Sports & Culture Media

1/17 Pregame Quotes – Bulls @ Grizzlies

MEDIA RELEASE

GRIZZLIES ACTING HEAD COACH DARKO RAJAKOVIC

On having two days off to recover from fatigue:

“We had a lock-out day on Saturday and an individual day on Sunday for guys to come in and get some shots up. Today we did a walk-thru shootaround to get ready for the game tonight. I think our energy level and focus should be on a much higher level tonight.”

On the challenges, the bulls present tonight:

“They are the best team in the East. They have a lot of great players on that team like, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, and Coby White, but other guys are stepping up, like Ayo Dosunmu. He had a really good game against Boston with 21 points and 10 assists. They are definitely a team that competes and fights until the end, and they are well coached by Billy Donovan, so it’s going to be a tough match up for us.”

On players stepping up for the Grizzlies:

“In a unique season like this, you have to have the type of mentality that whatever season is presented, you have to be ready to step up and contribute to the team in any possible way. That’s what our team, and pretty much any successful teams this season, are doing.”

On how tough it is to scout when you haven’t seen players start:

“It’s not easy but our coaching staff, especially Sonia Raman, she dived pretty deep – seven or eight games – to make sure that we have all of the necessary information, and I think we’ll be ready for this team today.”

On what the organization has done on MLK day:

“Even when I was working for other organizations, coming to Memphis always felt like a special place to visit, especially the civil rights museum, to learn about the history of the movement and the city. Then to actually come to the Memphis Grizzlies and see how much it means to the organization and the people here, and how much they try to continue that movement and celebrate Martin Luther King Day, it just means so much for all of us.”

On growing up hearing about MLK being Serbian:

“We learned parts of it in world history in school, but definitely coming here and seeing it in person it brings a completely different view on things.”

On the bench’s defense:

“Our bench is doing a really good job of bringing that extra energy off the bench. The chemistry we have with our guys, their unselfishness, and the style of play our second unit has, that’s something that we want to continue to cherish and develop. Their defensive ability to switch, execute multiple coverages, control the rebounds, and once we get our stops, rebound the ball. It allows us to get up court and play much faster.”

Tyler Butler