POSTGAME QUOTESMike Brown: Lakers coach Mike Brown’s opening statement:
“they really played the game the right way on the defensive end of the floor. We had very few breakdowns in our game plan so the game plan discipline was there. Obviously, Denver missed some shots and we understand that they’ll come out and be better on Tuesday. But our guys stepped up and played a solid basketball game at both ends of the floor. We had a lot of guys that obviously stood out. We can go to our bench and Steve Blake hitting those three threes in the first quarter to help us break open the game a little bit was huge. We know Denver is doubling and they’re going to double from all over the place, they’re doubling quick and they’re going to double hard. We have to make sure that we space the floor very well and move the ball at the right time without turning it over, making an easy pass to an open guy and let him make the assist versus the a double because we know it’s coming on a lot of our guys from Pau [Gasol], to Andrew [Bynum], to Kobe [Bryant].” Lakers coach Mike Brown on the bench’s performance:
“Steve Blake’s three threes early on was huge. Jordan Hill coming off the bench and coming up with another double-double with ten and ten in two blocked shots, he impacted the game in his twenty-four minutes.” Lakers coach Mike Brown on the starters:
“I thought that from our starting group we got good stuff from everybody. [Devin] Ebanks played twenty minutes and he got twelve points on five for six shooting and five rebounds. It was a great night for him. I thought that [Ramon] Sessions with the fourteen and five that he got was big. Defensively I thought he was really solid too. He was trying to move his feet and trying to play physical and aggressive without fouling. I thought that his twenty-nine were huge. Obviously, Kobe is Kobe and our two starting bigs had a heck of a game. One of them got a triple double which is amazing to me. The other one, he nearly had a triple double. Pau’s [Gasol] line of thirteen, eight, and eight was big with two blocks.” Lakers coach Mike Brown on Andrew Bynum’s game tonight:
“To me, the difference in the game is Andrew Bynum. He can control a game without shooting a single shot if he wanted to. He could literally control a game without shooting a shot. That’s how good he is. He has ten blocks here but I’d be curious to know how many he probably changed. He changed a gazillion shots in the paint and that’s what Denver is very good at, getting that ball in the paint, drive and finishing at the rim and getting a lot of layups. He was phenomenal tonight and if he continues to play like he did, picking up a triple double, being the type of monster he was tonight patrolling that paint, we’ll be playing a long time.” Pau Gasol: Lakers’ Pau Gasol on the team’s defensive performance tonight:
“We’re consistent defensively. The opportunities are going to be there for us and we’re going to be very effective. Offensively, we have enough to match up against any team but defense is what makes the biggest difference with our team. We just have to be mentally ready for every game to give this kind of effort.” Lakers’ Pau Gasol on whether he has seen a player be more dominant defensively than Andrew Bynum was today:
“Not as controlling as this one was just by his activity and his desire to challenge shots– it made a big difference, it made a big impact. Regardless of what goes on the offensive end, how many touches you get, obviously they’re trying to get the ball out of his hands a lot because of his success during the season against them but he was active and energetic on the defensive end. That just puts us in another dimension as a team.” Lakers’ Pau Gasol on how the team limited the Nuggets scoring opportunities:
“We didn’t allow Lawson to get going and attack the paint, that was important. I think we kept a lot of the guys at bad shooting percentages. We can’t bank on that every time or every game. But I was happy to see the level of activity we brought in to today and we’ll need to continue to bring it throughout the series and throughout the playoffs.” Andrew Bynum: Lakers’ Andrew Bynum on keeping the Nuggets to 88 points tonight:
“We were up on all the screen and rolls and really slowed the ball game down by finding the inside to Kobe [Bryant] and Pau [Gasol].” Lakers’ Andrew Bynum on keeping up their performance through the first round:
“Well, the way this team is guarding me it’s definitely possible because they take me but out of the game offensively with the doubles and triples so I’m just looking for another way to be effective.” Lakers’ Andrew Bynum on controlling the game defensively:
“Bottom line is wins. Obviously, I want to score more points but sometimes that’s not what’s available to you so you have to do the next best thing.” Kobe Bryant: Lakers’ Kobe Bryant on holding the Nuggets to 88 points
“Today we were very good defensively, very active and contested everything.” Lakers’ Kobe Bryant on Andrew Bynum’s performance today:
“His timing was impeccable today. He just really understood the rhythm of the offensive players. He was just there at the exact moment to either change the shot or block it.” Lakers’ Kobe Bryant on empowering the team:
“You have to sometimes force the game upon them. It’s very easy sometimes when a player has a lot of talent to want to do everything, but that’s not going to get it done. You have to have everybody on the floor that can make decisions, feel comfortable making decisions and in turn it makes us a better team.” Lakers’ Kobe Bryant on whether today’s win is comparable to setting a personal record:
“More so, even more so. Andrew [Bynum] obviously takes the majority of the headlines with his triple-double, but Pau [Gasol] was right behind him, 2 rebounds and 2 assists away. Ebanks played extremely well. Blake played extremely well. Sessions in his first playoff game stepped up and played well. Not to mention Jordan Hill, he had a monster game coming off the bench.” Danilo Gallinari: Nuggets’ Danilo Gallinari on the play of the Lakers bigs:
“They shot 13 less shots in the paint than us but they scored 20 more points than us. We were getting in the paint but they were blocking shots and playing very good defense. In the next game we need to score the ball better in the paint.” Nuggets’ Danilo Gallinari on the team’s lack of rhythm:
“We were thinking too much. One of the best things we do is being aggressive at all times and not thinking too much. We were thinking a lot tonight. Everybody when they got the ball, instead of going to the basket and being aggressive, they were being hesitant.” Ty Lawson: Nuggets’ Ty Lawson on straying from the game plan:
“We didn’t execute the game plan too much. Our game plan is to get out and run and we didn’t do that today. We missed open shots. We’re going to clean it up and be ready for the next game on Tuesday.” Nuggets’ Ty Lawson on getting ready for game two:
“They just played a good game. No one is going to have their heads down or anything like that. We’re going to come back. We’re all fighters on this team so we’re going to have a good game when we come back Tuesday.” Al Harrington: Nuggets’ Al Harrington on straying from the game plan:
“They stopped us from doing what we wanted to do. We’ve got to do a better job of executing and running a little faster and running a little harder. I expect us to play better game two.” Nuggets’ Al Harrington on the need to get out and run more:
“That’s what our team is all about. We’re about the fast break and playing fast. Whenever we don’t do that we struggle. We’ve got to put our track shoes on next game and try to out run their bigs.” Kenneth Faried: Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried on getting out to a better start:
“We’ve got to hit them early. We can’t come out flat and go down by 10 or 15 points. We’ve got to try to get the lead early. If they get the lead and get going early it’s going to be a long night.” | /esi:vars)
