Last night's game was a big game just because it put us up (9 1/2 games) with 15 to go. Now we're in a situation where we want to try and extend our bench a little bit, get those guys more minutes, and get our guys where we can stay competitive and fresh. |
Like I said, I think a coach is as good as the players he has. You do have to drive them. You've got to make sure to put them in the right situations. And we have a group that's very committed as far as what we're doing. |
Lindsey has really worked at his game. He's really done a lot of extra shooting and sometimes the things you work on, you get better at. |
Maybe Rip doesn't want to play for me anymore. I don't know. |
Mo (Evans) gave us a boost at both ends tonight. Guys have confidence in him. The guys on the bench want to play more, but they have to do what he did. He came with the right frame of mind. |
Mo gave us a spark at both ends of the court. |
My mom told me before the game whatever you do don't get a technical. The way things were going in the first half I really had to bite my lip. |
My take is that these guys need challenges. Sometimes maybe they can get a little bored out there. But when they're locked in, it's like a curtain goes up and you can see it in their faces. They go from fifth gear into a sixth gear. |
My thing is, if you're going to let them play, let them play. There was a little bit of inconsistency, so it was hard to adapt to that. |
No. 1, the starters have always been a fan vote, and Vince has probably gotten more votes in the last seven years than maybe anyone that's ever played the game. He's a veteran guy, and I just didn't want to pick another 6-11 guy and put him in there. |
Not only because of the votes but with how he's played. Right now, he's been the best power forward in the East with how he's played through the first 40 games. Look at what our record is and how he's played, and I guess you'd have to give me a reason why he shouldn't. |
Nothing, really. I didn't talk to him. It's not an issue. |
On the road, you can't run as much at times. You just have to control tempo. The thing we did the first two games, we ran when we had opportunities and when we had man advantages, and when we didn't have it, we didn't. We didn't force things, and that is the big key. |
One of the reasons I played him a lot, I thought it was better for him to be occupied than to sit and think. And considering his circumstances, not sleeping much last night after hearing about it, he played pretty good. |
One of the strengths of this team is we grind it defensively but we get fast break points. We have the opportunity to get points in the open floor. |