Postgame Quotes: Suns vs Lakers, March 1, 2009


Alvin Gentry
Matt Barnes
Shaq
Phil Jackson

Pau Gasol
Kobe Bryant

Click on a player to read quotes

Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry

"I mean obviously it was a great win for us, against what I think is still the best team in the league; I really do. I think they’re deep even without Bynum, and I think they’re really good. The things that we talked about, there were three things we had to be much better than we play out there (in L.A). That was with our turnovers which we did up until the end when we got a little crazy. We talked about our transition defense with not giving up easy lay-ups, and we did a good job with that. Then we were talking bout second chance points, they had 27, but we did a much better job controlling that area. It’s a great win for us against a good quality team. We have been on ABC a lot, and we haven’t played very well on ABC. For us to be able to play on national TV and play well, I think it was great. Good win, but it’s still just one win; we can’t count it as five or six. We have a tough trip coming up and we have to play well on that trip and just try to plug away and get back in the race."

(On getting Shaq the ball)
"I think he has done a great job of getting great position down there, but we have also done a great job of delivering him the ball down there. We have thrown him the ball in a position down there where they can’t really double team him. Where we get in trouble is that we can’t come down and throw it to him every time. If we’re going to throw it to him we have to do something on the move, and then if it’s on the move and we can throw it to him in the middle of the lane where he can score then we’re in great shape. We can’t get so dependent on him that every time down we try and drop it into the post there, because then we become a little stagnant."

Top

Matt Barnes

(On being surprised by Shaq’s recent play)
“Not at all. Everyone doubts him, but we don’t doubt him. We know he can still carry a team and he’s doing a great job at it and he’s just showing everyone else. There was a stretch in January where he was 20-15 for a week straight, so we definitely don’t doubt Shaq – he’s our leader.”

Top

Shaq

(On the game)
“It was a good win for us. Guys stepped up and played well and I think if we can package that and do that consistently, we’ll be OK. It was a big win against the best team in the West and now we have a tough road trip and we need to see if we can keep that going.”

(On his game)
“It’s what I do. I’ve been doing it since 1992. If you don’t believe it, Google me.”

(On what to Google to find him)
“Shaq, Shaquille, Big Cactus, ugly – whatever.”

(On Gentry’s comments about him being the most improved player this year)
“A lot of people thought I lost it. It’s kind of funny to me, when I say, ‘I’m injured,’ no one believes me. Last year I was injured and this year I’m feeling pretty good. When you have it, you have it. I’ve been playing the same way for 17 years and the only way that’s going to go away is when I consciously say I want it to go away.”

Top

Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson

(On free throw disparity)
“It’s tough to win when you give up that many free throws. We gave up 37 on Friday and 42 tonight; that’s tough. You’re always going to have a discrepancy like that on the road, you know that. But you try to avoid that and try to stay out of foul trouble.”

(First half)
“We were reactors rather than actors out there.”

(On Shaq)
“They’ve dedicated their whole offense to him without Stoudemire and Nash out there so he’s got liberty out there. It’s a rugged go out there for a guy like Pao. We tried to send some help and we didn’t get that accomplished very well either. He played a very good game.”

“We just didn’t play a good game at all.”

(On third quarter)
“If I had any do-overs, I probably wouldn’t have called that time out when Kobe got hit in the mouth and his tooth got knocked back into his mouth a little bit. I called a time out so Gary could work on it. But that was a momentum changer. That was two timeouts that they used to come out and come back and execute plays. We got the game back in the fourth quarter and got the game back in control at least and then we gave it back again. It was a strange runs of sorts and we really just didn’t take care of the ball or balance our defense very well.”

Top

Pau Gasol

(On third quarter)
“We came out with the energy that we should have come out with in the first quarter. That was the main thing, we came out a little too flat and gave them the opportunity to get themselves going and get aggressive and get a lead in the game. Third quarter we came out like we were supposed to for 48 minutes and made some plays and made some shots then turned the ball over and we let them back in the game and they took the lead again. It was a a little bit up and down in the second half but the main thing was the first half when we didn’t respond the way we were supposed to.”

(On Shaq)
“He played aggressive. He had a really good game against Toronto and I’m sure that gave him confidence. They’re looking for him a little more. I think if Shaq is feeling well and his legs are responding and plays loose out there, he can still be a force like he’s proven the last two games.”

Top

Kobe Bryant

“Don’t ask me anything funny, I’m not smiling, you’re not seeing my tooth. It feels foul. Feels like I can’t chew anything. Feel like Roger Rabbit or something.”

“They were very aggressive. They knew they had a mismatch inside. They went right to him and looked for him early and often.”

(On third quarter)
“I just wanted us to get the energy back. I felt like we were playing very lethargic and I tried to get us going and get us back in the ball game. We made too many mental mistakes though. We had a 5 point lead and got within two in the fourth quarter then turn the ball over or put them at the free throw line. You know, those mental mistakes are tough.”

(Possible first round playoff matchup)
“I hope so. It would be a fun matchup. We’ve always had great matchups in the playoffs and it would be a lot of fun to do it again.”

Top

Suns Team Up With Verizon

On Wednesday, Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry explained how Verizon and Samsung have helped he and his staff.

Suns/ Emerson HopeKids Clinic

The Suns recently teamed up with Emerson to provide a special day on the court for special children in the HopeKids program.

Shot at Glory

The Phoenix Suns organization recently hit the greens for a very good cause.

Suns vs. Bucks

Steve Nash scores 18 points and drops 11 dimes on his 38th birthday to lead the Suns to a 107-105 victory over the Bucks.