Exclusive GAME# 36: BLAZERS @ WIZARDS - JANUARY 3, 2020 - Quote Book

[SlyPokerDog]

BLAZERS HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS

On the defensive effort tonight against the Washington Wizards:

“They're a good offensive team. They're in the top whatever offensively. They do a good job of pushing the ball. [Jordan] McRae had a great night, [Garrison] Mathews is an outstanding shooter. I thought we had some really good possessions where we locked in and at least made it difficult for them.”


On Damian Lillard's offensive game:

“I think Dame [Damian Lillard] does a good job of mixing it up. We as a team didn't have the three-point shot going, but especially in the second half we spaced the court well, we set good screens. He was able to get by their five man. He was aggressive going to the basket.”


On how it feels to break their losing streak:

“Losing streaks are no fun. I told the team you've got to never be satisfied, but you've got to enjoy the wins. It's good to get a win and we've got to keep going, but after five in a row it feels good.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

BLAZERS FORWARD CARMELO ANTHONY

On playing in Washington D.C and it being like a third home:

“Yes it is home. Baltimore is 35-40 minutes right up the road. There is always some type of connection here with that. Friends, family, the love here from people here in D.C, just in the D.M.V. area, Baltimore. This will always be a special place to come back to as well.”


On Troy Brown J.R taking the challenge to guard him and what goes through his mind when he sees that:

“I like it. When I caught it, I did not know he was on me the first time. I just saw how physical he was trying to be and the stance he got into, and he wanted the challenge. When you see guys like that, [guys] that take on the challenge regardless of who is out there, you have to expect that. You cannot take that for granted.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

BLAZERS GUARD CJ McCOLLUM

On how important it was to get a win after their losing streak:

“Anytime you can get a win is important especially the way we have been playing. You are happy about it… Five losses in a row… A lot of winnable games we kind of squandered, so it was one we needed to get. Now we have to move forward.”


On not taking the Wizards lightly with a lot of players out:

“We have lost to teams with less than what they have. We are in no position to take anybody lightly. We have four more wins than them. Does that make us an elite team? No, so we have to really take each game seriously. Everybody is an NBA player. Everybody is trying to make a name for themselves, so you have to be ready to play regardless of who is out there. ”


On having Mario Hezonja back on the court tonight:

“It was helpful. We do not have many guys over 6’8. Everybody is hurt, banged up. It was nice to have another body, fresh legs. I thought he played well. He brought energy, finished around the basket.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

BLAZERS GUARD DAMIAN LILLARD

On ending their five-game losing streak:

“It’s a long season, you’re going to have ups and downs. Obviously, we had a down moment, we had a losing streak going, weren’t playing our best basketball. You just have to keep your head down and find a way. I thought tonight we found a way, so it was good to get a practice in yesterday and come out here and get a win on the road.”


On his performance tonight after struggling vs. the Knicks on Wednesday:

“I’ve been scoring in this league for a lot of years now. I understand that some nights it’s going to be like that—you’re going to struggle shooting the ball, you’re going to have some tough games. It’s all mental. You have to be able to bounce back and move on to the next thing. That’s all I did. I obviously accept it—my role in our last loss, and how I didn’t play like I wanted to play, but I didn’t carry that into tonight. I kind of let it be what it was. I looked at the game, and that was it. It was on to the next one. I moved on to tonight and it was a win, and a much better performance.”


On being aggressive going to the basket tonight:

“Just trying to find those opportunities. Watching on film, I realized that I was going to be able to get downhill. I came out and I was kind of off the ball, I was letting the ball move around. I just noticed that I could turn some of their bigs hips and get around them and get downhill and put them in a bad spot. Once I got one layup, I just decided that is how I was going to play. So, I kept attacking downhill, and if they put their arm out – make them foul me, and if I get around them, just get in front of them so I can slow them down so they can’t time it on the glass. That’s just the game that I played. I just got downhill and got to the rim.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

REFEREE MARK AYOTTE (#56) on Isaiah Thomas’ ejection in the first quarter:

What specific actions did you eject Isaiah Thomas for in the first quarter?:

“He made physical contact with the referee.”


Was it anything to do with a push, with the contact, or was it just the contact from coming over with the player?:

“It was definitely just a push during the dead ball contact with the referee.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

WIZARDS HEAD COACH SCOTT BROOKS

On the difference in the game:
“Their guards are hard to stop. CJ [McCollum] and [Damian] Lillard, they're hard to stop. They're high-level scorers. I thought we did the best that we can. [They had] 35 and 24 [points] respectively. We competed. We got close a few times, took a lead a few times. It was a little too much. Their stars are a little too much. [Hassan] Whiteside really did a good job protecting the paint, blocking shots and getting rebounds. I thought our guys really did a great job of competing, we just ran out of gas and ran out of some scores.”


On Jordan McRae:

“He can score, and he can play. He's scoring at a high level, but he can play. When he's locked in, he can pass, he defends. He's a good player and he's getting opportunities and rightfully so. He's worked his way back into the league last season, and he's playing good basketball. We need him to continue to do that when Brad [Beal] does come back and so we can get that offensive punch off the bench while we have our guys out. Hopefully, he continues to play with that confidence, but he can flat out play the game.”

On keeping the team mentally focused when playing different lineups:
“It's a good life; you get to play basketball. These guys get opportunities now that they probably wouldn't have gotten a lot. If you can't get excited about that, I don't know what else you can be excited about. You get to play a game and make tons of money doing it, and I get to coach it. It's fun. I know it's challenging [with] a lot of different lineups. Then IT [Isaiah Thomas] gets out after a minute so it changes the whole thing again. But part of basketball is expecting [that] sometimes things aren't going to always go your way, but you gotta adjust, you gotta navigate and you got to find a plan that can help you execute and give yourself a chance. I thought we had a chance to cut the lead a few times. I thought we ran out of some scores and Jordan was giving us everything. We had a couple of guys had bad nights, tough nights. When it seemed like you have, we got to be able to make those you know those put-backs, the free throws--we missed a lot of free throws tonight. That's just part of it. This loss has nothing to do with effort. It's not an effort-based [loss]. We didn't get a couple of things to go our way and they have three high-level players and a lot of good players with them.”

 

[SlyPokerDog]

WIZARDS GUARD JORDAN McRAE

On how he felt in the facilitator role tonight:

“I'm just trying to do whatever I can to win. With the absence of a lot of guys on our team, we need guys to not try and fulfill anybody else's role, but just fulfill your role and do it more.”


On the shooting guard depth the team currently has:

“I think it's awesome. A lot of teams would really love to have three guys that you can depend on every night. Right now we have that.”


On how the team can get the offense going again:

“First, if we can get guys back that'll help out a lot. I think once guys start coming back, our offense will pick back up [to] where it was.”


WIZARDS GUARD GARRISON MATHEWS

On if he’s found a rhythm lately:

“I guess so. It’s not necessarily anything I do, obviously you have to make shots. I mean, we have great offensive players on our team as well, so that open things up for me and gets me open shots and stuff. Ish [Smith] can pass the ball great and everything. When you have Jordan McRae, who everybody pays so much attention to, it opens things up and makes things easier.”


On if he’s noticing a difference in the way teams are guarding him and if he can tell that he’s higher on the scouting report:

“A little bit. They’re definitely top-blocking screens and getting into the body to make it tough on the catch. You can definitely feel that, for sure.”


On how tough it is being as undermanned as they are right now:

“It’s tough. And also you have an All-Star out, that’s going to hurt the team for sure. And shooters like Davis [Bertans] and a big man like TB [Thomas Bryant], that’s just tough, it hurts for sure. Us younger guys, we’re getting experience and that will just help the team for the future as well.”


On his defense at the NBA level:

“At the NBA level, everybody can score the ball. It’s tough, for sure, to guard people. But paying attention to the coverages and watching film and paying attention to that and talking with the coaches, see what I can do to learn. I’ve been taught to blow up screens – and sometimes a little too aggressive and I get beat. It just comes with experience and I’ll continue to get better at it for sure.”


On how much confidence the last couple of days gives him:

“A lot, for sure. There’s a lot of times when I was in there, I’d just sit in the corner and try to space the floor. Now I’m trying to move around a little bit more and cut and things like that that are getting me open. Also, the guys are screening and are starting to look for me more, getting a little more confidence in me – which makes me have more confidence.”



WIZARDS GUARD ISH SMITH

On his vantage point of Isaiah Thomas’ ejection:

“You know, I usually stay in the back [the first few minutes of the game], so I didn’t see it. So when I ran out, it was just in the nick of time – everyone was like, ‘Hey, are you ready?’ I’m like, ‘Ready for what? What’s going on?’ I usually come in a little deeper into the first quarter. I haven’t seen it, so I don’t really know. You guys probably have a better point of view of what happened or what’s the verdict – or what possibly could be the verdict – I didn’t get a chance to see it.”


On his offensive performance:

“I was a little mad at myself. Those mid-range shots usually fall for me, they weren’t falling. I was a little frustrated about that. I make those during that little stretch when we were going through a little scoring lull. It was still in striking distance – two-point game, three-point game, four-point game. I looked at the score and thought we were down more, but we were only down 12 or 13. Our defense held up pretty good for a little bit. Offensively I’m kicking myself because those are shots I usually make that didn’t fall in the basket.”