Right now we're in a healthier state than we were last year at this time. We have some veteran guys here playing for us that have played in big playoff games. Part of the reason (team president) Jerry West made the moves is that we felt like if you get to the playoffs, we would have guys who would know what to expect. |
So it's a consolation? I should feel better? |
So much of it is what kind of attitude does the person have that you're dealing with. There's not many people more positive than Damon. He will drive himself and work himself as hard as possible to get that leg back to where it was so he can resume his career next season. |
Some nights we shoot well; some nights we don't. We have to come out and play hard and play consistently. ... We have to concentrate on stopping people, doing what it takes to keep us in games, and, hopefully, hit shots down the stretch. |
Some of our guys struggled with shots. We didn't rebound in the first half, and we didn't get a lot from our bench. Seattle hit a lot of big shots and chased down balls and got to them first. |
Sometimes judging on one game isn't fair. |
Teams are focusing on him. And Pau has shown he can do more than score the ball. |
That's because he's unselfish and plays the right way. He doesn't force shots. When you talk to your team, you say, 'Don't put your teammates in a bad spot.' Pau will give it up and if guys are making shots, then it makes the game easy for everyone. |
That's what you're supposed to do, win games. I'm very proud of this team. They wanted 30 wins at home and they got it. Not many teams can say they had 30 wins on their home court this season. |
That's what you're supposed to do. Win games. |
That's who Bobby is. That's his style of play. He's a high-energy guy. He can be instant offense. He can cause havoc on the defensive end. ... It's like a personality trait. Everybody doesn't have that. But he does. |
The game was determined in the second quarter. We had a 19-point lead then we had some critical turnovers that gave them energy. |
The game was symbolic of the season. They hung around and found a way to win the game. |
The guys were tuned in. We knew we had to be ready for them from the beginning. ... These guys don't forget. They realize New York came out and played us hard the last time. |
The number of fouls by both teams didn't allow the game to have much of a flow. It broke up runs. ... But then our execution got much better. We ran plays better. |