Postgame Report

Postgame Quotes

Audio: Coach Cheeks | Elton Brand | Andre Iguodala

Coach Maurice Cheeks

On tonight’s game
“It was a tough game. I thought the first half they controlled the game. The second half our defense got a little better. It’s a tale of two different halves in terms of defense and offense. We couldn’t score the ball in the second half. Particularly in the fourth quarter our defense was better. The first half they shot fifty-plus and the second was around forty-three percent. The encouraging part was that our defense was better. The not so positive was that the shots that are normally there we didn’t make.”

On three points
“The first half they made six threes and the second half they made two three point shots. Our defense got a little bit better by chasing them off the three point line in the second half. On the flip side we didn’t make any threes. We need to do a better job of making threes. I think when teams dribble penetrate and someone steps up and helps that allows the guy tog et the three. They made theirs and we didn’t make ours. It’s something we have been working on and we have been putting a lot more effort on shooting threes. I am hoping the work that we put in will convert more threes. ”

On Elton Brand
“Later on he will make more shots than he missed tonight. He rebounded, he was there. It takes a little bit of time when you try to come back and play full tail. I don’t worry about Elton Brand. He knows what it takes to get the job done.”

On the main focus of the preseason
“We don’t want anyone to get hurt. We mostly want to come out of the game injury free.”

On what Elton Brand can do for his teammates
“He commands the double team and likes to pass the ball. When you have a guy that likes to pass the ball and score the ball, I think that’s double trouble. When he’s making the shot the way he was making it, rebounding the way he was rebounding you could see the value he can bring to our team. He opens the floor up for everyone else.”

Philadelphia 76ers Forward Andre Iguodala

On the play in the second half
“I think our halfcourt play is a lot better than what it was before. Just bringing [Elton Brand] in it was going to get better but I think we’re starting to understand how to get movement around him when he gets the ball inside, guys are cutting and we’re getting open looks and I think sometimes we get just complacent with being in our halfcourt set. We need to run them both makes and misses.”

On playing in the preseason
“It’s tough but you still have to play through it and understand that you’re out there to work out the kinks and get a feel for what’s going to happen when a real game comes.”

On the play of this team right now
“I think our halfcourt play is a lot better than what it was before. Just bringing [Elton Brand] in it was going to get better but I think we’re starting to understand how to get movement around him when he gets the ball inside, guys are cutting and we’re getting open looks and I think sometimes we get just complacent with being in our halfcourt set. We need to run them both makes and misses.”

On playing in the last preseason game
“You just have to go out there and play and compete. Guys are still fighting for minutes so you just have to go out there and play hard.”

Philadelphia 76ers Forward Elton Brand

On seeing anything in this game that makes this team ready for the regular season
“I think that third quarter was very promising, we were satisfied with that. We really played great defense and we held them to forty-something percent shooting in the second half so we look at that and we say, ‘okay, that’s a positive’. The first half there was nothing to be desired out there we let them get too many layups and easy shots.”

On this team being ready for the regular season
“We’re anxious, we’re anxious. We’re ready to put the preseason behind us and get off to a great start in the regular season.”

Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach Mike Brown

On the team’s performance tonight
“I thought the first-half we did a terrific job of moving the basketball, spacing the floor, and attacking in transition when we needed to. I thought in the second-half we were real lackadaisical the whole third-quarter. (Philadelphia) did a nice job trying to push the ball in transition. We had some great looks in the third-quarter that did not go down but they were all jump-shots until LeBron (James) started attacking the rim late in the third (quarter). We have to understand that we want to push the ball. We want to do it smartly so that we don’t hurt ourselves by taking long shots.”

On the Cavaliers finishing out games
We shared the ball and got some shots. Even if we miss it, we come back. We’re always in attack mode. I think this year will be a pretty fun year for the fans. Stay tuned and bear with us.

On the team’s defensive performance tonight
“Defensively we were pretty good in both instances late in the game. Our fourth-quarter defense tonight was pretty good. More importantly, we took care of the basketball. When they had to go against out half-court defense we were decent.”

Cleveland Cavaliers Forward LeBron James

On his teammate Sasha Pavlovic
“We’re all he’s got. Sasha is so hard on him sometimes but you know how talented he is. You all know how talented he is with his size and being able to get to the whole and shoot the outside (jump-shots). We’re all he’s got. If we lose confidence in him, he’ll lose confidence in himself. It’s good for him to come out of his shell. He’ll be fine. He played well tonight.”

On Thaddeus Young
“He’s definitely gotten better since the last time I’ve seen him play in the playoffs. He’s going to be really good for that team (Sixers). He’s an athletic wing guy that can get out and run and defend. All lefties are unorthodox; it’s tough to guard him. Sometimes you forget that lefties still exist like dinosaurs.”