Postgame Quotes vs Hornets 12/1/04

#1
http://www.nba.com/hornets/news/quotes_041201.html

Hornets 81, Kings 94
Inside the Locker Room: December 1, 2004

Head Coach Byron Scott

Scott

(on the play of Sacramento)
They are one of the best passing and shooting teams in this league. If you allow them to get a shot, they are going to knock them down on a consistent basis. In that second quarter, they got hot and we got cold. That was basically the ballgame. We were fighting uphill all night long. Again, our guys continue to play hard. But against a team like this if you give them any lee-way you’re going to be in trouble because you are going to be skating uphill all night long.

Guard David Wesley

Wesley

(comparing tonight’s game to others)
It was different but the same. It is still a loss. We need to end this run and get a win some way, somewhere. We need to shoot the ball better and put it in the hole because you can’ t win if you don’t score. Our defense is good in spots, our rebounding is good in spots, and sometimes we turn the ball over at the wrong time. Like tonight we almost had to play a perfect 2nd half just to get back into this game, and we didn’t do that.

Kings Head Coach Rick Adelman

Adelman

(on the game)
It was just a good win. These guys (Hornets) are really struggling, they’re banged up but they’re playing hard. They struggled making shots tonight. We haven’t seen a lot of zone defenses. We weren’t very good early in the fourth quarter, but as the quarter went on, we got shots and started making shots. We wanted to take advantage of last night (win over Memphis) and go home with two wins.

(on second-quarter run)
I thought we were really playing well offensively. We were shooting it well; we were moving it well. We had some guys come in and play well off the bench. We got a rhythm going, and they were struggling to make shots.

(on the Kings' turnovers)
We turned it over more tonight (18) than we have in a long time. About six or seven of those were us trying to make too fine of a play.

(on Hornets)
You lose basically your top three scorers, and Rodney Rogers is out. That’s really hard. You’re asking guys to step up and do things that they’re not accustomed to. I watched their games on the road, and they never quit. I thought they played hard tonight. It was a scary game for me. (The Hornets) have a lot of solid veterans who have the reputations for playing hard, and unfortunately for them tonight, they didn’t make shots.

Kings Guard Bobby Jackson

Jackson

(about his play tonight)
I’m just coming out and trying to play hard, and help our team win. I feel that I am playing well right now.

(about his hustle and his confidence tonight)
I am always playing confident. I was shooting it well tonight and trying to be aggressive going to the hole and it seemed to work out well for me.
 
#2
The Inside Dish vs. Hornets

http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Inside_Dishat_New_Orleans-124519-58.html

The Inside Dish
by Devin Blankenship--December 1, 2004
Kings @ New Orleans

Hurtin...
Things really aren’t fair for the New Orleans Hornets right now.

First off, they were forced to change conferences from the comfy East to the unbelievable tough West during the offseason, turning them from a probable playoff team into another squad trying to just stay alive in Wild, Wild West.

Then the injuries hit.

First Jamal Mashburn went down for the season before training camp began. Then Baron Davis’ back started acting up, leaving him unable to play on a regular basis. The last straw came this week when All-Star center Jamal Magloire was put on the injured list for three months with a fractured finger.

For those of you that are numerically-challenged, that’s three all-stars gone in the first month of the season. No team would be able to deal with that.

“You lose basically your top three scorers, and Rodney Rogers is out,” said Rick Adelman. “That’s really hard. You’re asking guys to step up and do things that they’re not accustomed to. I watched their games on the road, and they never quit.

Unfortunately for new head coach Byron Scott, you really couldn’t have scripted a worse start, and we’re not even talking about the fact that the Hornets have only won one game so far.

Things have to start getting better though. The Hornets have talent with J.R. Smith, David Wesley, and P.J. Brown, they just need to get Davis back and up to speed.

It just will most likely be too late for this season, especially since their divisional move.

Mini-Bench Mob…
The Kings bench played its second-straight good game, exposing the Hornets lack of depth.

They were quick, hit shots and in reality outplayed the Sacramento starters, pushing a two-point Kings deficit into a 17-point lead in the second quarter.

It’s apparent that Bobby Jackson has rounded back into his usual form, and the rest of the group appears to be getting used to playing together.

Perhaps the player who has demonstrated the most progress is Greg Ostertag. Tag was effective against the Grizzlies athletic front line last night in Memphis, blocking five shots and grabbing five rebounds, and played well on Wednesday. If he can continue to progress and mesh with the second unit like he has, Greg will become one of the keys to solving the Kings rebounding woes.

Random Thoughts…

* After losing their first four road games of the season, Sacramento has run off four straight road wins—not bad.

* I know that I’m jinxing it, but the Kings free throw shooting this season has been amazing. They were 20-23 from the line on Wednesday, and are shooting 75% for the season.

* The Hornets kind of surprised the Kings with a zone defense in the fourth quarter, which helped them cut the Kings lead to nine points. But the key to beating a zone is be patient, pass well, and knock down open shots, all things Sacramento is good at.

* Gotta love this quote from Chris Webber last night in Memphis after hitting the game-clinching shot. "(It) was a fun shot. Usually when a guy comes and you pump-fake, you dribble all the way in or you take one dribble and shoot a jump shot. But I saw Greg (Ostertag) in the paint and I knew his big butt was going to tip it or touch it if I missed, so I just tried to float it up with the one hand, and fortunately I made it." :D

Top Performer: Bobby Jackson (In the article it has BJ's face with Eddie Griffin written underneath) :confused:
He really got things going in the second quarter, and finished the game with 19 points and five rebounds

Quotables
“I am always playing confident. I was shooting it well tonight and trying to be aggressive going to the hole and it seemed to work out well for me.”
-Bobby Jackson

Play of the Game
With eight minutes to go in the second quarter, Bobby Jackson stole the ball in the Hornets’ backcourt and passed to Matt Barnes, who drove and spun beautifully on Lee Nailon for the lay-up—all part of a Kings 19-0 run.

Top Stat
Free throws: Sacramento 20-23, New Orleans 6-7
 
Last edited:
#7
KingKong said:
"(It) was a fun shot. Usually when a guy comes and you pump-fake, you dribble all the way in or you take one dribble and shoot a jump shot. But I saw Greg (Ostertag) in the paint and I knew his big butt was going to tip it or touch it if I missed, so I just tried to float it up with the one hand, and fortunately I made it." :D
LOLZ...