Those games were a long time ago. I don't think there's anything there we can hang our hats on. We've got to really work to get healthy and work to tighten up our game. |
Those things work their way out. One thing about getting another quality player is you're going to have to earn your time on the court. |
Three days ago it looked like it might be a possibility. He is doing better. It's just not the right time to push it. Also, if we would have did it, he would have been playing a game without almost any practice time leading up to it, which would have been hard. It makes it tough because he does a good job on (Shaquille O'Neal). |
Unbelievable sequence of events at the end. When you have opportunities to close out games, you've got to take advantage of them. On the play at the end of regulation, we had a chance to get the rebound, the ball gets knocked loose, and Johnson hits the three. |
We always knew he was a good all-around player. From afar, we always felt he would be a better individual defender than what he was given credit for just from watching him play against our team. He's a guy that always had pretty good rebounding numbers for a (small forward). |
We are in a precarious position right now. Nothing is a lock. To make the playoffs, we will have to have more of a sense of urgency at both ends. Tonight's game was a setback. |
We are, without question, moving into a new era, |
We are, without question, moving into a new era. On the other hand, we have a group of players now who have been together for a while who are ready to carry the torch forward. |
We can do better in some areas and we will. I admit we all have to do better. I put myself in that category as well. |
We can't afford not to have him for 35-40 minutes in a playoff game. I'm not going to criticize the officials because they're working hard, but it is something that needs to be looked at. |
We competed hard from start to finish. It came down to Duncan making some tough shots. They hit that lucky 3 from the corner, which was a bad break for us. We hung in and played and gave ourselves a chance till the last minute. It's three losses in a row. There's no moral victories. You have to find a way to win games. |
We decided to go to him early (in the third quarter) and tried to ride him. He played better and much more aggressive, but we need him to do that at the start of games. |
We did it for three quarters, but down the stretch, we just didn't. We didn't step up like a good team should. |
We didn't have one of our better games as a team. Too many turnovers and too many points off turnovers. We've got a long way to go, a lot of work to do. We've got some time, fortunately. |
We didn't play a full, hard 48 minutes of basketball and we left too much to chance. You have those types of let-ups and tempt fate with a Pierce bank shot. We're not in a position to do that. |