Dec. 5 vs. Portland Trail Blazers - Sam Mitchell andTerry StottsPregame Quotes
Timberwolves Interim Head Coach Sam Mitchell
On containing Damian Lillard…
“It’s got to be a team effort. Obviously he and (C.J.) McCollum are two scoring guards so guys who are guarding them have to do their job and it has to be a team effort and our big guys got to be up on the screens and try to help. We’ve got to try to limit his touches… Easier said than done.”
On using the quarter-point in the season for evaluation…
“You sit down and kind of talk about your players and what they need to continue to improve on and what you need to do better at doing. We do that, we talk that among our coaching staff and myself. We sit down and talk about the players and their development – especially with a young team… The other part of it is how we keep our veteran guys fresh and make sure we don’t overuse those guys so we have a good balance.”
On being more patient with a young player’s offense or defense…
“Probably defensively. Offense is a talent. Defense is thinking and schemes and carrying out game plans. You can just put them out there if you’ve got five talented guys and let them go up and down the court and they’ll figure out how to score if their scorers. You would think it would be the other way around but because of the way the game is changed with all the defensive things you have to do.”
Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts
On shooting 76 three-pointers in the last two games combined…
“As most people know, I do like 3-pointers. I like the fact that we got a lot of good shooters shooting them. Damian, C.J., Myers, Allen Crabbe, Chief’s (Aminu) has been struggling but he made his last game. Mo Harkless is back shooting a good percentage. So I encourage all of our guys to work on them and to shoot them when they’re open.”
On Noah Vonleh’s role in the starting lineup…
“It’s a combination of things. One is I think it’s easier for him to play with the starters and two I think Myers off the bench playing with Ed Davis is good. I think Myers coming off the bench helps our bench scoring which has really had an uptick. It’s important that we get Noah minutes and I want him to be productive.”
On Allen Crabbe’s play as of late…
“Well the offense speaks for itself. I’ve always been a fan of his defense, that’s been very consistent since day one and that hasn’t changed. Offensively, just his confidence. He’s moving well without the ball, he uses screens well, he runs in transition, he keeps it simple offensively, he’s shooting with confidence and taking good shots. There’s a lot to like”.