Pistons Head Coach Dwane Casey
On what made the difference in tonight’s game“… I love the way our guys competed. We had some bonehead plays in the third quarter. I thought we played excellent basketball in the first half. Then again we had some situations where we have to make better decisions on our self. Again, that’s the style of play we want to play. With some of the plays in the third quarter, they kind of got out of hand and we couldn’t get organized or get a steady rhythm offensively in the third quarter.”
On if the team was fatigued
“No, again, I didn’t sense it. I saw fight. I saw intensity. I saw a disposition that was here to win. Again, it’s disheartening when you see that disparity in the free throws. I have to go back and look at it. James Capers is one of the best officials in the league. If he says it’s a foul, we have to trust him.”
On if Rudy Gobert is a load“Oh, he’s a huge load for anybody. He’s long. We held them to what, 38 [percent shooting], they held us to 38 [percent shooting] so we did a decent job. You know, very few times when we can out rebound him, and he’s a force down there. We were caught in some rotation. We had to get the ball out of Donovan Mitchell’s hands, and that caused us to be out of position defensively and the rebounds. He’s a load for anybody.”
Detroit Pistons Guard Ish SmithOn giving a boost off the bench“We just have to play with pace. In the first half, we scored 59 [points]. When we play with great pace, we’re really, really good. I thought in the second half, we just missed some shots in the second half that we usually make. You can blame it on the end of the road trip. Whatever the case is, we are going to be good this year. I’m telling you, you can mark it down right now, whatever dates you want to mark down. We will continue to fight, continue to push, continue to impress and we are going to be exactly what we want to be at the end of the year.”
On the team’s shot selections in the fourth quarter“We just missed some shots we usually make. For me, it’s just trying to figure out what good plays [to run] down the stretch, when to push to go get layups, when to be aggressive, when to feed BG [Blake Griffin] or Dre [Andre Drummond] or run some quicks for our shooters. It’s just picking and choosing spots and trying to figure out that last 10 minutes and play with pace. You kind of just have to play, you can’t overthink it. I don’t get too high or too low, but I am telling you we are going to be really good this year. We are going to fight out of this hole.”
On Khyri Thomas tonight
“Khyri [Thomas] can play. You don’t see it in practice, we see it in practice. His ability to shoot, his ability todefend, his toughness, we see all that in practice. Now, just like anything, he has to get his rhythm, his flow, andonce that happens the sky is the limit. We all weren’t surprised, we watch him play in practice and he plays well.It was not a surprise for me.”
Detroit Pistons Forward Blake GriffinOn the last few minutes“We just have to be better, I have to be better. A couple turnovers, a couple bad possessions, you can’t affordthose things against a team like this. We just have to be a little sharper, but I like the way we came in andcompeted and fought tonight.”
On Ish Smith returning“He just changed the pace, he’s another weapon. Just his speed and ball handling, he does a good job for usand we missed him a lot this past month. We gladly welcome him back.”
Detroit Pistons Forward Jon LeuerOn the overall sentiment“Right now, it’s next game. You know we have a little bit of a home stand now, so we can hopefully get somewins. Obviously we want to do better in the long run, but that’s the reality of it. So we have to move on to thenext one and time doesn’t go back it goes forward.”
On what turned the tide for Utah“I think they did a really good job defensively the second half of just competing and making us take tough shots.Give them credit down the stretch they made plays. Donovan Mitchell made plays. It just came down to apossession game and they were able to make more shots than us.”
Jazz Head Coach Quin SnyderOn the game“That’s a gutsy effort by our team. Rudy [Gobert] was dominant on the glass. I though Donovan [Mitchell] made great decisions late, knowing when to get off of it when they were trapping him and then being able to split the traps late. Everybody made a contribution. Talking about Rudy’s passing, tonight he was just all over the boards. Made it really hard for everybody.”
On Rudy Gobert’s rebounding“The good thing is, he’s not sticking to his man in order to defensive rebound. He’s still playing the right way. The other guys on the floor are making it a priority. Sometimes you don’t have to get it. You just have to not let them get it. Everybody’s finding something to do when the ball goes up. We’re not watching. That’s a level of concentration and urgency in an area that these guys, they’re a terrific offensive rebounding team and [Andre] Drummond in particular, lead the league in second chance points. I mentioned Rudy, the other guys, usually it’s the other way around. Rudy’s contribution doesn’t always show up on the box score. Tonight, Rudy’s contribution showed up pretty highlighted. But all the other guys that got in the mix on the glass, we didn’t get. They had a few loose ball rebounds. I thought, physically, in the first quarter, they were more aggressive than us and as the game progressed, I thought we got better.”
On Kyle Korver’s impact“Tonight, Kyle [Korver] spaced and that was the big thing because they were trapping. That allowed, once Donovan [Mitchell] kind of got comfortable giving it up, his [Korver] presence in the corner or the high quadrant, you have to stay with him. He actually missed one on an underneath out of bounds that I kind of thought he was going to make. I’m sure he’s thinking about it right now too because he knows why he missed every shot that he missed. That’s why we felt, and Dennis [Lindsey] felt, that he would be an excellent addition and I think our guys are getting comfortable finding him. He’s not moving at one speed so much, he’s slowing down and then he’s bursting and he’s finding some separation and getting some looks.”Utah Jazz Guard Donovan Mitchell On the comeback win“Dig deep. Obviously, it’s tough when [Detroit] got out to a lead, but we never stopped fighting and competing and we finally came out in the second half and started to defend.”
On the team’s second half defense“We come in and we realize, it shouldn’t take us a half to figure it out, but there are times where you just need ahalf to kind of figure things out and then see things and I think that was the same case tonight.”
On Rudy Gobert“This is all the hard work he’s been working his whole life. He’s been underrated and I still think he’sunderrated. He should be in the All-Star conversation. A night like tonight, it shows why. Just because he’s not athree-point shooter or whatever. Just because all that, he shouldn’t be out of the conversation. He’s DefensivePlayer of the Year for a reason. He’s a big part of our team and a big staple to our defense.”
On the team’s depth“You saw a lot of it last year, too. Like you said, with the injuries, you just see it again. And again and again. Nextman up mindset has been our mindset for a whole year. I think that’s just another job. Guys stay ready. Georges[Niang], Royce [O’Neale]. Everybody just staying ready and being ready to go.”
Utah Jazz Center Rudy Gobert On asserting himself tonight“Very important. [Andre Drummond] is the best rebounder in the league. It was a team effort, we had to comeout ready and we did a great job tonight.”On the team’s defense as of late“I think, right now, we are doing the things that we are supposed to do defensively. It fuels us, to allow [Detroit]to only score 94 points. Every night it is the same mindset. If we do that every night, we are going to be in agreat position.
Utah Jazz Guard/Forward Kyle KorverOn the comeback tonight“It was good. I think we are just finding ways to scrape wins together right now, they aren’t overly pretty. We arefinding ways to win and that’s what good teams do. A bunch of guys stepped in, I thought Grayson [Allen] camein and gave us some great minutes on both ends of the court. Different guys stepped up and we patchedtogether a win.”
On the matchup between Rudy Gobert and Andre Drummond“Andre [Drummond] is big, but Rudy [Gobert] is a little bigger, he’s a little longer. No, Andre Drummond is, I“think, first or second in the NBA in offensive rebounds. And for us, I don’t think they had a second chancepoint. So for us to do that tonight when we are maybe lacking in other areas, we have to be great with where weare good. Obviously, tonight Rudy was great on the boards and took that matchup seriously and did a great job.”
On the team’s second half defense“I think the coaching staff does a great job of showing us where maybe we are lacking a little bit in the first half.Quin [Snyder] really got on us, we barely got out there to shoot before the second half started. He was goingthrough so much film and showing us so many things. I thought we made the adjustments we needed to andthen we just kept on grinding.”