(On the game tonight): “(We played a) pretty good game. I didn’t like the fact that we allowed them to shoot 47 percent from the field, and I think we shot 67 or 68 percent from the free throw line. That wasn’t good. The 16 turnovers, we’re trying to get that a little less, but that was much better than what we’ve been doing as far as taking care of the ball. We had 26 assists which I thought was great. It just shows that we’re moving the ball and that the offense is getting much better. It was a pretty good night.”
(On Kyrie Irving’s play tonight): “I told you I wasn’t worried (about Kyrie). I’m not worried about that young man right now. I know he’s just trying to get into a rhythm. This is almost about the right time with a couple more preseason games to go and the season being a couple of weeks to go from starting. I thought he was aggressive offensively. He looked to be aggressive as far as getting to the basket and obviously he got to the free throw line 11 times too. That was really good for us. Like I said before the game, I’m not worried about him at all, especially his shot.”
(On his improved shooting): “I was never concerned about my shooting. I was just worried about my effort on the defensive end, more importantly, and continuing to get better with that. That was my main focus, especially during preseason. Not everybody shoots great during preseason. This is my first true preseason so along with training camp and getting my legs back, I felt good out there. The shots were just falling tonight. I definitely started out with a different aggressiveness than I have in other preseason games. Tonight I was making plays, whether it was for my teammates or myself.”
(On Coach Scott complimenting his shooting): “I really can’t believe Coach Scott said that, honestly. I shoot outside shots, but some of the shots I should take I don’t at times. Him saying that doesn’t take away anything from anyone. Whether I’m the point guard or not, it was great to hear that from coach, but we have a lot of good shooters on this team.”
(On playing alongside Dion): “It’s a day to day process of getting better with him and finding the continuity in our offense. We’re definitely going to be in the backcourt together, so it’s about finding where each other likes the ball and always being effective. It starts with our communication and trust. I try to offer him as much advice as I can. When it comes to mentoring him when he’s on the floor, I’m always in his ear telling him to be effective on both sides of the ball. You worked your whole life to be here, so now it’s time to shine. That’s what I tell him every day, to have that confidence going into each and every game.”
(On new addition E’Twaun Moore): “He’s still learning. He’s still learning the point guard position. He has the ability to make shots especially when the shot clock is going down. The hardest thing in this league is you play good guards every single night, you play good players every single night.”
(On first career start): “It was tremendous. I got out there and my teammates were really supportive. I just wanted to go out there and take advantage of it and have fun.”
(On the loss): “It was unfortunate but that is what these games are for. (Our goal) is to get better every day whether it’s in practice or in games and this was another experience to learn from.”
(On leadership role): “We have a lot of young guys. My job as a leader is to make sure everyone is held accountable.”