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The Cavaliers took down the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night to reach 2-2 on the season. It was a lot closer than it needed to be, but it was a win. Here's some quotes from before and after the game.
Andrew Bynum:
Bynum talked to the media before Monday night's game. He talked about what the time off did to his athleticism and how he'll have to play going forward, according to Fox Sports Ohio.
"I don't think [my explosiveness] is going to come back. It makes you have to rely more on footwork and skills vs. athleticism. I missed the entire year last year and that's for a reason, I have skill, I have talent, I just need to get my timing back."
Bynum was asked about how his knees feel after returning to playing basketball. Here's what he said, according to the Akron Beacon Journal:
"I feel little sharp pains here and there, nothing too bad"
In post game, Bynum was even chattier:
"If I was healthy, we would’ve just kept going inside and the game wouldn’t have gotten out of hand like it did. It’s coming. I’ll be able to play more and more minutes with each game. I’m just looking forward to when I’m back. I'm impatient, I want to be the player I was, now."
We also saw Bynum hit a little 15-foot jumper against the Wolves. That's not something we're used to seeing from him.
"I have a good touch and I can shoot the ball, I’ve just never been in a system where that’s required. Here, obviously with Kyrie and running pick and roll, when other teams drop that’s going to be available. I’m going to have to have that"
Mike Brown:
Coach Brown talked about Andrew Bynum's progress and how his skills fit with the team.
"He can shoot the ball and defenses aren’t going to be ready for that"
The Cavs let up a huge 17-2 to end the game, but were able to get that one final stop and protect the victory. Coach Brown is pretty convinced that the Cavs would have lost this type of game last year. It's hard to argue with him.
"I thought there were a lot of good things in the ball game. It's great that we got a win. Obviously, we still have to figure out how to close out games the right way on both ends of the floor. The bottom line is we had to get a stop to win it and our guys managed to get a stop. I thought they went out there and tried to play defense the right way."
"There were times from watching the tape this summer, when I watched them last year, that would've been a loss possibly and maybe by double digits. We just kept scrapping and scrapping"
Kyrie Irving:
It wasn't a particularly good game for Kyrie and he had a chance to really seal the game at the end. Unfortunately, that play didn't work. Here's what Kyrie had to say about that final play.
"Coach Brown was calling for Andy to come set a screen, and I really don't need that screen at the top of the key against JJ Barea, no offense. Especially at the end of the game, I want to take it upon myself to be aggressive in that moment. At the top of the key, everybodies flat, it's my chance to kind of go to work"
You can get more quotes from every game from Cavs.com