Post-Game Summary: Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves

Iavaroni

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES HEAD COACH MARC IAVARONI

On the loss...
It was difficult getting a rhythm to this game. We had some guys out, but I thought the guys who took their place played hard. They were just better than us tonight. They shot the ball well. They rebounded and they dominated us inside physically, 62-45 on the boards. And they shot the ball well. Overall, we were out of rhythm. Unfortunately, we were not able to come up with a victory our last game at home.

On the season...
I think what’s the challenge is the things that don’t occur on the basketball floor. On the basketball floor you have experience to rely on. As an assistant, you’ve run practices, you’ve coached, and you teach, you strategize, you X and O, you do all those things. I think the challenge is off the court and keeping everyone plugged in. Communicating everyday with your general manager is something that is always done and requires a lot of hard work. Being on the same page with the ownership, the general manager, and your staff in terms of the future and us all agreeing on a direction is something that I have found very important to us this year. We took a big gamble and we think the gamble is going to pay off. It’s like any other team, whether it’s Phoenix trading for Shaq or us trading a big name player like Pau Gasol. We feel it is in the best interest of the franchise. Although we may take a hit in the short term, we feel we have to take that risk in order to go for our dreams. I think planning is really a tough endeavor.

Conley

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES GUARD MIKE CONLEY

On the loss...
I think that we started to come up with a lot of the loose balls. In the first half, they were getting all kinds of offensive rebounds. They stopped our break, and we really could not get into our rhythm. In the second half, we started getting rebounds and getting out and running.

On getting beat on the boards:...
They had a lot of guys down low. Al Jefferson is a great player, and he did a great job of getting to the basket. The rest of their players did a great job of getting them in as well. It was a tough night for us on defensive rebounding. I thought in the second half we really picked it up and executed a little better. We got back into the game.

On his rookie season...
It has been a long year. It has been a roller coaster. There were a lot of ups and downs. With the trades and injuries, it has been a whirlwind. I am glad to have this year under my belt. I have learned a lot from it, and I think it will make me a better player. It has been a productive year.

Gay

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES FORWARD RUDY GAY

On the Most Improved Player Award...
I think I am just as deserving as anyone else that is up for it. It is a lot of good guys that are getting better. I happen to be one of them. If I don’t win it, I understand.

Wittman

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES HEAD COACH RANDY WITTMAN

On playing back-to-back games...
I was a little concerned because last night we expended a lot of energy in that game. I was a little worried. But our guys came out and were getting stops early on the break. We got easy baskets. I think Kirk [Snyder] was really huge for us tonight. He got out in the lanes and Randy [Foye] threw the ball ahead. We scored quickly at the start of the game. It kind of gets you going then. That was the key to the game. We ran and threw the ball ahead as good as we have in a long time and converted the fast break.

Foye

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES GUARD RANDY FOYE

On the win...
We gave it everything. It was basically a turnaround from last night. We played really well last night in the fourth quarter. I think we just continued on in our first quarter today.

Jefferson

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES CENTER AL JEFFERSON

On the win...
Playing against those guys [the Grizzlies] you can’t turn the ball over. We just tried to attack them first and have them turn the ball over. We were able to be there and get the lead and hold on to it. You can’t turn the ball over or they’ll take it in. You have to take advantage of it. We had a lot of turnovers, but we still did a good job. I think Kirk [Snyder] did a good job on Rudy Gay in the second half. He made it tough on him. It was a good effort by us.