lot of shots on the offensive end. You know just giving them a lot of rebounds. Usually our big’s kind of out rebound every big we play on the offensive glass and the defensive glass. Rebounding tells the tale of the game and we have to be more physical and have a sense of urgency on both ends of the floor.”
(How do you dig yourself out of this rough stretch?): “We just have to stay positive. This stretch has defiantly been tough and it touches your character and your mental strength. As professionals it’s our job to go out and play and give it our best effort every single night.”
