Wolves - Pistons Postgame

BOX SCORE

Wolves-Pistons Recap

---

NBA Postgame Quotes
Minnesota vs. Detroit
April 1, 2008 @ Target Center

Detroit 94
MINNESOTA 90

Minnesota Coach Randy Wittman:
"It's a little bit disappointing. I think we gave this game away in the last six minutes of the second quarter. Up to that point was as good a game -- moving the ball, making the extra pass, not over-dribbling -- and then I think we went the last 5:46 without scoring, or close to that. It was all our doing -- over-dribbling, not just making the simple plays. And why we can sit there and watch it on the floor like we did in the first 16 minutes of the game, and then decide to try something new... Until we break that, we're going to give up 21-point leads like we did. Then we lost the momentum. We lost that momentum going into halftime."

"Their bench kicked our rear end -- 42 points... And Stuckey. We didn't have an answer for Stuckey."

"Again, I don't know what it is. It's not relaxation, because you can relax and pass the ball... We were up 21. If that's the case (Detroit playing without three starters), then that shouldn't be the case. No, I don't believe that. I thought we came out determined and ready to play, and jumped on them."

(on the final possession) "There was a switch and we didn't take advantage of it. Maxiell switched out, and we did not look to get the ball swung back on the mismatch."

Minnesota Forward Craig Smith:
"We lost our aggression a little bit and we got out of sharing the ball with each other. When we built the lead, we were sharing the ball and everything was going smoothly and helping each other on the defensive end. And then all of a sudden it changed and we let them back in the game."

"This is the NBA. Everybody is talented. We just have to be ready to play whoever is out there on the floor. So regardless of who is out there, our point of emphasis is to always be aggressive -- and we were in that second quarter especially -- and then we just let them back in the game. They're still a good team regardless of their star players not playing. They still play as a team and they're still going to come out and play."

"We were just trying to get back to that aggression on both ends of the floor where we were helping each other out. Offense is a problem for us, so defense needs to get stops and we kind of got away from that."

"We're very disappointed that we let this one go... We really beat ourselves by letting them back into the ballgame... We let them back in the game and kind of gave them some confidence, and that's when they took control of it."

Detroit Coach Flip Saunders:
"We wanted to win the game, whether they were from there in the beginning or to the end. I don't think there's any question that early, I talked about it before the game, that when you have guys who are role players and now all of a sudden their roles change and now they have to make plays. I think you saw early where they almost tried too hard."

"We got a little bit stagnant offensively and they did a good job of running out of our offensive misses and scoring. I told our guys that we just have to get back and do the things that we do, defend, which we do extremely well. They had 40 points, they were up 40-20 and then we pretty much locked them down the rest of the game defensively. I thought Stuckey was great, I thought Walter was great for us. What happened was that we got back into the game with our bench at the end of the second quarter, with Cheikh Samb, Amir, Walter, Juan and Stuckey. Those are the guys that got us back into the game."

"(Stuckey) still had some screw ups tonight, as a point guard -- being an ex-point guard, I'm going to be tough on him. The biggest thing he did was he wasn't afraid to make plays down the stretch and I've always said that he's one of those guys that the bigger the game, the bigger the situation, the more responsibility he has and wants. And he took that responsibility and made plays."

"The play was designed to give Stuckey an open floor, run Tay off the baseline, when Stuckey was stymied and stopped he'd get it to Tay and he could make a play. But he made a good play and got Randy up in the air and got the foul."

"I think the other thing is, I've always said that one play can change the game and you don't know when that play is going to happen. There's no question that when they missed those four free throws in a row, at that time it was like all of a sudden we scored and got that thing down to nine and I said, 'Hey, we've got a chance.' We played more within our tempo and more under control."

Detroit Guard Arron Afflalo:
"We didn't come out with the right focus we needed to start the game off, but it is a long game. I think the unit that was in there towards the end of the second quarter did a great job getting us back in the game and just making it competitive. We just buckled down from there."

"Despite the scenario tonight with the starters being out, my job was still to play my defensive role and be smart on offense. As time goes on with more minutes, I will get more comfortable on the offensive end and produce more there."

Detroit Guard Rodney Stuckey:
"The second half I was just trying to be more aggressive, get the ball to the basket and get to the free-throw line... Just play smart, that's all they were telling me when I got to the huddle. Just play smart and still be aggressive. Don't reach on defense... Just stay in front of your man and play smart."

"It is good for us. It gives Coach confidence in us, which they already had, but it shows them we can come out on the court and play hard, play together as a team and do what we have to do."

Detroit Forward Tayshaun Prince:
"I am so proud of those (young) guys. They were a little non-aggressive starting the game off on both ends as a team... Once Coach subbed and brought the second unit in, they started making things happen. It wasn't so much a play called. They just went out there and kind of figured things out for themselves. Once they got the defense set, they were able to make plays on the offensive end. More importantly, Stuckey carried us as far as making shots and getting to the foul line at the right opportune times of the game. Juan came in at the start of the fourth quarter and made some plays to really get us back into the game."

"Our young guys did what they do when they get the minutes. It was very good, especially in today's game because of the poor start."