Posted 7/16 at 2:06 PM
Garrett Elwood/NBAE/Getty Images
It will be No. 1 vs. No. 2 when Thabeet and the Grizzlies face Griffin and the Clippers tonight
There will be a buzz in the air tonight at the Thomas and Mack Center when the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin and the Grizzlies Hasheem Thabeet, clash for the first time. Before what should prove to be an exciting night of basketball action, Coach David Joerger checked in to update the team’s progress.
How has the team progressed as the summer has gone along?
We played really well the first game and then only played alright in the second game, but still found a way to win, which is a really positive thing. New York put us in a lot of pick-and-roll situations, and we’ve tried over the last two days at getting better at defending that. We’ve been out here for eight days and we’ve only played in two games, so our guys are looking forward to a lot of games as Summer League winds down. At the end of the Summer League it doesn’t matter if we win or lose, we have to get better, especially our roster guys. We need them to play and learn their role in our system. We want to see how guys react in different situations and figure out what they have to work on between now and training camp.
Can you give your thoughts on tonight’s game between the Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers?
Tonight’s game will see the number one (Blake Griffin) and number two player (Hasheem Thabeet) in the draft. It is at 7:30 game at the Thomas and Mack Center so it is a big deal for both teams as the showcase game of the day.
Will Thabeet approach the game differently tonight because he knows he’s going up against the player that was picked one spot before him in the 2009 NBA Draft?
I don’t think Hasheem’s approach will be any different today than it has been. I think that he knows what he needs to do and that is get better everyday. In the big picture he is trying to get better. He knows what tonight’s game is, but he’s just trying to get better.
Although many people will be keying in on Thabeet and Griffin, Darrell Arthur will actually be the player who will be in charge of slowing down Griffin today. How do you think he matches up?
They are very similar. They are both active, both athletic. They both have high motors. Darrell played pretty well against him when they were in college. Darrell is our go to guy with this group, so we are going to need to go at Griffin not just defensively, but also offensively because he is our go to guy on offense for this team.
Has it been hard being in Las Vegas for the past eight days and only playing two games?
You just try to keep their focus on the fact that when you have a shoot-around or a non-game day practice they get into our system and focus on working hard. The games are only half of it. They are learning how to be pros and come to practice every day. That is something we are trying to push their focus to.
There is a lot of chatter amongst team executives and league personnel that goes on during Summer League. Do you feel like this affects the players at all?
They are just focused on practice and playing the games. It is not something that they worry about. There are a lot of general managers and owners out here, but it isn’t something that the players talk about or think about too much.
Posted 7/16 at 2:06 PM
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If thabeet want to convince he is a really good defense player this is a chance to block griffin and show his skills!!!
Griffin with 12 pts/ 11 rebs at halftime while Thabeet has 4 points/0-2 FG/2 rebs/3 TOs… Griffin’s just too good, to be honest.
as long as the grizzlies go 5 and 0 ti help build a foundation i dont care about hype in summer league when season start then i will have concerns
sam is awesome he pr0ved it in summer league