[Duncan] was very fundamentally sound, ... We didn't make him that way. He just continued it for us. |
[Finley makes it official, signing with Spurs SAN ANTONIO (AP) ? Prized free agent Michael Finley officially signed with the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs on Friday.] We are extremely pleased to have a player of Michael's caliber joining our franchise, ... He brings an All-Star level of talent to the floor and a high degree of character to the locker room. |
[It?s not natural, however, for an NBA champion to give away leads like candy.] We have a good number of guys that have not been in that situation before, ... [But] if you have half a brain, you realize how important a game like this is. |
[Karl Malone has yet to tell the Spurs whether he will play for them. The Spurs also haven't asked. Yet. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he would like to make any significant addition to the team no later than shortly after the All-Star break, which ends Feb. 20. The trade deadline is Feb. 24.] The more time that goes by the more difficult it is, ... Regardless of whether it's Karl Malone, if we were to make a trade, if we were going to add somebody, I would think you would have to make any changes to your team at the latest by then to give everybody time to integrate. |
[Mutombo] did a good job tonight. Whether it changes the series, I don?t know. |
[Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked last week how important winning an NBA title was to his good friend Larry Brown .] Very important, ... He wants to win one very badly. |
Allen's a great player. We're not going to stop him. You know he's going to get his points. |
And I look forward to seeing all of you in four or five years when we have the next Nellie retirement party in another town. |
And now I don't think they look at us in the same light. Manu plays with no fear, a tough kid. (Tony) Parker they knock around and he keeps bouncing back up. And maybe with those additions, they look at us differently. |
Anybody that doesn't get a kick out of watching our team play should look in the mirror. It reflects more on them. |
Because we're guessing at some of this, the conservative approach seems to be wiser to me, ... If we screw up the other way, we'll dash our playoff hopes. |
Both teams predicate what they do on defense. They (both) are pretty demanding in that sense. |
Both teams were fantastic. It was a really good win against a very, very good basketball team. We played very, very well. That's the bottom line. We both played well. There were a couple of stretches that were not that great, but it's a 48-minute game and that happens. |
Brent was real aggressive tonight and that's when he's at his best, when he doesn't worry about making mistakes or missing shots. Just play the game and let it fly. |
By and large, with all the publicity Bruce gets for his style of defense, I think he does a great job of containing his emotions, not letting a referee's call get to him — or another player's comments. I think he does a great job of staying on high ground, just coming and competing and going home. |