Apr. 26 Playoffs Quotes

Head Coach Doc Rivers
On Gordan Giricek: “I just told him to keep going and playing and stay positive. There’s nothing wrong with being emotional, there’s nothing wrong with getting caught up into the playoffs, it happens to all of us, it happened to me as a player, and the key is to just keep plugging away, and eventually, things will break your way.”

“The playoffs are an amazing thing. When things start going bad for you as a player and as a team, they tend to snowball, and guys tend to pick on that individual. But then when they start going well, then they start really going well for you also, so hopefully this is a sign of things to come.”

“We’re trying to hold home-court advantage, and we have to be desperate in that effort. We do not want to give up home-court. It’s not about us going up 3-1, it’s about us maintaining home-court advantage, because if we do that for the rest of this series, then we win the series, and that’s how we have to think. That doesn’t mean if we win we go to Detroit and lay an egg. That means we have to take care of the job at hand first, and that’s winning Sunday at home.”

Andrew DeClercq
“I thought we did a great job of keeping our intensity up, playing physical and just being aggressive. Watching film, I could see we were all over the place and were really moving around well.”

On the Pistons…playing against Robinson/Wallace inside: “They’re a very physical team, and are really athletic. We’re going to try and neutralize them by putting guys and bodies on them.”

Tracy McGrady
“I think our fans really believed in us this year, and the support last night was unbelievable. That’s what playoff basketball is all about, you know having an atmosphere like that, and what I liked about our fans, every possession they’re in to it. Bad calls, they’re hassling the ref, they understand the game, and that’s what you like.”

“It was good to get guys involved in last night’s game. It really helped me out a lot, I really didn’t have to do as much on the offensive end. I think that message got across when I told them to not worry about me, I’m going to get myself involved on the offensive end. You guys just play your game, and don’t be too concerned about me. So, I think last night, those guys just stayed aggressive on the offensive end and got themselves going, and it really helped me out.”

“I told them, ‘whatever you did in the regular season, just play that way.’ Don’t change your game just because it’s the playoffs and just because I’m your guy. Don’t look for me every trip down the court, just stay aggressive on the offensive end and let the game come to you. Just have patience and play your game, and that’s what they did last night.”

“I think Gordan did a good job of drawing those guys my way, so I could stop them. It was just a team effort last night, and we need more of them.

On Drew Gooden: “He’s just playing with a whole lot of confidence right now. I think this atmosphere is really helping him out. As a player, he’s matured, and he’s pumped. He’s going after it, every possession. There’s no fear in his heart.”

On playing against the No.1 seed: “Obviously you have to give them credit for being the number one seed, but it really doesn’t matter to us. We thought we matched up well with Detroit. We just wanted to come in and play hard. Being the eighth seed really doesn’t matter. The team that wants to do better is going to get the victories.”

“We’ve got our swagger back. You can see the swagger, and we’ve got confidence. But we’re still a long way from winning this series.”