Detroit: Lawrence Frank | Tayshaun Prince | Andre Drummond
Houston: Kelvin Sampson | Chandler Parsons | Marcus Morris | James Harden
(On teams play) “I was extremely disappointed. You’re resolve is tested everyday regardless of what your record is. We knew that this game going in was going to be a test of character. Four games in five nights and back to backs and the road trip hasn’t gone well. Could we build on last night and we didn’t. We gave up 28 fast break points. We have to put more into it. It was very disappointing within the score 62-56 and then for a ten or eleven minute stretch it was twenty two to one. It’s a tough one to swallow and we’ll have to keep on figuring some things out.”
(On the 22-to-1 Rocket run what happened) “Offensively our spacing, pace, over handling the ball, turnovers and just not doing the things that we needed to. There was no offensive energy out there at all. We didn’t even give ourselves a chance doing that run. I don’t make excuses why because I know were capable of doing more. I just focus on the game.”
(On the teams play) “There was more to it than just tired legs. Playing against OKC yesterday our guys were enthused playing against them and we had a lot more energy. It seems like we’ve been playing the teams that are so called lesser teams. Our energy has dropped. That’s where our inconsistency has set in. I think we’ve been not necessarily losing games but it seems like just from the jump ball our energy hasn’t been there. We have to do a better job understanding what it takes to win. I knew we would have trouble playing consistently for 48 minutes but sometimes inconsistent for 48 minutes still wins. The way were playing right now is unacceptable. Guys should be upset right now.”
(On the teams play) “Houston made some adjustments to put a stop to some of our offense in transition that we had going on. That’s a good team out there. The Rockets are a great team and they execute all there stuff well and they got a lot of fast break points. We just have to get better everyday and that’s what it comes down to. A lot of us are coming from winning teams but all of that is in the past. This is a whole new program and family so I’m not worried about what we have here.”
(On the defense) “I thought our defense was really good both halves. Our pick and roll coverages was outstanding. That's a big difference that we made that we continue to improve. Last night against Memphis, we shot 37%. We're still not shooting as well as we need to. We put a great emphasis tonight on converting defensive rebounds and conversion from defense to offense and scoring in transition and playing faster and moving the ball. You can tell we were better tonight at moving the ball. Earlier in the game, I thought that we were almost unselfish to a fault. I'd rather err on that side this early in the season than on the other side. I saw a lot of improvement tonight. Again, we didn't shoot it well but I saw improvement and that's good for these young guys to see.”
(On the win) “This is an important win. You're always leery of a wounded animal and Detroit was wounded. They needed this win desperately and we did too. I liked our energy. We played good, especially with the second unit. I think the second unit came in and really boosted us. Tony Douglas played well. Marcus Morris was outstanding. Carlos (Delfino) was outstanding. It's nice to see James (Harden) knock down some 3's. It's a big win.”
(On being the acting head coach) “I was nervous at first. I coach everyday in practice. We have inter-squad games. The first time I walked out into a game without a notebook in awhile. I kept tonight in perspective. I kept thinking of Kevin (McHale) and his family and what he's going through. That's something far more important than me coaching a game for the first time in five years.”
(On the win) “It was a great win for us. It's always good to break a losing streak. Our defense was good tonight. We had some easy shots early on, some offensive rebounds. I thought that overall, our defense was pretty good. They (Detroit) were on a losing streak and we were on a losing streak so someone had to end it. We needed this one.”
(On the situation with Coach Kevin McHale) “It's a tough situation that he is going through right now and all we can really do is keep him our prayers and continue to play hard and to be a product of him and keep working.”
(On the importance of the win) “I thought both teams were desperate for a win. We had dropped three straight so we were trying to get the win and that was the emphasis coming into this game.”
(On his rebounding game) “The one emphasis that they (the coaches) put on me is rebounding. They know that there are some times where guys are a little bit bigger and the best thing that I can do is go out there and rebound.”
(On the importance of the win) “It was good for us to come out and get a win, especially for Coach McHale and what he's going through. I think defensively, we played well. Offensively, we moved the ball a lot better so hopefully we can build off this game.”
(On the flow of the game) “Like I said, we're going to start putting things together. I think defensively we've played really well and offensively we need to get a feel for each other but even the games we lost, we were in those games and a couple of turnovers here and there. It's just what put us away but hopefully we can come together soon.”