(On tonight’s game)
“It is another tough loss. Our guys are playing as hard as they can. We don’t have a lot of room for errors and our margin is really slim. When you are down 15-16 points, it’s going to be an uphill battle. It is even tougher when you are down that much at the start of a ball game. That was our demise.”
(On Manny Harris starting)
“I was looking for some energy. I knew it was going to be tough guarding a guy like Stephen Jackson or Gerald Wallace. We wanted to go with it and give the guy a chance. We thought a different look and maybe some more energy will help us to start off. I though he did okay. It was a learning experience for him, I think he will grow from it.”
(On Alonzo Gee’s play)
“I though he did well. He defended and took the challenge well. He rebounded the ball extremely well for us. It’s just a matter of him getting to understand what we’re doing on the offensive end. We’ll bring him in tomorrow to work on a few things and get him familiar with the system. I was very impressed with how hard he played.”
(On tonight’s game)
“They (the Bobcats) did a good job as far as getting some easy baskets, and we knew if we were able to limit them to one shot and stop their transition, then we could find a way to get back into it. We were able to do that throughout the course of the game. We were just unfortunate enough that we couldn’t hit the shots that we needed to on the offensive end and they got some easy opportunities down the stretch.”
(On playing without Mo Williams)
“He’s an all-star. He does so much as far as what he can do on the individual level and creating easy opportunities for his teammates, and things of that nature are definitely missed. But that’s part of the game. Throughout the course of the season, guys are going to get hurt and miss games. That’s when other guys have got to step up. I think Ramon (Sessions) did a great job as far as stepping up and filling in the void. But you definitely miss a guy like Mo Williams out there.”
(On the Cavaliers comeback attempt)
“The lead was at seven and AP (Anthony Parker) had a spot-up three in the corner. If that would have gone in then that would have been big for us. It was a good shot for him. Charlotte played a great game. They made a great run. We tried to run back but then they compounded it with another run.”
(On his approach to the game)“Just come out and be aggressive. Run pick and rolls, push the ball and try to get to the rim. If it’s not there, then to get guys shots, that’s what I try to do most of the game. But we weren’t able to get the win. Charlotte played a great game.”
HEAD COACH PAUL SILAS
(On tonight’s game)
“I thought we played great in spurts. We got a big lead, but we’re just not there yet as far as sustaining that, but it’s coming. All in all, I like the fact that Jack (Stephen Jackson) and D.J. (Augustin) took over when we needed them. They were on fire and that’s what sustained us.”
(On D.J. Augustin)“I’m so proud of him because he’s just free out there. That between-the-leg, step-back jumper for three was so awesome. He’s playing great right now and I don’t see any reason for him to slack off. He knows that I want him to play that way and he’s important to our offensive scheme. When he’s open he gets must-shoot shots and he’s going to make the majority of them. Confidence is what’s most important in basketball. If you’re a confident player, you’re going to be able to do even more than you thought you could do, and right now his confidence is sky high.”
(On Stephen Jackson’s leadership)
“I pointed out to him from the start that I’m depending on him to run this ball club and he has to learn how to. He has to speak up and let them know what he wants. He’s very smart and a heck of a ball player. He’s developing that right now. I’m not calling out a lot of plays for them right now, I’m letting him do it. He’s deciding who gets what and has to know who hasn’t had a shot in a while and get that man a shot. Coming down, he has to know what play has been working for us and run it two or three times in a row until they stop it. He’s getting all these things right now, plus the fact that he’s flat out shooting the basketball better than I’ve seen any player in a long time. ”
(On Gerald Wallace)
“He was a little rusty from the injury. I didn’t realize I played him 43 minutes tonight, which is a lot of minutes, but I have to play him and he has to get his game back together. Once he gets back we’ll have a real good team because the other guys are starting to pick it up now and they’re learning. It’s important that we win these games, and I like the way we held on and won both games.”
STEPHEN JACKSON
(On the win)
“We got out to a good lead and didn’t have to play catch-up basketball, and even though they made runs, we found a way to win. That’s what we’ve got to do. We knew coming into this week that it was a good week for us to get a good feeling about how we’re playing and about this team. To come in and get these first two games is definitely special.”
(On the team’s recent play)
“We just got Gerald (Wallace) back today and D.J. (Augustin) is playing well. If Gerald comes back and plays the way he’s been playing, we’re going to be a real good team. He’s definitely one of our best runners. I’m excited with the way D.J. is playing. We all believed in him, we knew he could do it and it’s just good that coach is giving him the confidence to go out there and be the player that he is. It’s definitely showing in his play.”
(On closing out games)
“We’re still working on it, but one thing we have to work on is our fourth quarters. We play good for three quarters, then for some reason we start clock-watching in the fourth and aren’t as aggressive as we were the first three quarters. We’ve got to find the plays to go to in the fourth quarter and also be aggressive.”
D.J. AUGUSTIN
(On the team’s play this week)
“We’re doing good right now, but we’ve got to keep it up. We’ve got Golden State on Friday, and that’s going to be a tough challenge for us because they like to run too. We’re just going to turn up our defense and keep getting better.”
(On Paul Silas’ style of play)
“It’s just a free system. We’re out there just playing basketball, and that’s what we all know how to do. We’re able to use our skills right now, but at the same time we’re thinking and making smart plays.”
(On his recent shooting)
“Every time I shoot I feel like it’s going in. I’ve just got that confidence right now and my teammates have the same thing with their shots.”