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HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS
“It was good to close out a game. I thought it was a solid game pretty much for us, start to finish. Obviously they made it interesting at the end, but I liked the way we finished. I particularly liked the ball movement, to have 28 assists and even in the first half when we weren’t shooting the ball well, we had 13 assists on 16 field goals so that was the one thing that probably stood out the most to me, was how well the ball moved and the way we were able to take advantage of it when it did.”
On handling run from NOP late in game after recent struggles late:
“Every timeout – we’re very aware of our situation and what’s happened in the past. We don’t dwell on it but we’re certainly aware of it. There was focus, determination that we had to do whatever it took.”
On approach to learning from late game struggles lately:
“Our focus is on becoming a better fourth quarter defensive team. That’s been something that we’ve talked about this morning at shoot around, not belaboring what’s happened in the past but if we want to become a better team, we have to become a better defensive team in the fourth quarter. There’s going to be ups and downs through the course of a game but the better teams know how to defend in the fourth quarter, they anticipate better, they lock in better, whatever it is – so we really haven’t belabored the past, certainly not during the game, but emphasizing what we need to do, not what we haven’t done.”
On Henderson’s game:
“It was good to see him get on a roll. His minutes have been kind of up and down but he’s always been ready. He’s capable of doing that. They played a lot of three guard lineups so it was a good matchup for him.”
On Plumlee’s game:
“The rebounding was very important. I thought that and his passing, just his offensive feel as far as his passing, his rolling to the basket, his finishing at the rim – certainly another double-double for him. He was instrumental in a lot that we did tonight.”
MASON PLUMLEE
On playing in the middle of the floor offensively:
“I think that the biggest thing is just pregame kind of seeing tendencies and how they’re going to play it, if they’re going to tag the roller, if they’re going to have a tight weak side and if they do that, just knowing where the shooters are.”
On 6 assists:
“Everything was a little in rhythm. I think the guards hit the window in rhythm and then guys hit shots of course too, that helps. A lot of my assists are to the three point line so when guys are shooting well, that’s where you get the numbers.”
On what was different down the stretch
“I think offensively we executed very well. Instead of settling for tough jumpers, Dame attacked the basket, got to the free throw line. CJ got to the free throw line. We were really aggressive attacking the basket down the stretch.”
On mindset going into road trip:
“Feeling good, man. It’s an improvement but we have a lot of room to grow and we just have to, win or lose, keep improving. I know the coaches defensively, they know how much better we can be. If we can put together four quarters defensively, I think that would be a step forward.”
GERALD HENDERSON
Do you feel like you’re figuring out your
“I mean, coming in and learning a new offense, it’s challenging. You can know the plays and stuff like that, but it’s just new spots and learning how to play with your teammates is a big thing, where they like the ball and them learning where you like the ball. It’s a very important piece, so I think as time has gone by, practice by practice and game by game, it’s gotten a lot better.”
On staying ready despite up and down minutes:
“It’s not something I’m used to, but being ready is something I’m always used to. Things have just been different but it’s my job to go out there when I’m chosen to and play my game and do my job.”
“It was good to close out a game. I thought it was a solid game pretty much for us, start to finish. Obviously they made it interesting at the end, but I liked the way we finished. I particularly liked the ball movement, to have 28 assists and even in the first half when we weren’t shooting the ball well, we had 13 assists on 16 field goals so that was the one thing that probably stood out the most to me, was how well the ball moved and the way we were able to take advantage of it when it did.”
On handling run from NOP late in game after recent struggles late:
“Every timeout – we’re very aware of our situation and what’s happened in the past. We don’t dwell on it but we’re certainly aware of it. There was focus, determination that we had to do whatever it took.”
On approach to learning from late game struggles lately:
“Our focus is on becoming a better fourth quarter defensive team. That’s been something that we’ve talked about this morning at shoot around, not belaboring what’s happened in the past but if we want to become a better team, we have to become a better defensive team in the fourth quarter. There’s going to be ups and downs through the course of a game but the better teams know how to defend in the fourth quarter, they anticipate better, they lock in better, whatever it is – so we really haven’t belabored the past, certainly not during the game, but emphasizing what we need to do, not what we haven’t done.”
On Henderson’s game:
“It was good to see him get on a roll. His minutes have been kind of up and down but he’s always been ready. He’s capable of doing that. They played a lot of three guard lineups so it was a good matchup for him.”
On Plumlee’s game:
“The rebounding was very important. I thought that and his passing, just his offensive feel as far as his passing, his rolling to the basket, his finishing at the rim – certainly another double-double for him. He was instrumental in a lot that we did tonight.”
MASON PLUMLEE
On playing in the middle of the floor offensively:
“I think that the biggest thing is just pregame kind of seeing tendencies and how they’re going to play it, if they’re going to tag the roller, if they’re going to have a tight weak side and if they do that, just knowing where the shooters are.”
On 6 assists:
“Everything was a little in rhythm. I think the guards hit the window in rhythm and then guys hit shots of course too, that helps. A lot of my assists are to the three point line so when guys are shooting well, that’s where you get the numbers.”
On what was different down the stretch
“I think offensively we executed very well. Instead of settling for tough jumpers, Dame attacked the basket, got to the free throw line. CJ got to the free throw line. We were really aggressive attacking the basket down the stretch.”
On mindset going into road trip:
“Feeling good, man. It’s an improvement but we have a lot of room to grow and we just have to, win or lose, keep improving. I know the coaches defensively, they know how much better we can be. If we can put together four quarters defensively, I think that would be a step forward.”
GERALD HENDERSON
Do you feel like you’re figuring out your
“I mean, coming in and learning a new offense, it’s challenging. You can know the plays and stuff like that, but it’s just new spots and learning how to play with your teammates is a big thing, where they like the ball and them learning where you like the ball. It’s a very important piece, so I think as time has gone by, practice by practice and game by game, it’s gotten a lot better.”
On staying ready despite up and down minutes:
“It’s not something I’m used to, but being ready is something I’m always used to. Things have just been different but it’s my job to go out there when I’m chosen to and play my game and do my job.”
