The Freak
Starter
Peja Stojakovic met with the media on Monday, January 23 after the Kings loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night in which the team's six-game winning streak was broken. Here's what he had to say about his 27-12 Sacramento team.
What was the feeling when you guys came in for practice today?
Stojakovic: “It’s a long season. We know we played bad, we watched it on film and we know what we have to work on. Tomorrow is another day and another game. We’re now at the midseason and we feel good about ourselves and our record. We’re just going to come back strong tomorrow and take care of business.”
Any explanation why your consecutive double-figure scoring streak has ended and you've scored in single digits in two out of three games?
Stojakovic: “I don’t know, you guys probably jinxed me by mentioning it. I didn’t even know about it. It happens. Some nights you’re going to make shots and some nights you’re not.”
Will it be hard to put last night's game out of your head?
Stojakovic: “I don’t think so, because we get another chance to play them on Thursday. We know that we are dealing with probably the best team in the league right now. They are playing a great team game on both ends of the floor. We have to respond and play smart. We have to play smarter offense because they are going to take advantage of our mistakes and score some easy buckets like they did last night. We know what to do—just be patient and play smarter.”
Anything you can point to why your offense struggled?
Stojakovic: “It was a struggle to make shots and we have to be more patient and look for second and third options.”
Is there a positive from last night's game?
Stojakovic: “The positive is that whenever you lose like that, you have to think of what you did wrong and go back to the gym and work on that and try to get stronger and better. We’ll see what kind of impact it’ll have on the rest of the season.”
Does it make you guys want to go back to San Antonio and redeem yourselves?
Stojakovic: “We have to play better basketball overall, on both ends of the floor—especially defensively. We just have to play smart like we did last time here.”
How much will this game be on your mind on Thursday?
Stojakovic: “Things are still going to be fresh—it’ll be four or five days apart. Hopefully we’ll make more shots.”
What was the feeling when you guys came in for practice today?
Any explanation why your consecutive double-figure scoring streak has ended and you've scored in single digits in two out of three games?
Stojakovic: “I don’t know, you guys probably jinxed me by mentioning it. I didn’t even know about it. It happens. Some nights you’re going to make shots and some nights you’re not.”
Will it be hard to put last night's game out of your head?
Stojakovic: “I don’t think so, because we get another chance to play them on Thursday. We know that we are dealing with probably the best team in the league right now. They are playing a great team game on both ends of the floor. We have to respond and play smart. We have to play smarter offense because they are going to take advantage of our mistakes and score some easy buckets like they did last night. We know what to do—just be patient and play smarter.”
Anything you can point to why your offense struggled?
Stojakovic: “It was a struggle to make shots and we have to be more patient and look for second and third options.”
Is there a positive from last night's game?
Stojakovic: “The positive is that whenever you lose like that, you have to think of what you did wrong and go back to the gym and work on that and try to get stronger and better. We’ll see what kind of impact it’ll have on the rest of the season.”
Does it make you guys want to go back to San Antonio and redeem yourselves?
Stojakovic: “We have to play better basketball overall, on both ends of the floor—especially defensively. We just have to play smart like we did last time here.”
How much will this game be on your mind on Thursday?
Stojakovic: “Things are still going to be fresh—it’ll be four or five days apart. Hopefully we’ll make more shots.”
. The things you miss when you're not around here full time! 
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