Floyd

(on Jamal Mashburn)
He will not be with us. We had to make a decision and based on the health of our three guards, you know Baron’s ankle, Darrell’s ankle, David Wesley’s toe, we made the decision to go with Mo (Maurice Carter) and Mash is still a little ways away from getting back with us.

(on if Mashburn is on the playoff roster)
He is not and (Courtney Alexander) will not be on the playoff roster as well. It doesn’t really change anything. It’s been who we’ve been here for an extended period of time and our hope is the three guys we mentioned, Darrell, David and Baron, are ready to go play a series because we obviously need those guys to play at a high level and PJ’s ankle, having the extra day, will certainly help that and hopefully we’ll have a healthy unit ready to go.

(on the regular season ending)
You always love playing games but 82 is probably enough and you probably now ready to move to the next phase. We’re certainly excited about being in the Playoffs. We recognize we’ve got a challenge in front of us. Miami has played excellent basketball over the last 21 games, they’re 17-4 and that’s enough said.

(on the Mashburn decision)
It’s all about his health. We’d love to have they guy. He’s a great talent and we’d love to have him on the roster, but he just can’t go right now.

(on strengths and weaknesses going into the playoffs)
I think the strengths would be the fact that we’ve got a lot of experienced players. Guys that have been in the playoffs before and know what the playoffs bring. We have a terrific backcourt. We’ve got some big guys that can defend and rebound. Bottom line is we have experience and it’s time to try to start taking advantage of that experience.

(on bringing his team to playoff level)
We’ve won three out of our last four and we’re playing with some confidence right now and we’re just going to continue to emphasize things that are important to winning basketball.

(on Magloire)
He’s had a terrific second half of the season. The doubters about him being on the All-Star team…he’s removed a lot of that doubt. He’s been extremely consistent and that’s what great players do. They play at a high level, night in and night out. It’s fun to watch his continued development. He’s gotten better from the day he got in this league. He worked hard to pile up his stats. I think his greatest attribute is that he’s a hard worker. He’s spent a lot of extra time in the gym, trying to develop his skills and trying to develop counters to good post play in this league.

(on Baron’s health)
I just finished visiting with him and talked to him about his health. He feels very good right now. I think the two games he got under his belt will certainly help him during the playoffs. The thing I’ve been most encouraged about with Baron is that he has some explosion off that ankle and he has been able to get to the rim and penetrate, which is so critical to our basketball team.

(on the team going into the playoffs)
We feel really positive going into the playoffs. I think the fact that we won our last two games on the road is significant. We’ve won three out of our last five on the road, which goes back to who we were early in the season and let’s face it, we have to win a game on the road to advance and I think that’s important, although we’re playing a team that’s won their last 11 in a row at home so there’s a barrier to cross.

(on what it’s going to take to win on the road)
I think you have to defend. I think you have to hold a team under 90. You’ve got to be able to do that. They have not been as good when they have been under 90. I think they’re 8-30 when they’re under 90 points so I think that’s a benchmark to try and strive for. You do that with effort and you do that with toughness and I think we possess both those things.

---

Magloire

(on winning Player of the Month)
I’m very happy that I’m starting to get a little recognition and happy that we finished the season .500. It’s been a good month all way around.

(on the matchup with Miami)
I think we matchup very well. I thought throughout the regular season we didn’t approach the games the way we should have. But now that we’re in a different setting and everything’s 0-0, things will definitely change.

(on the Hornets in the playoffs)
I think we’ll be fine. We have a bunch of veterans that know how to play especially in a playoff setting and I think everybody’s going to be rejuvenated and I think that’s what we needed for a long time, just a little rejuvenation and we have that in making the playoffs and being where we wanted to be.

(on having more responsibility heading into playoffs)
I don’t think so. My thinking is that I’ll go into the game and continue to play the way I have been. If I go in with that kind of attitude, then I think the ball will come to me and I’ll be able to convert without pressure and be called on when the team needs me.

(on the difference between the playoffs and regular season game)
Playoffs is a different level. The fan base is different. It’s just so much more intense and so much more aggressive. It’s a game of execution. It’s all about stopping your opponent and taking away what they do best and during the regular season it’s different because there are so many games and you don’t have the time to prepare for one single team so it’s going to definitely be a different setting and it’s going to be very intense.

(on the team chemistry)
I would say the chemistry is very good right now. I would say that everybody’s in sync. Last night, on the plane coming home from Washington, just looking at the team and our attitude and our energy and our excitement to play in the playoffs makes me believe that there was never any discrepancy about chemistry and that this team is ready to go and win games.

---

Davis

(on playing Miami)
I feel good about it. It doesn’t matter who we play as long as we concentrate on the things that we need to do as a ballclub. I think it’ll be fun to go down there and play against a young team that’s been playing well. I like our chances.

(on liking the Hornets chances)
I like our chances because I like our team. I know that we have the talent, the veteran leadership and the overall personnel to play real well in these playoffs. It didn’t matter whether we played Milwaukee, Miami or Detroit. I like our chances from the beginning.

(on getting road wins leading up to the playoffs)
We know we’ve always been a tough road team. There have been some points throughout the season where we went on a long stretch where we lost some road games but we know what it takes to win on the road. We’ve won on the road before. Going into other people’s hostile environments is nothing new to us.

(on the regular season)
There were a bunch of ups and downs. We go to the point where we are now, the playoffs, and that’s what matters.

(on the emergence of Magloire)
He’s just a tremendous force inside. Once that ball hits that rim, he’s going to get that rebound and we know that he can go down in the low post and get buckets in the beginning of the game, late in the game. He’s really emerged as one of the best centers in this league.

(on the team making a push)
If we’re going to make any push to do anything, the time is now. I’m just excited and my teammates are excited for everybody to get out and practice and do some new stuff.

(on it being an advantage or a challenge having an older team going into the playoffs)
It’s both. We’re playing a team that’s very young and very athletic so we know that’s one of our disadvantages is that we are not as athletic as they are but we know how to play. We know how to play in the playoffs and win in the playoffs, which we’ve done in the past. It kind of works both ways for us.

(on countering an athletic team like the Heat)
Slow the game down. Don’t let them fast break or run as much. Get them into a lot of their half-court sets.