(no subject)
Q. You guys give up 102, only forced four turnovers, is your defense broke or does it just need some tinkering?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: No. Our halfcourt defense is very good. If you would have told me before these games that we're going to handle Rasheed and Rip and Tayshaun the way we have, I would have been thrilled.
So the halfcourt defense is good, what stinks are the boards and the turnovers. As you know, after Game 3, that was a huge priority for us, and on the boards, we really improved a lot. We only gave up 19 instead of 20 on second chance points. And on the turnovers, we gave up 23 in Game 3 and we gave up 25 last night.
So my speech was not heeded very well, or, you know, maybe I didn't say it loudly enough, but that's where their points are coming from. It's been two games in a row like that, and if you give them those points, you're in trouble because at the same time, you're not scoring because you just gave the ball up or you gave them that many more possessions. So it's a double whammy, and that's what's going on. I think, well, why is it going on? Well, it's going on because we've succumbed to their physical play in my opinion. They have raised the bar in physicality. They do not want to give up the ring and we have not met that challenge to date in Games 3 and 4.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: No. Our halfcourt defense is very good. If you would have told me before these games that we're going to handle Rasheed and Rip and Tayshaun the way we have, I would have been thrilled.
So the halfcourt defense is good, what stinks are the boards and the turnovers. As you know, after Game 3, that was a huge priority for us, and on the boards, we really improved a lot. We only gave up 19 instead of 20 on second chance points. And on the turnovers, we gave up 23 in Game 3 and we gave up 25 last night.
So my speech was not heeded very well, or, you know, maybe I didn't say it loudly enough, but that's where their points are coming from. It's been two games in a row like that, and if you give them those points, you're in trouble because at the same time, you're not scoring because you just gave the ball up or you gave them that many more possessions. So it's a double whammy, and that's what's going on. I think, well, why is it going on? Well, it's going on because we've succumbed to their physical play in my opinion. They have raised the bar in physicality. They do not want to give up the ring and we have not met that challenge to date in Games 3 and 4.