Rockets Grizzlies Post Game Quotes

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They Said It ...
Game Quotes: Rockets 111, Grizzlies 109

ROCKETS HEAD COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY

(on the Rockets' defense) "When you're not ready to guard, right from the start, they're going to get away from you and make it a lot harder. And we got away with not being ready to defend. Played pretty well on the offense and took care of the ball, got pretty good shots. But, when we're not ready to defend, and we're so small, that we can't cover it up with size. I thought the 3rd quarter we were more ready, but they were already playing well on offense, got slowed down a little bit and then pounded us because of foul trouble inside for us. Missed free throws brought the game closer than we would have would have liked it to have been."

(on Luther Head's shooting) "He's a terrific shooter. I thought we passed the ball on target to him, which helps, and he's had courage from day 1 to shoot late."

(on who would be considered the 2nd man after Tracy McGrady) "I think you look for start-up shooters. I think whoever has the ball previous to that has to make the right decision. And (Tracy) McGrady is obviously the initiator of a lot of the action, so when he gets 2 on the ball, Mac (Tracy
McGrady) trusts implicitly the open man, regardless of who it is. Obviously, and rightfully so, defenses are going to spend most of their resources to Tracy (McGrady) late."

(on the foul trouble experienced tonight) "I feel like every game will be a challenge and that's why we have to be more ready than the other team. We stepped up on that (readiness) tonight. They (Memphis) certainly were more ready to play from the start. And, really, the Atlanta game they were really slow-starting night, but we guarded extremely well. Every game is going to be extremely hard. I know that as an opposing coach you're going to say this, but it really isn't a cliché, when you're in the hole from the start of they year like they are, they're not looking at a 7-25 team, they're looking at a very good team. If you look at the depth they have, the inside pressure now with (Pau) Gasol, I thought Stromile (Swift) the last 2 nights has had a huge impact on them being back, their point-guard play with Chucky Atkins has been good, and they have a lot of perimeter players. So we realized that they're a good team and when they're whole, and they're whole now and we take great pride in the win tonight because sometimes you can get mesmerized by (Tracy) McGrady's greatness and you can look at the great 3-point shooting or you can focus on the guys who struggled, but the collective heart of the team and the passion of the team, to me, is the intriguing subplot."

TRACY McGRADY

(on his role in the win) "I felt pretty good. My team was doing a great job of getting me the ball in the right spots. I seemed to get rolling early and I'm playing with a great deal of confidence now. Not having the big fella out there (Yao Ming), a lot is on my shoulders to carry this team and I'm accepting the challenge."

(on the clutch shooting by Luther Head) "It helps. It helps because I had it rolling tonight and I kind of knew that if the game was going to be close, and if I got the ball down the stretch of the game, that I would be double-teamed. I was confident in passing the ball and passing it to the right guys. Luther (Head) did a great job getting himself in an area where I could find him and he's really confident shooting the ball in any given situation. He knocked down a couple of key shots for us."

(on the Grizzlies' up-tempo style of play) "They came in here with an up-tempo style and it took us a little while to kind of get into it. I didn't think we were ready to play like that in the 1st 5 minutes, but we picked it up. It's kind of scary when you play a team that has a new coach and you don't know what to expect. You don't know if the players are throwing the towel in or if they've got great energy because it's a new coach. I think we did a great job of bouncing back. We can still improve on some things and I think we need to do a better job of being ready to play."

(on the play of Rockets lately) "It's looking pretty good. I still think there are a couple of areas we need to improve on, but I think for the most part, guys seem to be having fun out there, the ball is moving offensively, we just need to improve defensively. Giving a team like that (Grizzlies) such a high percentage shooting in the 1st half, we're not going to win very many games that way."

SHANE BATTIER

(on the win) "We found a way to win. It wasn't a very pretty win for us tonight. The Grizzlies played extremely hard and, at times, we failed to match their intensity. You find a way to grind them out sometimes and find a way to win in the last couple of minutes and that's what we did."

(on the play of Mike Miller) "That's my guy. I've know Mike (Miller) for a long time. It (his shooting) didn't surprise me. When he hit his 1st one, I said, 'Oh, Lord, it's one of those nights. He was hot...he was hot tonight."

(on the Rockets' defense of Mike Miller in the 2nd half) "We really just tried to make other guys beat us. I was guarding him most of the 2nd half. I tried as best as I could. He is such a dangerous shooter, I think he's one of the 3 best shooters in the league. You give him a centimeter and he's going to make you regret it."

(on the 2nd half clutch shooting of Luther Head) "Luther hit some big shots for us tonight. It was a tough game for us playing a really energetic Grizzlies team, but we needed that spark at the end of the game and Luther
(Head) always seems to do that. He hit some big shots and had a couple of deflections and it's a great niche that he's filled on this team for us."

LUTHER HEAD

(on Tracy McGrady creating open shots for his teammates) "He gets so much attention, sometimes everybody's watching him. Guys like myself are trying to find open spots. He has confidence in us to knock down the shots because we're going to be open."

(on the game's fast-paced style tonight) "It's not what we wanted. We don't want them to score. We don't want to have the game into the hundreds; we want to play defense and keep our opponents to under 80 so that we can have the advantage."

(on his open shot opportunities) "I don't care how much time is on the clock, I feel like I can make it. It has nothing to do with the time; I just like shooting the ball."

JUWAN HOWARD

(on the high-scoring affair tonight's game turned into) "Memphis is a different team. They are different from in the past back when they were playing for Coach (Mike) Fratello they were more of a slow-tempo type of team. They would walk the ball up the court and grind you out. Now they are more of an up-tempo type of team. They like to take the ball up-court and score quickly before the defense is set. Sure enough, tonight at the beginning, they were shooting the basketball really well. For example, Mike Miller was very hot from outside. This was definitely unexpected (the style of play), but I just enjoy winning the ball game...that's the most important thing."

(on his match-up against Stromile Swift) "I just try to be a smart basketball player and I try to take advantage of what the defense gives me.
When I saw Stromile (Swift) digging his hands in there and trying to dig the ball out, as a veteran ball player, I've got to do what's best to help the team and to help myself get the advantage."

(on the transition to the new ball starting the next game) "We welcome that.
I respect David Stern for taking the position he did. He could have ignored the players' complaints, but he stepped up and really supported us in taking the action that he did as far as the litigation. He looked out for the players."

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH TONY BARONE

(on the game) "I was really pleased with how our guys played. We competed our rear ends off the whole game. I liked the way we played and proud of our effort."

(on Mike Miller) "Mike Miller was phenomenal. He shot the ball well and ran the court for us. He is a tremendous open court player. There is no question about how he runs the court but I have been real pleased with how he's been coming off screens. He has the green light once he comes into the locket room."

(on Tracy McGrady's play) "Tracy McGrady is impossible to guard and that is the best I can say."

PAU GASOL

(on the game) "Houston let up and allowed us to come back into the game.
They relaxed and we took advantage of it. We did a good job of keeping up the pace and hustling on a back-to-back game. It's going to come if we keep playing like this. Our guys are ready and want to play."

(on how he feels after his return) "I feel pretty good but last night I twisted my ankle. I feel pretty good over-all and I am working on my conditioning."

MIKE MILER

(on the team's play) "The most important thing is we are competing and doing the right things. We have to continue getting better and keep working."

(on Tracy McGrady's play) "Tracy (McGrady) is a great basketball player and I've seen him do it a lot in the past. When he is healthy I expect him to play that way."

(on Coach Barone giving him the green light) "He's given me the opportunity to shoot and I know even if I miss he will keep giving me the ball."

CHUCKY ATKINS

(on the team's play) "I love the way we are playing. It's fun and the guys like it but we got a little tired at the end but we will be alright. We have a lot of shooters on this team and we want to keep the pace up. Our guys are looking forward to the games."

(on the Rockets) "They have two bonified stars in this league with Yao and Tracy. They have a nice team with some crafty veterans like Juwan (Howard) and Rafer (Alston). If they don't get any more injuries they should be one of the top teams in the West."