Postgame Quotes-at Minnesota

[KingKong]

http://www.nba.com/kings/news/Postgame_Quotesat_Minnesota-130465-58.html

Kings Coach Rick Adelman
"I thought we were in good shape until the last two minutes of the first half. They made that spurt that got it to six, and then the technical foul made it seven. We talked at halftime that we had to get the first spurt of the second half. We didn't want it to go up to 12 or 14. Then we could have been in trouble. But we made the first spurt, and caught them and went ahead. That gave us a lot of energy. Our guys believed, now we have a chance to win this game. All we talked about was being in the game in the fourth quarter, giving ourselves a chance... It was a great win by our team." "We felt we could hurt them with Cuttino and Mike, playing pick-and-roll with those guys. Getting Cuttino really helps us because Mike doesn't always have to run it, and they can make plays. They can make shots, and they can get the ball back to our bigs. When you have two big guys that can make shots, it makes it real difficult to guard... We took Kevin out of the equation. He's the toughest defender on the pick-and-roll. We tried to run everything away from him, and have his guy occupy him. And that made the difference."

Cuttino Mobley
"Mike Bibby said we hadn't won in here in awhile. I have a good history here, so we bring a little luck or something... We stuck with it. We played hard. I said to Mike in the first half, I know we're a little weak -- shooting like 0 for a million -- but if we keep working hard, something good will happen. And half came around and I didn't feel sick anymore, just a little bit woozy, and we got the W."

"They know we have really capable guards and when you have a really good backcourt, you can make guys better. Brad Miller was great, Darius was great, Matt Barnes hit the boards, guys who came in off the bench did great for the time they were in there. Guys are a little tired, banged up right now... I was just paying attention to us, but the way (Saunders) was throwing around guys, I don't see how they can get their rhythm.

Mike Bibby:
"Guys just try and step up. Whenever we have people down, people step up. We had guys coming off the bench for us, getting us points... I tried to see what was open and do what was the best for the team, tried to drive and kick it out... Brad's open every game. It's just a matter of Brad knocking them down."

 

[KingKong]

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

Minnesota Coach Flip Saunders:
"I told the guys that this is very disappointing, after winning five in a row and coming back like we did against Utah. For some reason, we did not have the energy that you have to have. We have 12 guys, and everyone wants to play more minutes. So you would think they would go out and play better, with more energy... In the past, we have been bailed out by guys off the bench. Today, Wally and Freddie were the only guys with any energy off the bench. We had no spark whatsoever. Our bigs... we had no big play at all today."

"We have played terrible in day games. We might have to go back to the college days and put guys in a hotel the day before a game. We cannot continue to play like this in afternoon games."

"I thought in the first half... Bibby went 0-for-8. That was a bit of a mirage for us defensively. He missed a lot of open looks. He doesn't do that often, and you cannot rely on that. Then what happens is that they get on a roll and make some shots. You're in a situation where in the first five minutes of the game, they missed numerous shots and we should've been up double digits. You can't have that, especially at home."

"I've been in that situation before. When you don't have many guys, players don't care what the coach thinks, because he can't take you out. You see it all the time, undermanned teams playing well. Look at Philadelphia last night without Iverson. I think that might've been a little bit of our case earlier in the season, winning games with not many guys. Guys let their guard down, play looser and play well... Miller played 46 minutes. Chamberlain averaged over 48 minutes a game, including overtime, and that was when they traveled by train."

Minnesota Guard Troy Hudson:
"We let them get in a rhythm. You let a team like that get in a rhythm and get comfortable, they're going to start knocking shots down (even) with a hand in their face. I think we made a mistake by letting them get in a rhythm."

"We knew going in that without CWebb and without Stojakovic, they've still got some quality players over there. I said over and over again that this is the NBA. You've got guys on the bench that are thirsty and ready to play. When a guy goes down, they're going to come in and play their best game, because they're playing for some minutes in the future. I think we're a veteran enough team to know that this team wasn't going to lay down because they didn't have two of their starters."

Minnesota Guard Sam Cassell:
"I knew the game wasn't over in the first half because we were up a couple points. A team like Sacramento is going to keep doing it from their same sets, from their same offensive plans and defensive plans. We didn't take advantage of it. We didn't have the energy, we didn't execute the game plan that we wanted to do today, and that's why we lost. It's that simple."

"(Playing shorthanded) makes it even harder. That means Mike Bibby gets to do what he likes to do even more. Cuttino Mobley is a helluva scorer. He gets to do what he likes to do more. Brad Miller is going to take more jump shots and crash the boards even more. We didn't relax, but we didn't take advantage of that opportunity."

"We've got to take advantage of situations like this. They're shorthanded, and we let one slip through our hands today. It's just that simple... We weren't aggressive. We didn't play hard on the offensive end. We gave a hell of an effort on the defensive end. We were getting stops in the first half, but we weren't putting together a great offense. That's how we lost the game. It wasn't our defense; our defense wasn't bad at all. We just couldn't make a shot. I think sometimes we didn't want to make a shot. That's rare for this ballclub, but we'll get it together. It's an opportunity we let slip through our hands, and we've got to find a way to get it back."

Minnesota Guard Fred Hoiberg:
"The second quarter was about the only positive we had in the game... The second half was just terrible. Just ugly. We couldn't get anything going. We couldn't stop them. It was just one of those days. I wish I could explain why it happened that way, but I can't."

"You've got a couple of star players sitting out. (For) other guys, it's human nature to step up their game. Brad Miller has been an All-Star in this league for a couple of years. He's given us problems in the past, and we had no answer for him tonight. We couldn't rotate to him, our pick-and-roll defense was horrendous tonight... He got the bulk of our mistakes. He did the best job of taking advantage of what we couldn't do."

Minnesota Forward Wally Szczerbiak:
"It was not a good game to lose by any means. It's going to be a tough loss to swallow. We've got to get back to work and try to get this thing right. We just didn't play well today, and we've got to come back strong on Tuesday."

"It doesn't matter. They've got capable players. They run a great offense, and their guys stepped up and made plays. We didn't match their intensity and we didn't make plays. In the first half we didn't play great, and we were still up. At least we were getting some energy going. In the second half, we just didn't come out right and couldn't get back in the game."

"Every game is important, and every game is going to be very, very important in the standings from here on out. Every loss is going to hurt just as much as another loss, and every win is going to be as important as every other win. It doesn't matter what team we're playing. We've got to come out with a certain effort, and play at a certain high level every time we step out on the floor."

Minnesota Forward Kevin Garnett:
"Very disappointing, knowing they didn't have a lot of their guys playing tonight. A situation we could've taken advantage of, but we didn't. We just have to regroup and get ready for Milwaukee... You prepare for everybody being there, and when they're not there... We understood Bibby was going to have the ball in his hands a lot, a lot of the scoring was going to come from him and Cuttino and also Brad... Those three just worked beautifully. They moved the ball, and we never took anything away from them and they hit shots. That's what they do. You have to trap those guys and make some of the other guys like Barnes and some of the guys not used to making a lot of shots, you have to make them make plays -- and we didn't put them in a position to have to make any plays."

"When you have a guy like Peja out, (Mobley) can slide right into that spot -- make some shots, make it a burden on our defense to pay him a lot more attention. If he gets going, he can definitely draw a double-team. And he shares the ball, so he fits right in with their system."

"In that third quarter we didn't come out with the right amount of energy at the start, and they hit some shots and that took the wind out of our sails a little bit. Just too big of a deficit to come back in the fourth quarter... We've got to forget it and come back tomorrow. Tomorrow's a work day. We have to understand how we did start our winning streak and get back on the horse, so to speak, understand you're going to have days like this and you're going to have losses. So you have to learn from them and not make some of the same mistakes, and apply that to our next games."

 

[KingKong]

The Inside Dish vs Minnesota
by Devin Blankenship | January 30, 2005 | Kings @ Minnesota

Respect…
Despite a near complete offseason re-haul of the Kings’ bench, injuries to several of Sacramento’s core group of players throughout the season—including Bobby Jackson, Peja Stojakovic and Chris Webber, and a midseason trade that sent off one of the most popular players on the team, the Kings find themselves in the same position entering the month of February as they have the last five years—as one of the best squads in the NBA.

And it’s time for one person to get the credit he deserves: Rick Adelman.

The guy has done nothing but win since coming to Sacramento, and along with Geoff Petrie has elevated the Kings into the elite status of the league. Yet it seems like Adelman gets taken for granted year in and year out, even by some Kings fans, who have accepted Sacramento’s success as standard.

When do you ever hear Adelman mentioned as a Coach of the Year candidate? Not very often, unfortunately because winning 50 games year in and year out seems to be a detriment.

Adelman has done as good a job this year as any since he’s been in Sacramento, juggling a line-up that has been plagued by injuries and plugging in players who are relatively unknown and new to the Kings’ system, i.e. Mo Evans—but still breeding success.

Sunday’s game was a perfect example. Without Webber, Stojakovic, or Evans and facing a team that has had Sacramento’s number this year, Adelman shortened his rotation in the second half and did not make a single substitution for Bibby, Mobley, Barnes, Songaila, or Miller because of how well they were playing together.

When was the last time you’ve seen a coach do that? Adelman knows his team and knows the buttons to push to make them react. It’s time that the rest of the league give him the credit he deserves.

Random Thoughts…

Although the Timberwolves struggled mightily in the early part of the January, they’d started to put things together and had won five games coming into Sunday’s game, a fact that made the win that much sweeter.
It’s amazing how quickly things can change. This road trip looked like it was headed for disaster with five seconds to go in the fourth quarter of the Houston game and the Kings looking down the barrel of 0-2. Sacramento instead returns home very satisfied with a two wins and a single loss.
Kevin Garnett is so good that when he records 21 points and 13 rebounds, it’s considered holding him in check.
One of the main reasons Rick Adelman stuck with the same lineup was the way they hustled for loose balls, especially Matt Barnes. One of the trademarks of Barnes’ game is the way he doesn’t give up on plays and he has been rewarded with playing time in Peja Stojakovic’s absence.
<LI>Is Mike Bibby starting to think that he’s Dikembe Mutumbo? Including his blocked shot on Sunday, Bibby has become somewhat of a defensive force, recording three blocks against Toronto earlier this month and a spectacular swat on Lebron James when the Cavs came to town last week.

Brad Miller
As a co-worker of mine would say, Brad Miller was a beast on Sunday, picking up the slack for missing teammates.

"Guys just try and step up. Whenever we have people down, people step up. We had guys coming off the bench for us, getting us points
-Mike Bibby

In the fourth quarter, after Cuttino Mobley missed two free throws, grabbed the offensive board and missed another shot, Darius Songaila snagged the rebound and found Mike Bibby, who hit a three to put the Kings up by 12 points

3rd quarter scoring: Sacramento 31, Minnesota 17

 

[Twix]

I'm glad the Inside Dish mention Adelman. He definitely deserve credit for the Kings victories all these years.


Hmm..I think this is the most I've ever read an opponent's quote. The Wolves players had a lot to say.

 

[KingKong]

I'm glad the Inside Dish mention Adelman. He definitely deserve credit for the Kings victories all these years.

Adelman definately doesn't get enough credit for the things that he has done over his tenure. He has a great ability to get a short- handed team to step up when Star players go down with injuries. He might be the best coach in the league at that.

Hmm..I think this is the most I've ever read an opponent's quote. The Wolves players had a lot to say.

Tell me about it, I had to use 2 posts because the Wolves rambled on. I like what KG said though, he made the most sense to me.

 

[SIR HENRY 8]

I'm glad the Inside Dish mention Adelman. He definitely deserve credit for the Kings victories all these years.


Hmm..I think this is the most I've ever read an opponent's quote. The Wolves players had a lot to say.

RA and the KINGS all deserve this kind of RESPECT,and from others than just Inside Dish,inc.officials..

 

[iheartBrad]

i love quotes

and that was a lot from Minny...i did read all of it

 

[Heuge]

KG on Cutino

"When you have a guy like Peja out, (Mobley) can slide right into that spot -- make some shots, make it a burden on our defense to pay him a lot more attention. If he gets going, he can definitely draw a double-team. And he shares the ball, so he fits right in with their system."

 

[KP]

How bout this as a veiled positive reference to Adelmans coaching style...

I was just paying attention to us, but the way (Saunders) was throwing around guys, I don't see how they can get their rhythm. --The Cat on letting players develop a flow.