Detroit: Maurice Cheeks | Greg Monroe | Josh Smith
Minnesota: Rick Adelman | Jose Barea
(On Josh Smith tonight): “I liked his game a lot. He was aggressive on defense. We put him in the post a lot and he made plays to score and he made plays for other people. I think for us to be successful, we got to use him on the block, not necessarily out on the perimeter. But he’s going to get wide open threes because we have other big guys down low. Sometimes he’s going to be out there and the ball finds him. Some he’s going to make, some he’s not going to make. But I liked his game a lot tonight.”
(On the trio of Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith playing together): “Tonight was an indication of them being pretty good playing together. This is one of the games that they got better at playing together, feeding of each other. Josh (Smith) was in the post a lot. Greg (Monroe) was in the post a lot. Then Andre (Drummond) still played around inside the paint, got offensive rebounds, got things of that nature because of those other two guys. I liked the rhythm that those guys played together with.”
(On playing with new teammates) "I think it's coming together fine. We still have some spacing to work out but I think it's moving along fine for the time we've been together. Altogether, I think we're only going to get better at it. I think we're doing pretty well though."
(On missed free throws) "I'm glad it's preseason, we can get it out of our system; get ready for the game on the 30th, knock out some free throws, work on that a little bit more in practice and just keep doing what we're doing."
(On injured players) "We would love to have those guys on the court but I'm glad that, not that you want to have injuries, but I'm glad that it happened early and get it out of the way and we can focus on the regular season and getting some wins. We really need those guys; we really depend on those guys."
(On game): “It was a good game and we saw a lot. It was a tough one to lose, but I thought our second group did pretty good in the fourth quarter.”
(On Josh Smith's last shot): “It was a lucky shot that bounced in. That is the way it goes.”
(On Jose Barea): “He was playing really well. Like I said, the second group that was in there did a nice job and had a chance to win the game.”
(On team’s 3-point shooting): “I do not mind that. If they are good shots, I do not mind it at all. We had some good looks at it, but it is where the ball wants to go.”
(On game): “You do not want overtime in preseason. We executed on the last play and left a couple seconds, but he (Josh Smith) made a good shot. It bounced around the rim a couple times, but it happens.”
(On final offensive play): “We executed. We scored the ball and went up one and then they came and made a shot, so we are happy with what we did.”
(On team after preseason): “We know how good we can be. We just have to get better on defense and move the ball a little bit more on offense, but our offense is doing good and will always be there. We have to get better on defense and get back in transitions.”