Detroit: Lawrence Frank | Andre Drummond | Greg Monroe
Toronto: Dwane Casey | Jonas Valanciunas
: (On Toronto’s three pointers): “I don’t look at a win or a loss, I look at the fact that we gave up 11 made threes. So to me, my concern is more three point percentage defense. Going in from last year, we made some strides the last 42 games. So it’s obviously between dribble penetration, curls off split games, transition, sometimes side pick-n-rolls where show angles weren’t great and ball got middle opening up the line, not closing out hard enough to shooters, so this is the first test, it obviously shows we have a lot of work to do. It’s not so much the stats, it’s the play that produces the stats that we focus on.”
(On Andre Drummond): “I thought Andre played, for a first game, I thought he brought very good energy into it. For the most part, I thought he stayed within himself and made the game easier, just trusting his teammates to make plays for him to finish. I thought it was a good first performance for him.”
(On point guards getting Drummond in good position): “That’s the thing; he’s a finisher. We have a guy that can dunk, so that’s an added bonus. You’re able to throw it up and he can go get it. Much of it is a play out of design in terms of where you put pressure, maybe sometimes you put the smallest man on the court to have to rotate to him where if you put it up in the air, he should be able to win that contest. I thought our guards did a very good job of finding him. That’s my thing, other than that post shot late in the game; it’s just staying in it. But the biggest thing for him is protecting the rim and rebounding. The third is running the floor.”
(On his nerves): “I was a little nervous and my teammates saw that, but they talked to me before the game and said just play the game and do the things you need to do and help us on the defensive end and things will start coming to you. When I got in the game I just played hard and ran the floor, blocked shots and grabbed rebounds, so things started going my way.”
(On blocking a shot or dunking): “I would definitely say blocking a shot because that turns into an extra possession for us and that’s when I get to dunk. Without a blocked shot, I don’t get a dunk.”
(On veterans): “With the help of our veterans, especially Corey (Maggette), he talks to me every second of the day and just tells me ‘don’t let it scare you, just go out there and do your thing. Go out there and just play the game, do what the coaches tell you and then everything will fall in line for you.’ That’s what I did today. Tomorrow I have to get better. Today is over.”
(On Andre Drummond’s play): “I think he played really well. He did everything we were looking for, rebounding, blocked a couple shots and he was strong in the paint. For his first time in real NBA action, he did really well.”
(On Andre having confidence from scoring early): “When you get a bucket or two early in the game, like he got right at the rim, it helps build a lot of confidence. I think he carried that momentum throughout the game.”
(On Will Bynum’s play): “He’s slowed and ran the team a little bit more. Last year he was a little bit more attack, attack. He did a good job of picking his spots in this game.”
(On scoring 37 points in first quarter): “It felt good. We started off really well, the ball was moving, but we lost sight of that the rest of the game. We have to play at that level for a full game, not just the first quarter.
(On game): “I was more concerned with 70 percent in the first quarter. That was a bad exhibition in the first quarter, but again just the opposite of that group coming back in and getting us back in the game."
(On Jonas Valanciunas): "I thought he came in and did an excellent job. For coming in his first NBA game and going against three of the most physical inside players in the league, I thought he did a good job."
(On Valanciunas' presence inside): "He was where he was supposed to be a lot on his offensive sets and defensive situations and he opened up Andrea (Bargnani) on rolls."
(on game): "We need to work hard and we'll see what its going to be Friday."
(On playing first NBA game): "I was not 100 percent ready. We spent time playing before the game and they let me play just 10 minutes. We'll see Friday."