That's What He Said - Sacramento Kings

http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/twhs-20171101-sacbos























BRAD STEVENS

RE: Daniel Theis and Semi Ojeleye off the bench:

“I thought our second unit was the reason why we were in the position at halftime that we were in. I thought that they came in – especially the start of the second quarter – I thought we, you know, that was our defensive nine minutes, or eight minutes, or seven minutes or whatever it was to start the quarter – and then I thought those guys got it going on the other end a little bit, too. And I thought when our starters came back in, especially at the start of the third, they were really good. But I thought we were kind of going back and forth and then the bench got us kick-started today, which is good. I’m encouraged by that.”

RE: Daniel Theis’ rebounding:

“Yeah, and he’s playing against big, strong guys, obviously, when you talk about Kostas (Koufos) and obviously Willie Cauley-Stein or (Zach) Randolph, the guys that can go above the rim and get balls. Or guys that have been good rebounders for a long time. And you know, he just has a good motor to him. He’s always in good position. Never quits on plays. He’s got good balance as we can see, and he’s awfully long so he keeps his hands – even when he doesn’t get it, he tips it, kind of keeps it alive. But I think he’s had a – obviously – a darn good first eight games; he’s certainly played – done a lot of good things for us.”

RE: Jaylen Brown:

“You know what was interesting: I thought that he only took eight shots, but obviously 22 points on eight shots is great. I thought that he – he took all the right ones. He didn’t force anything. I thought he was really, really active defensively when he was in there and I thought that obviously when he gets going out on the open floor on cuts, when he gets an angle at the rim, he’s really good. So I thought he played really well and, you know, that’s a good thing. We believe in his shooting; that’s for sure.”

RE: Difference in Brown’s play at home and on the road:

“I thought he played – I thought he had moments last year both at home and on the road – I’m not – those are things that work themselves out over time. You focus on the next task. We’ve talked about this before; I don’t talk a lot about home and road. We’ve just – we’ve got a game to play and we’ve got to focus on what we need to do to win that possession. And again, we got a lot of good contributions today. I was – not only the guys that shot it in, but I thought – I thought one of the most important players in the first half was (Marcus) Smart. I thought the way that he moved the ball – he had six assists at halftime – he was playing out in the post. He could’ve forced a couple, but he found open guys. If we can keep playing on a night where one guy catches fire and we keep finding him, that’s great. And on another night, just keep finding each other, that’s a positive. I liked the fact that we had as many assisted field goals as we did.”

DANIEL THEIS

RE: Transition to NBA:

“It's great. I struggled a little bit in preseason, a little bit of the fast pace of the game. But now its better, I’m getting used to it.”

RE: Did you think you’d pick it up quick after the first week of season:

“I mean its still basketball. I played in Europe for the last seven years. Its just a little bit faster here, I needed some time to get used to it. With the team that we have, like Al (Horford) was helping me a lot in preseason, Aron (Baynes) helped me a lot in just talking to me about the game and how Brad (Stevens) wants us to play.”

RE: Key to be effective rebounder:

“That’s my job here. I just want to play with energy and go for rebounds, offensive rebounds; with my long arms I tip a lot of balls and just try to get some extra shots for the team.”

RE: Difference tonight in second quarter/vs last game:

“Today we just played with a lot of energy. Against San Antonio we blew a lead a little bit so we just came in and tried to play defense, play fair, and share the ball.”

JAYLEN BROWN

RE: Defense tonight:

“It starts from the top with Brad (Stevens) that is his emphasis, defense, so we got to try and come out and stay consistent on that side of the ball every single night which is tough to do. I’m pleased to see where we are at defensively and I think we can be a whole lot better. I think we have a good group of guys who work their tails off to get better and I think we are going to continue to go up from here.”

RE: Able to get into such a rhythm from downtown tonight:

“Just working on it. Not really thinking about it, just letting it fly. My teammates found me. Kyrie (Irving) did a good job of hitting me and just getting me a rhythm and some of them just happened to go in today.”

RE: Getting space:

“Kyrie (Irving) and Horford are going to draw so much attention, especially Kyrie. I mean I’m just licking my chops every time they double Kyrie or whoever so I’m just trying to stay as ready as possible, trying to take the pressure off them they got to guard me, Jason (Tatum), Smart (Marcus) and Terry (Rozier) too.”

RE: Key to tonight with this team:

“I think Brad (Stevens) came in and set the emphasis before the game even started. He said this is a game that I’m really anxious and excited about because its easy to write off a team that is struggling, but they are going to come out and compete and play hard because they want to win. Brad said it from the jump, he said I’ll be really impressed if you guys came out and played with that same energy you had two nights ago against San Antonio. I think we accepted this challenge and came out and played some good basketball.”

DAVID JOERGER

RE: How difficult it is to defend a team that just spreads the floor and can fire away:

“That’s the name of the game and the NBA. At this time, I’m really proud of our guys. I thought we were significantly better than we were last night and the night before. We made progress, were setting some screens. It looked like a pro basketball game. Executing and getting the ball to the spots on the floor. We just struggle to score – and when you play a team that can score, sometimes that inability let’s them be even more free and more loose.”

RE: Starting the game strong, weaker second half:

“We’re struggling to make shots and we get a lot of overlooks. The guys just got to make some shots. Step up, knock some shots down.”

BUDDY HIELD

RE: Defensive impact:

“Just learning – it’s a process. I’m thankful for the guys and the coaching staff each and everyday, I’m just learning.”

RE: The loses piling up:

“I think despite the loses, I think we can say we played better. Moving the ball, playing with each other. It can mentally break you down but we are getting mentally stronger each and every day.”

RE: Struggling shooting, the process to work through that:

“I do extra shooting…. In the NBA it’s hard to just go get the ball. You got professionals around you… It’s just part of the game. You really got to lock down and focus and prepare yourself – block out all the stuff around you, and prepare yourself to go out there and compete. Make shots. Help your teammates. Patience. Patience, patience, patience. I think that I need to be a little more patient too, that will help me.”

BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC

RE: Adjusting to the schedule and learning on the fly:

“Yeah, it’s tough – especially when you play against these teams that are championship contenders. They know how to play. We’re still learning but I think we opened the game better. We just need to figure out how to keep the same face until the end of the game.”

RE: The difference between playing over seas, how difficult it is to pick up what is going on:

“I don’t want that to be some kind of excuse for me. You want to look forward, move on forward and work hard – nothing else – simple.”

RE: How comfortable he feels in the starting line up:

“I feel comfortable, I mean I’m trying to give my maximum and do the best that I can for a win.”

bob



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