Talking with Tiago

The San Antonio Spurs were stunned last night by the New York Knicks losing 128-115. With the loss, the Spurs dropped to 29-5 and hope to shake off the loss as they face the Boston Celtics tonight in Boston.

After the Spurs-Knicks game, I got a chance to speak with Spurs’ rookie, Tiago Splitter. In this Q&A, Splitter spoke on the loss to the Knicks, playing with Tim Duncan, his development and more.

Jeff: What went wrong tonight for the Spurs against the Knicks?

Tiago: Well I think they played very good tonight and had a hell of a game. They scored a lot like they do and we tried to bring our defense like we do. Today wasn’t our day. So we have to give them credit. They did a great job.

Knowing this is a Knicks team coached by Mike D’Antoni who likes to run, do you feel running with this team played right into the Knicks’ hands?

All the D’Antoni teams love to run-and-gun. We knew that before of course. We knew we got to stop (Amar’e) Stoudemire, also (Wilson) Chandler and (Landry) Fields who is playing great. They had a good night and like I said when a team like that is run-and-gun and scores, it’s hard to defend.

Amar’e has been great for the Knicks this season. What are your thoughts on Amar’e since he joined New York?

He is an amazing player. He proved that not just here in New York but in Phoenix. He is a star of the league. He leads this team. He is a very difficult guy to defend. He’s got range when before he didnt have it.

You came into the preseason with the Spurs dealing with some nagging injuries. Then you got hurt in training camp but how has your adjustment been into the NBA?

Yeah it was a little bit of bad luck. In the preseason I got an injury, my calf, but right now I’m feeling great and I’m working everyday trying to help this team to get wins. And im also in the rookie process, which is normal, especially on a team like San Antonio who has a lot of great players.

I can only imagine how it is to play alongside with Tim Duncan.

Oh it’s nice! He is one of the best at my position. I got a guy like him in front of me, I got to learn everyday and try to take the best.

Up next is the Boston Celtics who will be without Kevin Garnett but remain a very tough team. Thoughts heading into this game.

Yeah! They are a very tough team and we have to play tougher than today. I think we come here (New York) and didn’t do our job. Popovich wants our team to defend and that’s what we have to do tomorrow.