Additional Quotes >> USA 86, Argentina 80
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Mike Krzyzewski
Thoughts on the game?
It was a great game for us because we played against champions. The
Argentine team played like champions for over a decade and to play in a
game like, I thought it was really our first international game … a crowd,
the officials, it was really good for us to get a flavor of things. I
thought our guys did a great job at the start of each half. The spirit of
the Argentina team showed whenever they got double figures behind, they
actually played better. Ginobili is really one of the great players
internationally. I thought Kevin was sensational tonight against man and
zone. We learned a lot. Four of the plays in the game.: it is a
traveling violation; we’re not complaining about it. In international
ball, we had four of them that you usually don’t get in the United States
and so we have to adjust to that. That’s four exchanges when you had a
positive flow taking away from us and those things add up. We’re
continuing to learn as a team and a game like this helps us tremendously.
What about the atmosphere in the building?
I thought the atmosphere was great; the crowd was terrific. You have two
teams that have won championships internationally so they’re going to play
with a lot of pride. It was not anything that we didn’t expect. We
expected a good, close game and we’re pleased that we were able to win.
Thoughts on the rebounding situation?
I think we rebounded with them. I thought we rebounded well in the second
half. We outrebounded them by 10 or 12. I think because we hit so many
shots early, you end up thinking every shot’s going on so you stop going to
the boards. We have to get accustomed to plays that don’t occur in our
basketball like that travel and like the 6-point possession where Chris
(Paul) was charged with two fouls and they got six points on that exchange.
They happen in international ball and we have to adjust to it but on that
play, our starting point guard got his second, third fouls and they cut the
differential by six points. Those just don’t happen and they will happen
and we have to be better than to let that happen against us.
What are your thoughts on how Kevin is transitioning (from NBA season to USA Basketball)?
We haven’t seen any signs of Kevin, Russell or James holding back. We have
to be careful in how we pace the team, not just for the Thunder and Heat
but for all of our NBA players because it’s been a very condensed, tough
season. But, they’ve handled everything well.
(Kevin) looks even more serious than normal to me?
He looked like he did in Istanbul tonight.
Your thoughts about playing against Spain?
We’re obviously excited about the game. Playing against Spain, a
championship-level team, World Champs in 2006, silver medalist in Beijing …
They’re just one of the top teams. It gives us the opportunity before the
Olympics to play the toughest game that we could play which should help us
in our preparation.
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What is the state of this team right now?
We’re fine. We won. We’ll make a couple of adjustments. The game got a little dirty. We weren’t expecting to come out and blow them out tonight. We know they are a good team that doesn’t quit despite how much they get down or what the state of the game is. We expected a game like this coming into it.
Are people ever going to figure out that this is the way it is supposed to be? (other good teams)
At the end of the day, as long as you win the basketball game. That’s what we were talking about at halftime. We try to come out and put teams away right away. Some games, it’s not going to be like that. Like tonight, they weren’t going to roll over.
ODid Argentina get physical tonight?
I think that’s what Argentina does. They come out. They try to play physical. They bring the nastiness to the game. We like that. They want to do that. They did that in the second quarter and it got them back in the game. They made it a game from there.
How did you like wearing Magic’s uniform?
The uniforms were nice, I’ll tell you that. In the locker room, everybody was taking pictures with the uniforms. It brought back so many memories from back then in ’92.
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Thoughts on the game?
It was a competitive game. We made a lot of mistakes but Argentina played extremely well.
Do you feel confident about where the team is going into the Olympics?
We’re getting there. There are still some things we need to correct defensively but we’re getting there.
Thoughts on Argentina tonight?
It was a good game. Argentina played very well. They shot the ball very well. We made some mistakes that really allowed them to stay in the game. They played extremely well. It’s tough. Argentina is a very good team and very tough-minded. They continue to play hard. For us, it was a big challenge to try to put the game away. We just could never do it.
Are you better on offense or defense?
We’re probably even. We do a pretty good job defensively and a pretty good job offensively as well. For the most part, we use our defense to create offensive opportunities.
Thoughts on playing Spain on Tuesday?
It’s going to be good. It’s going to be fun. First and foremost, I’m looking forward to see Pau (Gasol) tomorrow. We have an event together so I’m looking forward to seeing him. When we play, we’re going to compete and play hard and try to win. Lot of its for bragging rights during the season. It’s going to be fun.
Thoughts on playing Spain on Tuesday?
It’s going to be good. It’s going to be fun. First and foremost, I’m looking forward to see Pau (Gasol) tomorrow. We have an event together so I’m looking forward to seeing him. When we play, we’re going to compete and play hard and try to win. Lot of its for bragging rights during the season. It’s going to be fun.
What impressed you most about Argentina?
I wouldn’t say anything really surprised me tonight because I know them pretty well. They do what they normally do. They continue to play hard. They’re very smart. They play together and they’re very tough. They’re well-coached. We knew what we were getting into and they played extremely well.
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Thoughts on the game?
We started off pretty well, got a couple of shots. Argentina did a great job of slowing the game down, making the right passes and penetrating and executing. So, it was a good game for us. We learned a lot tonight. We just have to keep getting better for the Olympics and our guys did a good job of playing through everything, playing hard, playing together.
What happened between you and Scola in the first half?
Chris got a technical foul and Scola gave him a little bit extra. I can’t
let anybody get in our point guard’s face and I had to try to break it up.
We’re a team and we have to stick together. Unfortunately, we gave up six
points in the stretch and we got to use our heads a little bit better, not
let our emotions take over and be smart.
What are the challenges for you making the transition from a long NBA
season?
I’m just trying to focus on USA Basketball and how I can help the team. I
think my focus now is on USA Basketball and I can take a lot away from
that. That phase is over with … I’m going to whatever Coach needs me to
do … just try to help as much as I can.
How does it feel to play against the Gasols and Serge in your next game?
It’s going to be a tough game. They’re on their homecourt. Those guys are
big but I think we come out and play hard, play together, we’ll be fine.
It will be fun playing against my teammate but on Tuesday, he’s not my
teammate , he’s not my friend. I’m going to go out there and give it all
for my group of guys and it should be fun.
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Thoughts on the game?
We played good basketball. We got up a few times and let them back in the game but that’s a very good team, very well-coached team. They’ve been together a long time. We knew they were going to make their run. The best part about it was that we didn’t lose our composure and we kept going at them.
You’re shooting so much from the 3-point line; do you think that will be a problem for this team in the Olympics Games?
We've got to be more balanced. We can’t get too caught up in the 3-point line. We need to be more balanced and attacking and getting into the lane and creating some more. We made some early and we started feeling good about ourselves and that’s why we continued to shoot them but we have to have more balance.
Do you think Spain and USA will be the final game in London?
I can’t predict the future but hopefully we’re at the end and if we get there, whoever we are challenged by, we’ll accept it.
How do you feel about the state of the team right now?
Good. I love it. You hate to breeze through exhibition games and you get to London and you start getting competitive. We have a very good team and it doesn’t matter how many points you win by. We just want to play well and get better that night. I feel like we got better tonight.
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Chris Paul
Thoughts on the game?
It was a hard fought game. We got off to a great start. Our defense let up a little bit. We got to rebound better but it was a good warm up game for us getting ready for the Olympics.
In the second half, you guys seemed to get to more loose balls and rebounded better?
The second half, we definitely started rebounding better. Melo got on the boards alone with KD, Bron and Tyson. Us guards talked about it. We have to continue to get in there and rebound also.
What about your 3-point shot late in the game that extended the lead?
That was only my second shot of the game. I felt for most of the game, I was letting them off the hook. They were going under the ball screens and he went under and I saw that I was open so I felt like I’d try to knock it down.
What goes through your mind there as you’re stepping into that shot?
With this team that we have, a lot of times I’ll have a good shot but you can always get one of your teammates a better shot. I’m standing open sometimes but I bring a defender to me and I can kick it to Kevin Durant so I like his chances also. At this stage and with this much competition, you got to stay confident.
What does the team need to do at this stage to get better?
My focus right now is we got to continue to get better defensively and just stay solid. We got stay out of foul trouble early in quarters and understand that these guys have been playing together for a long time and we got to bring it together as quick as possible.
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Thoughts on the game?
It was a good game. Argentina definitely played us well. We got out to an early lead and they were able to withstand that and come back. They gave us a heck of a fight. It’s game we will definitely go and watch the film and look at for areas that we can improve for next time because we have to play these guys again in pool play.
Does the team need more time to come together?
We’ve only been together for two weeks so we’re using all these warm up games to get better as a team and to learn about ourselves. We won the game. That’s the most important thing is we won the game and now we can go look at the film and see what we did wrong and what we did well.
What needs more work after tonight: offense or defense?
I think a little bit of both needed work tonight. We’re more worried about our defense. We know we can score points. We’re more worried about defense. We just missed a lot of open shots tonight.
No one said the gold medal would be easy, right?
No, no. There are good teams out there. We know that. We don’t overlook any opponent and we feel like that there are lot of tough teams that if we don’t come to play, if we don’t play up to our level, they can beat us. Argentina is one of them, Spain is one of them, Brazil is one of them. These are three of the best warmup games you could probably ask for against those three tough teams.
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