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[FONT="]HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Needless to say, it was good to get a win, but more importantly it was how we got it, how we played. That looked like the team that we need to be. We withstood their barrage in the first quarter, stayed with our schemes and our coverages, and the next three and a half quarters, we did a great job defensively. We stuck with the defense and we got rhythm to the offense. It was a solid win at both ends of the court.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“That’s how we’re capable of playing. I think everybody knows that and it was good to have that, to beat a team as good as Cleveland. To do it against a team like Cleveland, adds a little bit to it. Just kind of getting out of – I don’t necessarily want to call it a funk, but we were playing at the level that we knew we could. It’s good to get back on track.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On Lillard’s game:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“He was terrific on both ends of the court. I thought he took the challenge defensively whoever he was guarding, whether it was Waiters or Irving. Offensively, he looked very determined to make the right plays. He did a little bit of everything. He got to the line, made his shots, made good passing decisions, pushed the ball, so now you don’t have to ask ‘What’s wrong with Damian?’ anymore.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]What did you like defensively?[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Probably the consistency of it. Up and down the line, individual jobs on their scorers, the communication in our defensive schemes. For the most part, we rebounded the ball well. Our help and alertness to penetration. They didn’t get a lot of attacks in the paint. Our transition defense – they didn’t really get too many easy baskets. When you hold a team like Cleveland to under 20 for three quarters, you’re doing a lot of good things.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On defending James:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Wes really was physical with him. But you have to give the big guys credit. I think Nic and Wes both did the job that we expect them to do, but with the pick and rolls and when he’s going to the rim, LaMarcus and Robin and Chris were all making it difficult to finish at the rim. With great players, it’s individual and a team thing.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“We all know that he can make those jump shots. Those opportunities were there and he made them. He was really in a good rhythm. We purposely went to him a couple times, but most of the time it was just in the flow of the offense.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]WESLEY MATTHEWS[/FONT]
[FONT="]On defending James:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Just make everything difficult. He’s arguably the best player in the game and he’ll go down as one of the greatest to ever play, so just try to make everything difficult and tough for him.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]What goes into that?[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Contesting his catches, contesting his passes. Don’t give him free runs, free cuts. Just make him feel you; He’s aggressive. Try not to get an easy rhythm. A guy like that, he can go off if he gets some kind of rhythm.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On Cavs starting game 10 for 10 from field:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“We got them taking the shots, for the most part, that we wanted them to take. It wasn’t like transition. It wasn’t like they were lobs and dunks. It wasn’t like they were backdoor cuts or anything like that. They scored on some post ups. I think we blew maybe two coverages on the pick and roll, but other than that, I think we did a good job defensively. They were just making shots, but it all balanced out in the end.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]ROBIN LOPEZ[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I thought we did a very good job on both ends of the floor. We were very attentive on defense toward people’s tendencies. On offense, we did a good job of finding the open man.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Was this an important win?[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I mean, yeah. You want to get one to get going. It can be an important win for us if we continue to play well.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On offense (personally):[/FONT]
[FONT="]“When you’re playing with as many talented scorers as I am, it’s going to give you a lot of opportunities on the offensive end. The defense can’t really cheat off of them or help off of them too much, so it’s my job to try to put the ball in the bucket.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On defense sparking offense:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“When you’re not taking the ball out of the basket, it’s easier to get out and kind of flowing offense and fast break. That’s tough on the defense. That’s tough on the other team.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Needless to say, it was good to get a win, but more importantly it was how we got it, how we played. That looked like the team that we need to be. We withstood their barrage in the first quarter, stayed with our schemes and our coverages, and the next three and a half quarters, we did a great job defensively. We stuck with the defense and we got rhythm to the offense. It was a solid win at both ends of the court.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“That’s how we’re capable of playing. I think everybody knows that and it was good to have that, to beat a team as good as Cleveland. To do it against a team like Cleveland, adds a little bit to it. Just kind of getting out of – I don’t necessarily want to call it a funk, but we were playing at the level that we knew we could. It’s good to get back on track.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On Lillard’s game:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“He was terrific on both ends of the court. I thought he took the challenge defensively whoever he was guarding, whether it was Waiters or Irving. Offensively, he looked very determined to make the right plays. He did a little bit of everything. He got to the line, made his shots, made good passing decisions, pushed the ball, so now you don’t have to ask ‘What’s wrong with Damian?’ anymore.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]What did you like defensively?[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Probably the consistency of it. Up and down the line, individual jobs on their scorers, the communication in our defensive schemes. For the most part, we rebounded the ball well. Our help and alertness to penetration. They didn’t get a lot of attacks in the paint. Our transition defense – they didn’t really get too many easy baskets. When you hold a team like Cleveland to under 20 for three quarters, you’re doing a lot of good things.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On defending James:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Wes really was physical with him. But you have to give the big guys credit. I think Nic and Wes both did the job that we expect them to do, but with the pick and rolls and when he’s going to the rim, LaMarcus and Robin and Chris were all making it difficult to finish at the rim. With great players, it’s individual and a team thing.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]“We all know that he can make those jump shots. Those opportunities were there and he made them. He was really in a good rhythm. We purposely went to him a couple times, but most of the time it was just in the flow of the offense.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]WESLEY MATTHEWS[/FONT]
[FONT="]On defending James:[/FONT]
[FONT="]Just make everything difficult. He’s arguably the best player in the game and he’ll go down as one of the greatest to ever play, so just try to make everything difficult and tough for him.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]What goes into that?[/FONT]
[FONT="]“Contesting his catches, contesting his passes. Don’t give him free runs, free cuts. Just make him feel you; He’s aggressive. Try not to get an easy rhythm. A guy like that, he can go off if he gets some kind of rhythm.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On Cavs starting game 10 for 10 from field:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“We got them taking the shots, for the most part, that we wanted them to take. It wasn’t like transition. It wasn’t like they were lobs and dunks. It wasn’t like they were backdoor cuts or anything like that. They scored on some post ups. I think we blew maybe two coverages on the pick and roll, but other than that, I think we did a good job defensively. They were just making shots, but it all balanced out in the end.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]ROBIN LOPEZ[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I thought we did a very good job on both ends of the floor. We were very attentive on defense toward people’s tendencies. On offense, we did a good job of finding the open man.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Was this an important win?[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I mean, yeah. You want to get one to get going. It can be an important win for us if we continue to play well.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On offense (personally):[/FONT]
[FONT="]“When you’re playing with as many talented scorers as I am, it’s going to give you a lot of opportunities on the offensive end. The defense can’t really cheat off of them or help off of them too much, so it’s my job to try to put the ball in the bucket.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]On defense sparking offense:[/FONT]
[FONT="]“When you’re not taking the ball out of the basket, it’s easier to get out and kind of flowing offense and fast break. That’s tough on the defense. That’s tough on the other team.”[/FONT]
