It appears what is happening to us when we finally do decide to really get after it for two or three possessions (is) we don't have the energy to go get the ball. That's distressing for sure. |
It has happened to us so many times this season. We didn't make our free throws, and there were an awful lot of odd plays that were right in our hands near the basket but couldn't come up with them. Those will cost you in a close game like this. |
It makes you realize that we blew an opportunity to be closer. Going all the way back to the second game of the season, we've had some difficulty making clutch free throws. If your mind is on anything else but your technique, you're probably in trouble. If it's on the score and the clock -- 'I hope I make it,' and all those kinds of things -- you're probably in trouble. |
It means the guys are working very hard at it and it's paying off. There's no magic in that, really. It's just that we have the a system that we teach, and the guys have spent the time getting it down. We've spent an awful lot of time on it. |
It really bothered him in the San Antonio game. |
It seems every time we play Boston, it's almost the same game. Usually, they'll lead for a little while, then somehow we'll get back into it. They all seem to go down to the end. |
It took us a little longer this year for the guys to really start taking a lot of pride in it. But they did and they got it accomplished. I bet if you went back in the recent 20 or 30 years in the league, nobody's ever done it with guys this young. When you think about that, it's a great accomplishment for a young team. |
It was a tale of two halves. We played well in the first half, they played well in the second. We made our free throws down the stretch. We fought them off, and kept them at bay. |
It was just a great comeback. Their defense was active, but we finally got it going. We started to get some stops and then Ben was just huge. |
It was kind of a typical exhibition game. We had a couple of guys who had trouble relaxing. I thought we had some really questionable shot selection and we struggled stopping them early in the game. |
It was one of our best all-around efforts of the season. The guys were really in tune with the game plan. Ben made some big shots, but it was Andres who made the difference in the game. |
It was one of our best all-around efforts this season from beginning to end. The guys were in tune with the game plan. We came out in the third quarter a little bit off, but we quickly re-grouped. |
It was pretty fun, actually. I paid the price for it. He didn't pay any price, I know that. |
It wasn't like we had a total letdown or anything; we just softened up enough to let him get going. And once he got going, it was very difficult to get any momentum back. Early in the third, we went under a couple of times on screens. He made one, and that really opened his eyes. He put one right in the middle. That's a lesson that needs to be learned -- playing against great players like that, just one possession can get them going. Obviously, if you look at the whole year, the four games we played them, he's averaged well over 30 points against us. We didn't get it done against him this year. |
It would be impossible at this point to dream up something that Shaq hasn't already seen. He's seen double teams from the passer, double teams on the catch, double teams when he dribbles once. |