PISTONS HEAD COACH DWANE CASEY
On tonight's game:
"We didn't get started, we started playing in the second half. That was a concern going into [an] afternoon game. We didn't start playing until the second half. And, again, no excuse for it. We're professional players no matter what time the schedule says. The game starts, we got to get started. You can't coach effort -- effort and focus, you can't do that. If we don't come out with it, it's going to be just like today all over again."
On recovering from a slow start:
"I thought we played, hell, we had 31 points in the third quarter. But, again, you can't wait to do that against a good team with some of the top scorers in this league with Otto Porter and Bradley Beal. Again, you can't put yourself in that hole and expect to get out of it every time. Start the game the right way, play the right way, and I thought the third quarter we did but it’s way too late."
On Kalin Lucas:
"I thought he was a scrapper. I like the way he plays. He got 50/50 balls. He didn't stand around and watch it bounce a couple times before he made a move to go get it. That's what I'm looking for. We got three or four guys, but we need more. We need more guys who are going to dive on the floor for loose balls, take charges, get back in transition, do the hard things hard. That's what we're trying to establish here because if you don't play that way we're going to be like we've been for the last four or five years. And if you're satisfied with that, you're in the wrong place."
PISTONS GUARD LANGSTON GALLOWAY
On how frustrating the first half was:
“It was just an energy in the first half that really cost us and got us behind the eight ball going into the second half tonight. [We] tried to fight back, but too many forces.”
On if the slow start carried over into the second quarter:
“I think we came out lackadaisical and we should have been firing on all cylinders. Early game, we should be coming out ready to play and we came out slow tonight and it cost us in the end.”
On Blake Griffin making shots in the third quarter and having an opportunity to close the gap:
“Yeah, just staying ready. Just try to keep moving and find my rhythm and just try to help the team in any way possible.”
On looking at the standings and playoff implications:
“It was an important game right here, but we’ve got two more games on this road [trip] and we’ve got to get both of them, especially right now in this little stretch before All-Star break.”
PISTONS FORWARD BLAKE GRIFFIN
On not getting out to a good start:
“I thought we just came out with low energy. Games like this, you have to find a way… weird time. Just have to find a way to have better energy. Other than that, I do not really know. I have not watched the film yet but obviously taking care of the ball I think helps, but creating our own energy is a must in games like these.”
On looking at these games with an importance due to how close the teams are in the standings:
“Yes, I mean even though it is early. We all know what the standings are. We are all capable of looking at that but you cannot just get hyped for games like this and not for other games. Every game has to be important to us at this point.”
On how different the team is without John Wall:
“They have a lot of good players. Tomas [Satoransky] is a capable point guard. I think the dynamic of their team changes without John [Wall], but I think they still have so many talented guys. They are still a good team when they play the way they did today. You have to be able to sit down and guard seven guys, eight guys, nine guys because they have a lot of guys that can score.”
WIZARDS HEAD COACH SCOTT BROOKS
On the win:
"I thought the defense was outstanding on all parts of the game. We got into the ball, we did a great job of pick and rolls. We rebounded the ball. We’re really good…we give ourselves a chance to win every night if we can win the rebounding game and we held them to two offensive rebounds. Blake [Griffin] is a handful. He shoots threes as well as any big in the league. He's hard to stop but our guys did about as good as we could do on him and he ends up with about 29 and nine. That's what makes him a special player in this league. I thought overall defensively we were good, we were really good throughout the game, take away that first five minutes of the third quarter."
On Trevor Ariza:
"When he first got here and I had my first talk with him, I expect more from you than you just being a spot-up shooter. We have to expand. You're 33. You have a lot more years in this league and you can keep improving, you can keep getting better and I think he's challenged himself to move around a little bit, not just space the floor. That's sometimes part of the offenses space in the floor. But he's a rebounder, he's a defender and he's a great locker room guy."
On playing on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at home:
"It's awesome to play here. It's a great city, it's magical, it's fun to be around. Then today it's obviously awesome. You're talking about one of the most influential men in this country's nearly 250 years. He's been an inspiration for all. You're talking about equality and giving everyone a chance; it's what makes this country great. We still have some work to do, and we can't stop thinking about that. We have to keep getting better as an individual, as a group, as a country every day. I think what he stood for is exactly what we need to believe in. There are so many great things--going to the monument, it's just being able to walk [to] it [since it's] right in my backyard, it's pretty cool. He accomplished a lot. It should put a lot of pressure on us. He did a lot of his work in his 20s and 30s. Sometimes we're thinking when you're 20 you're supposed to just hang out and have fun but you can impact the world. We all can. And he's been an inspiration for all of us."
On Bradley Beal:
"When you're trying to find your way in the league... he knows he's an All-Star. He knows he's one of the best players in the league. He knows he's one of the best two-way players in the league. All you got to do is just go out there and compete and things are going to end up working for yourself. You just compete. If you're hunting for shots and if you're all about shots, you're going to have a lot of bad nights and you're going to get frustrated, your teammates are going to get frustrated with you. But Brad plays the right way. He competes and he gives us a chance every night. It's not about him getting shots--there are going to be some nights he gets 12 and a lot of nights he gets 25. It all kind of balances its way out. He knows when he steps on the court he's one of the best players on the floor.”
WIZARDS GUARD BRADLEY BEAL
On playing on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and getting a win:
“It’s unbelievable. It’s amazing. We continue to keep the streak going. We have a tough team coming in later this week. We just have to continue to build off of it. But it’s a spectacular day. Remembering MLK and what he stood for and the legacy he left for us all today. It feels even better to get a win.”
On teaching his son about MLK:
“I’m looking forward to it, honestly. It’s something I embrace every single day. It’s a challenge as well, being as young as I am and how the world constantly changes and adapts. The difference in how I grew up will be totally different than how he grows up. I’m definitely excited about it. I’m happy to be a dad, I’m happy I get to instill my own morals and values into him.”
On the defensive effort:
“It’s just effort. It’s just being locked in [and] locked into the game plan…For the most part, we did a good job of taking our reactions away [and] making it difficult for them.”
On how he determines a high-volume shot night against a low-volume:
“Pretty much how the team plays me. They were super aggressive, they switched a lot, they grabbed me a lot. I just trust my teammates to be able to make the right play – I don’t have to score every time I have the ball, or shoot the ball every time I have it. For me, it’s just making the right play. Sometimes, it requires me to be a little bit more aggressive than other times, but tonight wasn’t one of those.”
WIZARDS FORWARD JEFF GREEN
On what it means to be able to play on Martin Luther King Jr. Day:
“It was fun. It’s not about the game. It’s more about his message, continuing to learn his message and grow from his message. That’s what this game of basketball does – it brings people together of all races and ethnicities in one building to celebrate one thing and to be amongst each other, have fun, love each other and respect each other. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what this game does. It’s bigger than the game.”
On Wizards forward Trevor Ariza’s recent play:
“He’s a basketball player. He’s a guy who can do it all. He’s a smart basketball player. He makes the right reads and we try to get open for him.”
On what Washington has improved since the first quarter of the season:
“Our defense, overall, has just been better. We’ve been communicating and not allowing teams to get a lot of offensive rebounds, forcing turnovers and getting out in transition. We’ve been on the same page defensively, which is allowing us to get out in transition.”
On what Otto Porter Jr. provides coming off the bench:
“Otto [Porter Jr.] is one of our go-to guys. With his firepower coming off the bench, it’s great for us. The advantage goes to us. He’s been shooting the ball very, very well and we need that from him night in and night out, and he’s been giving us that. We’re going to look to him when he comes in the game and we’re going to continue to use him to our advantage coming off the bench.”