Kanter on wearing down Aldridge: I'm just trying to do my job. Coach Ty just said just go out there and fight and just [get] every rebound, touch every rebound, go guard him. And I'm just trying to do my job and do what coach tells me to do.
Learning how to play tough and use his body: It's just natural. That was my game even when I was little.
Using defense to set up transition points: When I get the rebound, I'm passing the ball. When they score, I'm just [happy]. Derrick [Favors} did a great job, Paul [Millsap] did a great job and Jeremy [Evans] did a great job. It feels great.
Understanding how he can make a difference on the court: I'm still trying to figure out my game. Everything is going to be so much better.
Earl Watson on the importance of the win: This is an amazing week for us. Playing Portland, Portland's a tough team. And they're a team, they're going to come out, they're going to fight you. They're going to grind it out. They're going to play aggressive. They feel like they're the toughest team in the NBA and that's like their edge, it's their angle. A lot of times they say, teams like that, you match their energy. I'm the opposite: make them match our energy and just keep pushing and pushing and pushing. And we got the W.
What changed during second half: We realized what we're playing for. We're playing for the playoffs. This is not just another game. This is not a preseason game. This is not another game. We all know in this league, after January the season fly by. So this game was monumental, it was epic, it was big for us to get some space.
C.J. Miles on the Jazz outhustling and outfighting opponents: We're tough. I think people look at a young team and don't expect us to be that way. I don't believe in that youth thing. I believe we have the talent, so we should be able to win games. Being young has nothing to do with the way we work. We come in and we play hard and we can beat anybody.
Learning how to play tough and use his body: It's just natural. That was my game even when I was little.
Using defense to set up transition points: When I get the rebound, I'm passing the ball. When they score, I'm just [happy]. Derrick [Favors} did a great job, Paul [Millsap] did a great job and Jeremy [Evans] did a great job. It feels great.
Understanding how he can make a difference on the court: I'm still trying to figure out my game. Everything is going to be so much better.
Earl Watson on the importance of the win: This is an amazing week for us. Playing Portland, Portland's a tough team. And they're a team, they're going to come out, they're going to fight you. They're going to grind it out. They're going to play aggressive. They feel like they're the toughest team in the NBA and that's like their edge, it's their angle. A lot of times they say, teams like that, you match their energy. I'm the opposite: make them match our energy and just keep pushing and pushing and pushing. And we got the W.
What changed during second half: We realized what we're playing for. We're playing for the playoffs. This is not just another game. This is not a preseason game. This is not another game. We all know in this league, after January the season fly by. So this game was monumental, it was epic, it was big for us to get some space.
C.J. Miles on the Jazz outhustling and outfighting opponents: We're tough. I think people look at a young team and don't expect us to be that way. I don't believe in that youth thing. I believe we have the talent, so we should be able to win games. Being young has nothing to do with the way we work. We come in and we play hard and we can beat anybody.
