Anytime you can get up to a big lead like that, that's going to help you. We did the same thing in Seattle a couple of days ago at home and are able to hold on to the lead. |
Even given all of the situations we've been put in, we still should be playing better than we are. I felt the same way last year, so maybe that's just me. |
I acknowledge it's a possibility if they look to make it a bigger deal. I don't have any control over it. It's a distraction, but you would like for it to be over with as soon possible. It's not that it's in the back of your mind any more today than it was three weeks ago. |
I don't feel like we're right and it's hard to say why. It's frustrating. We need to put together a couple good games to get back on track. We need to figure it out and do it quickly. |
I really thought we were going to win that game. It was disappointing, but it's a great memory. |
I think early on guys were trying to feel each other out trying to move the ball. I don't think we have a selfish team by any means, but we have guys that are confident, that feel like they can take their man at times. I think one of the things we have been preaching early on is that the next man can take his man, too. If there's a better opportunity we have to move the ball. |
I think in some ways it's kind of a relief to have it behind us. It's an opportunity to go forward without any distractions; there's not any 'what ifs,' and I think it's welcomed. |
I think it wasn't anywhere near what we're capable of, but I think it's still good enough to win. As long as we can learn on the fly and still win games, that will be great for us in the long run. |
I think it's very important to have three strong, strong games. I think we want to do the things we're capable of and put ourselves in a position to win at the end. |
I'm not saying I completely agree with him, but Detroit should be the favorites because they went to the Finals two years in a row and they won a championship. I can't disagree with him on that. I think there's no doubt one of our biggest concerns is playing as a team. We know we have a lot of individual talent. It's a matter of playing as a team. I give him credit for calling it how he sees it. |
I've been .500 or better my whole career so to do that nine straight years in a row would be important for me. I think, beyond that, it's really just a matter of playoff seeding at this point; do anything to stay out of that eighth position would be the goal. |
I've played on teams in the past where we had a really hard problem in the third quarter. We would come out and have a big lead at halftime and in the third quarter we would give it right back. I don't think it's a personality-type thing as a team to come out that way. Certainly it's been frustrating to play from a hole. |
It wasn't him that gave in, it was his knee that gave out. He never really got a fair chance. I remember him having these problems from day one. It's sad to see anybody's career cut short. He never got a chance to show people on a big stage what he was capable of. It's a very frustrating thing for any athlete. |
It's a shame he never really got the opportunity to show people what he can do. We obviously saw glimpses of it in practice and in games. Obviously, the potential for him was unlimited. Any time a career gets cut short you feel sorry for him and that's obviously the case for Jonathan but he's a well-rounded young man who's got a great family and there's no doubt he'll be able to move on with his life. |
It's hard to really build on this one. We have a big character game tomorrow against San Antonio, another great team, off a loss like this. But it is an opportunity to make up for the mistakes we made tonight, and we have to take advantage of that. |