Postgame Quotes - February 8, 2011

Detroit: John Kuester | Will Bynum
Spurs: Greg Popovich | DeJuan Blair | Tony Parker

Pistons Head Coach John Kuester
On game: “I thought in the first quarter we were doing some good things. We gave up 26 points though. We were in a decent flow but the third period it seemed like we got stagnant and we settled for jump shot. The energy of the second group was the reason I thought we got back into the game.”

On Bynum and Stuckey against San Antonio’s defense: “I thought we had some good looks but I felt that Bynum and Stuckey did a real nice job of getting their energy to Austin Daye. Those guys gave us a boost.”

On San Antonio’s offense: “They were doing some smart things in regards to running their pick and rolls. We had attacked and Charlie (Villanueva) was closing out and AD (Austin Daye) was closing out. They were making three’s. Bonner knocked down a number of those and we were tagging and we needed to shrink the floor a little bit more, but in the same token you have to give them credit. They were knocking down those shots and they were big shots.”

On Rodney Stuckey: “I want Rodney taking those shots. Jefferson falls down and he has a open look and that ball goes in and out. He has a great pass from Greg (Monroe) going down the middle and I don’t know how he saw that. It was great vision on Greg’s part. He had a lay up, he just missed it but his effort was good.”

Pistons Guard Will Bynum

On struggling offense: “It was both. San Antonio is a great defensive team, they kind of picked it up in the beginning of the third quarter, first five minutes. We were kind of stagnant, taking a lot of one pass and shots. So they were able to capitalize on them, kind of hurt us.”

On defense against Spurs: “It's tough, it's tough. They play real well together, they move the basketball and make shots. We just got to do a better job of rotating and closing out and trying to keep guy out of the paint.”

On having Rodney Stuckey back: “It's a big lift. We needed Stuckey, we missed Stuckey out there. I'm sure he's a little rusty right now, but in due time he'll be back to form.”

On not losing to Cleveland: "(Laughing) We won't be. We're going to try and go out there and play with energy and execute. Hopefully we won't have a third quarter like we did tonight and we'll get a win."

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Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich
On team "finding" themselves: “We need to play more consistently at the defensive end for 48 minutes, we've been a little bit spotty in the regard so that's really our effort.”

On DeJuan Blair: “He knows his role, hits the boards hard and has a great touch inside. He plays the game to win, he's a really competitive young man, and he did a good job.”

On Matt Bonner: “Matty came in firing, that's his job. He knocked down shots and plays a smart brand of ball and I thought he gave us a lot for his first game back after missing seven or eight games.”

On team being "ready" for playoffs: “No we're not. There are teams playing better than we are, just because we have the best record doesn't mean have the best team. To be that we have to be better defensively.”

Spurs Center DeJuan Blair

On game: “We had a slow start tonight and didn’t get up at the beginning, but we were able to bounce back. Though we need to start better than that.”

On another workman-like win: “Like Pop (Coach Popovich) has said all year we just have to keep playing and can’t focus on that. We didn’t start out good on defense tonight and just have to take care of that.”

On good fourth quarter: “It was big for us. Guys making shot is what we need and it was great to win on the road.”

Spurs Guard Tony Parker

On the game: “Definitely a good one because we don’t want to waste what we have accomplished. They had a quick start, but we were able to come back and get it done.”

On good second half: “We played a lot better, in the first half we had a little trouble with team defense, but in second half we played much better and held them to 38 points, which is what we wanted to do.”

On six players in double figures: “We did a good job of sharing the ball tonight. I had a fast start tonight and then we wanted make that Manu got going, and others as well so that everyone is involved. We were moving the ball really ball and everyone was making shots in that fourth quarter as well as being aggressive.”