Postgame Quotes: Kings vs Knicks
November 25, 2009 by kingsconnect
Head Coach Paul Westphal
“Well that’s the way to bounce back from a disappointing game. I just thought that we got some great professional performances from pretty much everybody that played. Sometimes the numbers reflected it and sometimes it didn’t, but it was what a coach likes to see – how a team can respond. I thought that we played good defense, limited them to one shot quite a bit, pounded it in inside on them and just took advantage of a lot of situations in a real professional way.
“You can’t really talk about this game without talking about some of the individual performances. Donte Greene has continued his string of good play. He was just amazing tonight; forget the fact that he was shooting the ball well; his decision-making and his defense were what was so outstanding from where I sat. (Jon) Brockman came in and really pretty much restored order out there – he was very much of a presence. I thought that Sergio (Rodriguez) did a really good job off the bench, so did Ime (Udoka) and Omri (Casspi). All of the guys off the bench did what they were supposed to do.
“One of the things I’m most impressed about is Tyreke (Evans). He had 19 points – he needed 20 to get some kind of record for rookies and he would have liked to have gotten it, but he wasn’t going to stay in the game and pad his stats. We’re there to win the game and he understood that if he twisted his ankle trying to pad his stats, that isn’t professional. The attitude that these young guys have about putting the team first rather than trying to get famous or get records, it’s very impressive and I’m so pleased to see that that’s how these guys roll. So I’m very pleased.”
Jason Thompson
“It was good. We set the goal and we are just trying to take care of that home cookin’. It is fitting tonight since tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We have a couple of home games coming up here and once you win at home, it should make the road a little easier if we don’t put as much pressure on ourselves. We just have the mentality to take it one game at a time.”
On New Jersey
“I think we have the mentality of not looking at records. It is obviously early in the year. I don’t know how they did tonight, but we obviously don’t want to be their first win. They are a talented team, but they are just not gelling and playing well. We are going to keep playing our game; we aren’t going to change. We are just going to attack from the start.”
Donte Greene
“It was good. It was a good felling and a lot of hard work. We are a young team, but we are very talented.”
On his hard work
“It is all hard work. It was staying after practice late and getting to practice early and putting in the work. I had to prepare myself for nights like this.”
On how much fun it was tonight
“I think I showed all the Syracuse fans back in New York why I left school early. It is the reason why I am here. We just had to beat the Knicks.”
On his working with coach Mario Elie
“It has been great and I have learned a lot. I am getting better. It isn’t just with Coach Elie, it’s also with Truck (Robinson) on the defensive end, Shareef (Abdur-Rahim) on the offensive end and Mario chimes in on both. They have all got me well adjusted on this team. I am just trying to get better everyday.”
Tyreke Evans
“Toward the end of tonight I was thinking to myself, just one more point. I knew I had 19. I was also trying to go for the triple double. I had seven assists, but I just couldn’t get there.”
On if he was disappointed when coach took him out
“I wasn’t disappointed, but I was just trying to get the record. I understand where coach is coming from though. He said I am a good player and I will have a lot of records to break. He just didn’t want me to get hurt, so I had to rest my ankle. He took me out and I thought that was the best idea.”
Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks Head Coach
The team’s offensive game…
“It wasn’t just the offense. Our defense was very poor. You have to give them credit. They played very well. They played better than we did. We just have a lot of problems. We just can’t get anything going. We have guys that are shooting extremely bad.”
Searching for something in the second half…
“They were really the only one scoring at a clip. I was searching and am still searching. We’ll see what happens Friday night (at Denver). Obviously everything is and should be up in the air. We’re just trying to find six, seven or eight guys that can bring it every night and have some kind of level of consistency.”
Incorporating Danilo Gallinari…
“You have to incorporate yourself into it. He plays and he’s up and down like second year guys and rookies. He’s more or less a rookie. He’s learning like everyone else. He gets calls a little bit here and there. We’ll keep on working and he’ll keep improving.”
Chris Duhon, New York Knicks Guard
Tyreke Evans’ performance…
“He’s good. I watched him in college. Just his size and the way he handles the ball. He just walks with a swagger and plays with a swagger. He’s going to be really good.”
Tonight’s game…
“It went down hill from the beginning. We gave up a lot of open shots. They knocked down shots. It kind of just escalated throughout the game. We have been making strides. Now we have to remember that we’re capable of doing it. Just have to forget about it and get ready for the next one.”
Nate Robinson, New York Knicks Guard
Struggles in the second half…
“Not limiting them to one shot. They got a lot of loose balls, rebounds, put backs, steals here and there. They were a scrappy team tonight and that’s something we have to do as well.”
Tyreke Evans’ performance…
“He’s so aggressive going to the basket. From the outside he didn’t really hurt us but he’s getting to the basket and getting guys shots. He’s going to be a good player in this league. He’s tall and he knows how to play the game of basketball. I’ve seen him play a couple of times in high school so I kind of knew his game. Greene knocked down a couple of big shots. They played hard and it’s something we have to do as well.”
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