Following the Game 1 win by the San Antonio Spurs, our sideline reporter caught up with both GMs and got his burning questions answered. 

Leeroy, I know you won, but what did you see from your team that can be improved on in the 1st game?

“Turnovers have been an issue for us all season, while we have been really good at taking the ball away, we have been worse at giving it right back. Three pointers would be the other area, we played into the Rockets hands a little with 33 attempts, more than we would like. They are protecting the paint and it has forced us to take our shots further out. But if we can hit 12 every game we will be in good shape.”

Ah I see, you moved Williams to the starting center spot and moved West out.  What was the reasoning behind this, and will it continue?

“Rebounding has been a key area in this game for a while and we felt the superior rebounding that Williams brings was going to be beneficial against Whiteside. The Center position has been rotating since we lost Embiid and I would imagine that would continue, if we see a reason for West to start then so be it.”

Rebounding is usually the key to most NLL games, somehow Conley played 10 minutes less than Beverley who started at SG.  Was this on purpose?  Conley is clearly better than Beverley, what should change here?

“Mike was in early foul trouble and TJ was playing well so that is why his minutes were down. Nothing to do with Bev. You can all expect a healthy dose of Conley going forward.”

Good to know that Conley is still in the plans for the future.  Thomas took most of the shots for his team.  This played right into your hands as he isn't super-efficient.  Was this a strategy to let him take his shots and stop the rest of the team, or was it more of an accident?

“We identified where the Rockets strengths lie and have adjusted a little to that, Thomas is a star and of course I want to stop him as much as possible, the Rockets rightfully would want him and Hayward to be taking the majority of their shots we just have to live with that and make those shots as difficult as we can.”

Thanks Leeroy, clearly you have some ideas on how to improve on the game 1 win.  Let’s see what GM Vitticus has to say from Houston.

Vitticus, why did you move Hayward to SF after stating for weeks that he plays better at the shooting guard spot?  Is this something you might look to change for game 2?

“Hayward originally played better in our system at the SG position. By the end of the season, we figured out how to use him at both wing positions. We tend to swap Liggins & Hayward depending on the matchup now.”

Ah, so we might see a matchup change by both teams!  IT took a lot of shots and didn't hit many, is there a coaching change that you might look to?  Is this by design?  What are the team’s thoughts on this?

“As for IT, there isn't really anything we can do. We understand he has his flaws, but we believe he is still our best chance at winning. We will continue to research for a better option in the little time we have. But until then, we will continue to let him do what he does and pray for the best.”

You gotta let your stars be them, good point.  Anthony Davis destroyed it, which was to be expected, is there any thought to maybe moving Whiteside to the 4 to guard him?

“Big Al is out. Whiteside and Aldrich are our only centers right now. If we made that move, Kuzminskas or Ochefu would have to move to center. And I don't think that would be too pretty. It is still an option though that would require testing in what little time we have.”

So no mix up down low, Kuzminskas was awesome off the bench, is there any thought to moving him back into the starting spot?

“Moving Kuzminskas to the starting lineup is somewhat unlikely. We as a team like to run a 3-2 formula (3 scorers, 2 role-players). The 3 scorers being IT, Whiteside, and Hayward. The 2 role-players being Liggins and Jerebko. Then on the bench, the 3 scorers being Waiters, Jefferson, and Afflalo. The 2 role-players being Aldrich and Frazier. But as we all know, both Waiters and Jefferson are out. This pushes Frazier and Kuzminskas to step up as the bench scorers. And I feel like last game they did just that.”

Excellent points Vitticus, I can see you might be tinkering, but maybe not as much as I thought might happen.  You know your team’s strengths, and we shall see if it pays off in the next game.  Thanks to both GMs for the interview, good luck in game 2!