What they said after the Hawks’ 103-78 loss to the Spurs Saturday:
"I thought overall, for the majority of the game, the guys competed and got after it. I think defensively our activity was decent, creating 23 turnovers. I think we put a lot of pressure on our defense in the first half with only scoring 25 points. I think defensively the activity and the effort was there. Offensively, we caught a rhythm in the second half but it was too late. They are a good team. They've done this defensively to a lot of opponents this year. It's a challenge for us on how we can get better offensively against a really good defensive team. Lot to learn. Lot of room for growth. Lot of room for improvement. We have to embrace that." – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer's opening statement
"Not really measuring stick. It's indicative of offensively how can we get better and just execute at a higher level when you are playing against a team that is holding opponents to a low field goal percentage, low points. Can we be one of those teams that can break through. A little bit in the third quarter we did but we didn't maintain our defense. They are a good team. There are a lot of them in the league. We have a lot of room to improve to try to match them." – Budenholzer on measuring the Hawks against an elite team
"We've got to finish better in the paint, whether it be the bigs or the smalls. There is probably some credit that goes to (the Spurs) and their activity around the rim. Ultimately, we've got to make (shots) close to the basket. It looks like layups. We have to finish better." – Budenholzer on missing so many shots in the paint
"I don't think we are where we need to be so yeah I think this is fair way to assess our team. We are not playing very good basketball right now." – Al Horford on how Hawks stack up against top team like Spurs
"You have to give them credit. A lot of (the misses) were them bothering shots. We need to find ways to get easier looks. I think everything we got tonight was very contested. Everything we got was very hard." – Horford missing so many shots in paint
"Not compared to them, no. We are comparing ourselves to ourselves. We are trying to get better. We are trying to be a better group than we were last year. We are trying to add on to that. We can take some stuff from them because they are a good team. But we are not them. We'll never be them. We'll be ourselves and try to win games and win championships being us." – Paul Millsap on how Hawks stack up against top team like Spurs
"They made it tough on us but then our level of focus on the offensive end has to be better." – Millsap on missing so many shots in the paint
"We missed a ton of easy shots. Wide open. A lot of guys left a lot of points on the floor, layups, shots guys normally make. We missed a ton of bunnies. Against a team like that, once you get behind it's tough because they are not going to beat themselves. It's not like you can't beat them. We forced them into 23 turnovers and they had such a cushion that you couldn't even tell." – Kent Bazemore on missing so many shots in paint
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