RAPTORS: Post-Game Quotes

Post-Game Quotes

Mitchell

SAM MITCHELL

Thoughts on the play of Chris Paul tonight…
You try trapping him but he backs out of it and splits it. He made some passes tonight and I don’t even see how he found the guy; and he didn’t miss any shots. I mean they got great shooters and some nights you got to hope that some guys don’t shoot the ball as well and they seemed like they made every shot. They definitely have a legit argument that he’s the best guard in the league and he’s definitely an MVP candidate. You saw how different they were when he came out of the game. We had a good group on the floor, they gave us a lot of energy. Guys were within four points with a minutes and a something to go and he comes back in and makes two plays too. I’’m not going to say they were simple plays but he makes them look easy. He’s just tough when he’s on and they’re making shots.

On the defensive effort of your team…
The effort was there, we just couldn’t stop anything. We scored, we shot over 50 percent, we rebounded the basketball, we had 31 assist, but we could just not stop plays. When we got into a situation where we had to get a stop one-on-one Peja (Stojakovic) hit a couple fade-away shots at the buzzer. David West scored on us on the block, and Bonzi Wells took us inside and scored on us. We just couldn’t get a stop.

Thoughts on inserting Jason Kapano into the starting lineup…
Yeah, just matchups, just matchups and trying to get Jason (Kapono) going a little bit. With the matchups the way they were tonight maybe we could give him a start and he could get going a little bit.

Ford

TJ FORD

Thoughts on Chris Paul…
He is definitely good. I don’t think he is an MVP candidate for no reason. They have a lot of weapons. I think David West stretches out the defense a lot for them. Then you have Tyson Chandler diving, so I think those three guys really make up their offense. Then you have Peja (Stojakovic) and Mo Pete to spread the floor. It was hard to guard him tonight and they put us in a lot of pick-and-rolls. We threw a lot of different coverages at them but they were able to adjust. We were trying to trap him and make him get rid of the ball but David West made us pay for it. We tried everything that was possible tonight and he was still able to pick us apart.

Bosh

CHRIS BOSH

Thoughts on New Orleans being able to always find the open man…
It’s tough, there is always an open guy. That’s why they shot 60 percent. When you have a guy like that (Chris Paul) and (David) West who can post-up and nail that fifteen footer. Then you have Tyson Chandler under the basket. He’s seven feet and he can jump out of the gym and catch anything they throw. You really have to make a decision and some of the decisions we made were right but most of the time they were taking advantage of us because they knew where to play.

Thoughts on the game…
They spread the court well and they run their offense well. They played pretty good today and they showed they are one of the better teams in the Western Conference.

You can’t spot a team like that 60 percent from the field…
No, not at all. You really have to give it to them; we switched up our schemes, we tried to do different things but they were still able to have success. They have seen it all so there wasn’t anything we could throw at them to throw off their offense. They just have a lot of good pieces and a lot of good players.

Thoughts on Morris Peterson blocking your shot…
He made a good play but it will never happen again. I was looking at Tyson (Chandler) the whole time and he caught me at the last minute. If I would of known he was there I probably would of done something different, but I can’t take it back.

Scott

BYRON SCOTT

Thoughts on the first half….
The first half I thought we played okay. I thought the effort was better. We talked about the last couple of days, defense, obviously. I thought the initial part of the defense has been pretty good, it was at least tonight. I’m still looking for that second and third effort. That’s something we have to get better at. I thought the third quarter we came out great and the starters played extremely well. The fourth quarter, again, I’ve got to find a couple of guys off that bench that can come in and play. It was terrible the way we played in the fourth quarter.

Thoughts on no one expecting the Hornets to get 50 wins…..
A lot of people didn’t think that. The amazing thing is we talked that if we could win 50 games, we’d make the playoffs, but right now in the Western Conference, if you win 50 you probably don’t make the playoffs. Obviously with 10 games left we want to continue to win and improve on the defensive end. Offensively, I think the last seven or eight games we played great. But again, defensively, we have to do a better job.

Peterson

Morris Peterson

Thoughts on the fans’ response to you tonight…
They really cheered me and it just means a lot to me. You know I spent seven years here and you know they watched me grow as a player and a person and to comeback meant a lot and that is why I went out there and kissed the floor and I wanted to show my appreciation. Every time I stepped on the floor, I gave it everything I had and I think they appreciate that. I was talking to JYD (Jerome Williams) before the game and he said there is only three people who come back to play that they are going to cheer for, Matt Bonner, myself and Jerome Williams so I thought that was kind of funny and very special to me. I really cannot put it into words how special it was to come back and get the kind of reception that I did.

Paul

CHRIS PAUL

Thoughts on the late comeback by the Raptors…
20 point leads are broken every night in this league and Toronto is a great team, they never gave up and that is why we had to come back in and finish it off.

You have become a great player in this league with the talk of MVP, has this changed you off the court and how have you made the transition to the pros so seamlessly….
Never, never. I have a great family, great teammates that keep me grounded and I understand that all this is a gift and a blessing to be able to play in this league and I understand that. I think you just have to surround yourself with good people and I have great people around me and this organization has brought great people in around me like Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojakovic and Morris Peterson.

What do you have to focus on down the stretch…
Staying focused. We are one of those teams that do not have all the answers yet, we have to continue to defend every night and that is how you become a great team.