Magic Exit Interviews: Quotes
Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On if the season was a complete disappointment:
“There are all kinds of good things. Ultimately, we were not successful but that does not mean there were not good things along the way. I think the best thing you can probably say is that our organization has come far enough and we have reached a level that going to Game 6 of the Conference Finals is not a success. I think that’s the best thing you can say about our organization. We are one of a very small group of teams that genuinely has the expectations of trying to win a championship. For those teams, that is the only success. It makes it hard to finish in anything other than disappointment. You have to be No. 1 out of 30; No. 2 won’t do it or anything else. At the same time, I think that is a good thing that our organization has reached that level.”
More Van Gundy Quotes | Video Interview
General Manager Otis Smith
On what kind of process he will go through to improve the team in the offseason:
“I think you are in the process now, I don’t think you’re not in the process. You’re always in the process of trying to get better, so you’re going to adjust certain things but the process really never stops to be real honest with you. You’re always trying to get your team better. With that said, we are always evaluating our roster, always trying to get better, always trying to get a team on the floor that gives us the best opportunity to win a title.”
More Smith Quotes | Video Interview
Dwight Howard:
On the season not finishing the way you wanted:
On how close the team is:
“We were six games away, so that’s pretty close. We were right there with what we had. People may say it was a failure but there are not a lot of teams that get back to the Eastern Conference Finals two years in a row. Not a lot of teams to that. There are a lot of positives that came out of this season. We didn’t get our main goal but we accomplished a lot of things so like I said, there is no need to hang our heads or be mad at the world. We didn’t finish the right way but this season I think we learned a lot about ourselves. I think me and Jameer grew as leaders this year and we are just looking forward to next season.”
More Howard Quotes | Video Interview
Jameer Nelson:
On being fully healthy in the playoffs:
“It means a lot. Any time you can recover from any type of surgery, because all surgeries are serious, it’s tough to get yourself back involved in terms of your heath and your mental focus, everything is just tough. I thought coach (Van Gundy) and Otis and the training staff, they stood by me when I first came back, and maybe it was a little early, but they gave me an opportunity to come back and be myself, and work myself back into the rotation and get myself in shape.”
More Nelson Quotes | Video Interview
Rashard Lewis:
On the different roster from last season:
“We most definitely missed Turk because he is a good friend off the court but he is also a great player. When you go to The Finals with a team, you want to keep that team together but Hedo went to Toronto and we got another good player in Vince Carter. He and Hedo are similar players, but I hope we can keep this team together because I think we have all the right pieces to win the NBA Championship. We have to mature and grow as a team. I think every year we mature and we are going to continue to mature and hopefully we can do all the little things that kept us from that, like turning the ball over 18 times against Boston, from winning that series.”
More Lewis Quotes | Video Interview
Vince Carter:
On this season:
“We didn’t accomplish our goal but all in all it was a very special season where we accomplished a lot and it gives us something to build on. Going into next year, it is not like we are going to be starting over and having to build trust. I think we all understand what needs to be done and what can be done with the people we have. I think it was a very good season. We accomplished a lot and were able to come together as a unit with a lot of new guys and we made a nice run. But, we didn’t accomplish our goal.”
More Carter Quotes | Video Interview
Matt Barnes:
On the mood of the team:
“You’re just kind of saying your goodbyes, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other throughout the summer. Disappointed – from a numbers standpoint, we had a good season. We made some people happy, but expectations here are to win a championship and we fell short, so personally, and I think I speak for a majority of the team, we’re not happy. We want to be playing in the Finals and going for a ring. It’s something that will eat us up during the summer and I’m sure drive us and hopefully bring us back next year hungry.”
More Barnes Quotes | Video Interview
J.J. Redick
On the importance of keeping team together:
“I think it’s important. One of the things that kind of happens when you don’t win a championship, everybody is quick to say what kind of changes you can make, but this team still has a window. And it has a window to win a championship and the core of our team is pretty young and can still get the job done. Tweaks, I think that’s what needs to be done and there obviously needs to be a great sense of urgency when you get to the Conference Finals.”
More Redick Quotes | Video Interview
May 24, 2010: Magic-Celtics Game 4 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
Q. Can you talk about the desperation and the purpose that you guys played with throughout it seemed like?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't think we played desperate, but I do think we played hard and we fought. I thought in the first half we played well. In the second half, in overtime, 15 turnovers. We didn't play well. But we did keep fighting and fighting and fighting.
That's what it took to get an overtime win. But we held them under 40 percent in the second half. Allen hit some huge shots late in overtime. Other than that, we guarded them pretty well. It's the first time I think in the series we've actually made it tough on them.
Q. Coach, can you talk about Jameer making plays off the high screen‑and‑roll maybe more than he had in the first three games.
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought he was really aggressive. Obviously, you know, at times he got down too deep. He did turn it over a lot. He's got a lot of guts. I was sure the shot that we had in regulation to go up two was going to go. That's the best look he had late. The threes were actually tougher shows. He got a great look I thought with 15, 16 seconds. I thought that was going down.
He's a tough competitive guy. I thought he played with great aggressiveness and fought very, very hard.
Q. Can you assess Dwight's performance tonight?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought Dwight was great. We needed and continue to need ‑‑ we need 15‑plus rebounds from him. Plus he scored. But we need the rebounds every single night to be able to win. Obviously a huge performance from him tonight.
Q. Also just the fire and emotion he showed?
STAN VAN GUNDY: You know, I think our guys, you know, played very hard tonight. So did their guys. I thought we got into the fight. And even when they came back and took the lead, we were down going into the fourth quarter. Our guys ‑‑ as I said today, I think the hardest thing is like when you go behind in a game like this. We didn't go behind by much, thankfully. When you go behind and you're down 3‑0, what you're fighting against is that human nature to just sort of let it go.
Our guys didn't do that. They stayed in the fight. We made some big plays, and did what we had to do to get a very, very tough win.
Q. Stan, obviously you needed one win to keep the thing going. It's a series now. Did you get a sense from your guys that they weren't ready to let it go?
STAN VAN GUNDY: Yeah, I think that's what happened. Again, I've seen it a lot of times. If you don't think you can win the series, a lot of times people say, you can't think about winning the series. You have to win one game. I've never really bought into that. I've never been down 3‑0 as a head coach. I've been 3‑1. Stuff like that. If you don't believe you're going win the series, then it's just too easy to let go. Yeah, you've got to play it one game at a time. But you have to have a belief somewhere that you can win the series. Otherwise there's just not enough to sustain you and to keep you going in a game.
Q. Coach, yesterday you talked about not being able to draw a second defender anywhere offensively. Were you able to get that a little bit more?
STAN VAN GUNDY: A little bit more because Jameer was driving the ball hard and getting down deep. We still have to find a way to cut the turnovers against a very good defense. But we said there's never going to be a time where it's easy to score on these guys. So you're going to have to do it with your defense and rebounding.
I thought our defense in the second half and overtime was what gave us a chance to win tonight.
Q. Stan, we've seen Dwight like this before, where points and rebounds don't matter; it's his will. It seemed to be there all game.
STAN VAN GUNDY: Yeah, I think his will was very, very strong. He told me right before the game, bent over to me on the bench and said, "Look, I may need a rest earlier than usual tonight. I'm going to go as hard as I can and get one." So we did rest him earlier than usual.
Then in the second half at one point in the fourth quarter he said he needed one, and I said no. I said "No. Thanks for going hard, but no."
You know, his will was very, very strong tonight.
Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson
Q. Jameer, explain how you were a lot more effective coming off the high screen‑and‑roll tonight as opposed to the previous three games.
JAMEER NELSON: I was more aggressive and not worried about mistakes. I think the first three games I was worried about swinging the ball and getting everybody involved. But my thing is if I get in the paint and be aggressive, that's how I get everybody involved instead of me maintaining and coming off the screen and just taking one dribble, trying to put the pressure on those guys.
Q. This question is for Dwight about Jameer: A lot of the talk in the series has been about Rajon Rondo and how well he's played and how he's affected the series. You think a lot of people forgot that the guy next to you is a pretty good young point guard as well?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't think they forgot. I just think the first three games he wasn't as aggressive as he needed to be. And tonight he was aggressive. He was attacking the basket. That's what he did in the first two series. We need him to just continue to do that. He was effective tonight attacking and making good passes to whoever was open.
So hopefully he can continue that.
Q. Jameer, I wanted to ask you, what was going through your head at the end of regulation when the Celtics rebounded and didn't call time‑out and went for the win without stopping the clock?
JAMEER NELSON: Just get a stop. At that point you can't play tentative. You have to go and try to get a stop. We did that. Guys who were out there on the perimeter guarding the ball pretty well, they did a great job of guarding the ball. I think they ran a 2‑3 pick‑and‑roll. I just saw a loose ball and I tried to dive on it. I knew time was going to run out. I tried to dive on it and hold it.
Q. Jameer, Dwight, I talked to you guys this morning about being captains and talking to your teammates about not letting them quit. Did you kind of show that with your play tonight that you weren't going to let the team quit?
JAMEER NELSON: Yeah, of course. We've been here longer than anybody. We look at it as our team. A lot of things fall on us. We take pride in what we do in the course of a season. We just wanted to come out tonight and prove to ourselves that it wasn't going to be any letdowns and come out fighting and not coming out to fight to lose. Just come out fighting.
Q. Dwight, Coach mentioned that before the game you came up to him and said you might need a blow early because you're going to go hard. Can you talk about your mindset going in and what your thoughts were before the game.
DWIGHT HOWARD: I just told Coach that I was going to give everything I had. And if I got tired, just give me a sub. I just have to trust the next guy to come in and do the same thing. That's what I told the rest of the guys who were tired. Just trust our teammates. At this point we got to continue to trust each other. And we did that tonight.
Q. This is for either or both of you: It looked right out of the gate like you guys controlled the game in the way you haven't in the prior three. Sort of the game we felt we would see early on. Can you comment on that, right or wrong?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Yeah, I think that's the one thing we talked about the last couple of days. They've won almost every first quarter. By doing that, they ended up getting the lead and they never looked back. Tonight we were very aggressive from the start. I think that's what we have to do. We have to run this team, try to move the ball and not let them get their defense set. Because they're pretty good in the half court.
Once we run the ball, then we're tough. So Jameer did a good job of pushing. Everybody did a good job of running with him. And then on the other end, we tried to get stops.
Q. Dwight, how would you describe the fight in this team?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Well, you know, we know that we were down 3‑0. We didn't want to go home. It starts with me and Jameer. I think tonight me and Jameer showed our leadership by just playing hard. We never stopped losing faith in each other. I just kept telling Jameer, "You have to believe it. You have to believe the next shot is going in."
We did that. It starts with him. We have to be the leaders for this team. It's not about points or anything like that. Just showing everybody that hey, follow us. We'll lead the way.
Q. Jameer, did you call the bank shot? And what was going on with that play? Vince said he was getting ready to rebound the ball.
JAMEER NELSON: I didn't call the bank shot, but it went in. And, you know, like I said, I kind of misjudged where I was at. I was kind of for the first time wide open, and it kind of shocked me. I kind of rushed my shot, but it went in and I'm happy it did. It was a big shot at a crucial point of the game.
Q. Can both of you guys briefly address what it means to be going home with a chance to maybe put a little more pressure on those guys.
JAMEER NELSON: It feels great. We have a long battle in front of us. But like I said before, I mean, it can be done just one game at a time. Just cut down some of the mistakes we're making on the court in the course of the game. Some of those loose balls that we got tonight, get more of them.
Like I said, just take it one game at a time.
Q. Dwight, what was the biggest motivating factor that you took from your Game 3 loss?
DWIGHT HOWARD: That it wasn't over. Even though we knew we were down 0‑3, you have to win four games to win a series. I just kept ‑‑ after we lost the game, I was like man, I feel so bad. And I just kept telling myself don't stop. Don't give up. Just keep fighting. I talked to a couple of people, one of those people was Hakeem Olajuwon. Me and him had a great talk. He just inspired me to keep playing.
So I didn't want to give up, because I just felt like there was a lot of people pulling for us to keep going. That was it.
Q. Dwight, can you just talk about the two big threes Jameer hit in the overtime and how that turned the tide of the game.
DWIGHT HOWARD: I thought his play throughout the game was the reason we got a chance to win. And from then on, it was all about confidence and we trust him. And he has to have confidence in himself. He did tonight. I don't know too many people who hit bank shot threes in overtime. He's one guy that if he believes he can do it, he will. He did a great job tonight.
May 22, 2010: Magic-Celtics Game 3 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
Q. Stan, what was the most disappointing part? Was it the defense that crumbled early?
STAN VAN GUNDY: The most disappointing to me, was that I didn't have our team better ready to play. That was what was disappointing to me, was my job. That was the most disappointing. I mean, yeah ‑‑ it starts with me. It's my job. I'm the coach of this team. It starts with me. I'm not happy with where I had our team tonight, anything about what I did, my plan, any adjustments, anything.
Q. Stan, a lot has been made of their defense, but your inability to get stops, how frustrating is that?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought in the first half everything being in the paint I thought our rotations, we were a step late on everything. I thought they did a good job in exploiting what we were trying to do defensively. That combined with the fact that we were a step late in everything, they just riddled us. And again, I'll take the blame on that too.
Q. The one play where Rondo chased down the loose ball with Jason, just talk about the hustle both ways and what that did for both sides. It seems like a play you can't ‑‑
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought there were several in the first half hustle plays like that that all went their way. They were a step ahead of us on every play. I thought they worked harder than we did. I thought they out-competed us. And I think that play was just ‑‑ one of the plays you could point to was indicative of what was going on.
Q. I guess what conversations did you have with your players about that hustle and effort and things like that? And do you have any sense of ‑‑
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't know about conversations. I mean, it was just something that, you know, we got hit early in the game. You know, we were a step late. They got off to the early lead. I just didn't think that we stayed with the fight very well at all.
I think if I could have maybe, from my standpoint, had us ready, had us with a better plan at either end to get off to a better start, it could have changed things. But then I thought we just sort of went sideways mentally and our effort dropped and everything else.
Q. Everybody says the same thing because they have no one player to focus on, they're more difficult to game‑plan for. Just talk about, you are disappointed in the adjustments and things like that. What kind of problems did they present if you have to adjust in a game ‑‑
STAN VAN GUNDY: They played very well. I don't mean to take anything away from them. I thought they played extremely well. Their ball movement in this series has been outstanding. The unselfishness they have and the number of weapons they have certainly has made them very difficult to guard. It's an outstanding team playing very, very well. But we need to compete harder than we did tonight. And I need to give our guys a better plan than what we had going in.
Dwight Howard
Q. Dwight, the first couple of games were a couple of possessions each basically, seven points, I think, total. What do you think caused such a big gap in this game here tonight?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Just effort. They played a lot harder than us tonight. They went after all the loose balls. They did it from the tip‑off till the end of the game. That's why they won.
Q. Dwight, how shocked are you with this? You know how resilient a team you've been all year long. You bounced back. Are you kind of surprised by this?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I'm not surprised. I just think that right now we got to find ourselves. Last three games we haven't played like Orlando Magic. Seemed like tonight our bodies was here, but our minds wasn't. Our hearts weren't ‑‑ seemed like it wasn't into it.
I don't know what happened. I just think we just got to come out and keep fighting, stay aggressive and, you know, not give up. I won't give up. I want to stay on my teammates and not let them give up either.
Q. Dwight, Matt Barnes said after the game he has not seen the Magic yet in this series. Who are the Magic that we can expect to see in Game 4?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Well, all season long I don't think there's been a game where the other team outplayed us, outhustled us, and just worked harder than us. They did that for the last three games. And that's why they're ahead.
You can't make any excuses about it. We can't point the fingers and say what everybody else needs to do. We just got to come out, you know, as individuals and play harder. The coach has done everything he could. It's not on the coach. It's on the players.
Q. Dwight, what were the Celtics doing offensively, especially early, to click as much as ‑‑
DWIGHT HOWARD: They just moved the ball. There was a lot of possessions where they made six or more passes to get shots. And then on the other end we would come down, make one or two passes and shoot the ball. They're doing all the simple things to win the game. Nobody is out there trying to go one‑on‑one. They're doing it all together. That's why they're up in this series.
We just got to find a way to play basketball and be free. That's it.
Q. Are you facing a different Celtic team than the one you had success with during the regular season? If so, how are they different?
DWIGHT HOWARD: They're just playing the same basketball. I don't think they changed who they've been over the years. They're tough, they play hard, and they've been playing together. Every team goes through stretches where they don't play as well. But those guys, they're veterans, they got a lot of guys who know how to play basketball. They got some good leaders on their team. And you watch them this season, they just went up and down and then they just picked it up at the right moment.
So they've been playing great basketball. We have to find a way to stick together and not hang our heads.
Matt Barnes
Re: Difficult road that Orlando faces, talk about what’s going through your mind. “We don’t want the season to end, bottom line fighting for the season.”
Re: Talk about how the Celtics came out to play. “They kicked our ass from start to finish. They played harder and wanted it. They are what a good team is suppose to do.”
Re: Talk about the foul on KG. “We were both going for the ball.”
Re: What was the Celtics’ offense doing early to grab the lead in the game. “Just moving the ball from side to side, not really caring who had the ball. “
Re: Talk about guarding Pierce. “I played 12 minutes, so I don’t think that I affected him at all, I wasn’t out there.”
Re: What do you think you need to change for Game 4. “Just got to play hard. It’s the bottom line. We just got to play hard. Since Game 1 they have played harder than us. That’s very unlike our team. We if have a chance at doing anything, we just have to play hard.”
Jameer Nelson
Re What were they doing “They played better than us. They just played better.”
Re Give credit where credit is due “I mean we’re not bowing down to anybody, we gotta go out there and play our game. They’re playing well but we’re beating ourselves a lot of times.”
Re Beating yourself, what do you mean “Little things, turnovers. They’re beating us in every category in terms of hustle things.”
Re Clicking early “Made a ton of shots. We didn’t do anything defensively hard enough.”
Re Not playing hard enough “Can’t put any one finger on anything, it’s more than one thing going on.”
Rashard Lewis
Re Clicking early “They played together, they moved the ball around, and side to side; hit the open man and not only that offensive end. They set good screens and back, rip screens. Overall you’ve got to be a team to stop. You gotta play team defense to stop them.”
Re Defensive changes on you “Not necessarily, pretty much they’ve been playing the same defense that they have against me, and against us period. They’re a good defensive team and they came out defensive-minded again tonight.”
Re Soul searching “Not necessarily soul searching, we just know we’re not the type of team that played out there today. Don’t know what happened but, the series’ not over yet, you gotta win four games in the series. Even though we’re in the hole down 3-0, they doesn’t mean we’re gonna hang it up. We’re gonna come ready to play Monday.”
May 18, 2010: Magic-Celtics Game 2 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
Q. Stan, you get the rebound with seven seconds to go. Did you need a time-out before the clock keeps running?
STAN VAN GUNDY: Yes. That was all covered in the time-out. Of course. We were playing, we had six second differential. We were playing for a stop and an immediate time-out.
It would have made a big difference because if you watch the last play, Rashard got open. But because we're inbounding in the back court, Finley was back in the passing lane and we could not make the pass to him.
Q. How do you dig out of this now? Is your bunch stunned?
STAN VAN GUNDY: It's not a matter of digging out of this. It's a matter of going up there and you have to win a game. That part is simple, I don't mean it's easy to do. But you have to go play the next game and win it. That's all. There's no like magic to like you're in a hole 2-0. You have to go win a game.
We played a lot harder tonight, but we don't sustain what works, we won't stay with it, we play times when we're moving the ball, we're getting good shots and then guys want to come off, no passes and shoot the ball. And our shot selection is not good enough against a good defensive team; we are forcing shots. I mean, we'll watch it again tomorrow. Hopefully we'll make the corrections. But, you know, I thought we were a little better. But our shot selection just was terrible, and we didn't play smart enough. You know, I thought we played hard enough. We struggled with Rondo's pick-and-rolls. We obviously struggled with Pierce. But I thought we fought hard. But we didn't play smart enough and we didn't sustain what worked offensively. So...
Q. Stan, can you guys win if Rashard continues to play like he has over the first two games?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't think Rashard has played badly. I just think -- they are staying home on him. It's incumbent on me as far as Rashard. I have to find a way to get him involved. It's not that he's playing badly. He's doing a good job defensively on Garnett. It's not like Garnett has been going off at the other end. That match-up has been -- both guys scored in their last series and both of them are struggling to score right now. So it's going both ways.
Q. How are you going to control the tempo come Saturday?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't really understand that question.
Q. (No microphone).
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought Dwight was really good. What we've got to get him to do now in Game 3 is put together his rebounding and blocked shots from Game 1 with his offense from Game 2. So offensively he was a lot better tonight. But he wasn't as much of a presence inside defensively. But I thought he played with great poise on the offensive end. And we did a good job getting him the ball. He converted. We just got to get both of those ends put together for Game 3.
Dwight Howard
Q. Dwight, Paul Pierce actually tweeted on his Twitter page, "anybody got a broom?" Your thoughts on that?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Am I supposed to comment on that?
Q. Any comment on that?
DWIGHT HOWARD: No. They only won two games. I mean, they can write what they want. But you know we're going to stay humble and stay focused. Pride comes before a fall, just know that.
Q. What exactly happened there at the end with J.J. and everything?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I think he was just trying to call time-out to one of the refs, but the ref really couldn't see him. He was behind J.J. J.J. was trying to turn and motion to him. I think he couldn't really see J.J.
But Coach says as soon as we got the rebound to call a time-out. So, you know, when you're playing in a big game like this, it's the little things that get you wins. Boston, they did all the little things to get the win tonight.
Q. First time all season you guys have lost consecutive home games. Is it shocking you got better in every situation but couldn't get over that hump?
DWIGHT HOWARD: You know what, it's not shocking. We just have to come back and win the first game up in Boston. That's the only thing on our minds. My thing is putting this game out of our head and just keep telling my teammates to believe. Believe we're going to win. Just because we're down 2-0 doesn't mean the series is over with. We just have to regroup. I think we played a lot harder than we did in the first game. We saw a lot of positives in what we need to do to beat this team. I think it was just some of those cold spells where the ball didn't move, stuck in one person's hand. You know, when we got the lead and when we came back tonight it's because we moved the ball. But we have to continue to do that the whole game.
Q. You obviously had a very strong offensive game tonight. You talked earlier about having more energy and effort. Was it as simple as that, Dwight, or were there other things going on?
DWIGHT HOWARD: It is. It is. I think when I'm playing with a lot of energy, just being myself and having fun, I think I play better. I know this is a very big series, but, you know, that doesn't mean I can't be myself on the floor.
I think the first game I wasn't myself. I missed shots and I got frustrated, kind of took me out the game. If I missed some shots tonight or got some fouls, I just tried to move on.
Q. You guys won there last spring Game 7. You won there twice this season. Is that something you can kind of fall back on? You know you can win there?
DWIGHT HOWARD: That was the regular season; this is the playoffs. We know we can win, but we just have to put it together 48 minutes against a good Boston team. This series is not over. I won't stop believing that. I won't let my teammates stop believing that. We're going to keep fighting. We're going to do it.
Q. What do you say to Rashard? He's not been shooting well in this series. How do you keep him up and into the game?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Just keep playing. The ball will go in the basket for him. We can't dwell on what happened, you know, in these first two games and keep our heads down. You know, we have to keep our heads up and stay focused. So what if Rashard didn't have a good first two games. Just make Game 3 a better game. And after the game, he was very -- he was ready for Game 3. He said a lot of good things in the locker room. He's ready to go. I'm pretty sure he's not worried about this game tonight.
It's a tough loss, you're playing for the Eastern Conference Finals and you go down at home. You know, like I said, I won't stop believing. I won't let my teammates stop believing.
May 16, 2010: Magic-Celtics Game 1 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
Q. Guard Dwight one-on-one and not help off the shooters. How big a factor is that?
STAN VAN GUNDY: Obviously, it helps them a lot. I think that, you know, they pretty much guarded everyone one-on-one. I think we weren't able to score one-on-one. The biggest problem on the offensive end, though, clearly was the turnovers. We said it going in. It was what did Cleveland in in the last series against them; very physical, very tough defensively; 18 turnovers. We're not giving ourselves a chance to win with 18 turnovers. So we have got to be able to handle the ball better against them. We've got to get better ball movement. And we either have to be able to convert better in the paint or we've got to draw help and make passes. One or the other. Because we just weren't -- I thought we got the ball into the paint, both on drives and some paint catches for Dwight, but we were not very efficient.
Q. Stan, it seemed like especially towards the fourth quarter with J.J. and whatnot, there does seem to be some drives available the way their defense is playing. Is that something that ...
STAN VAN GUNDY: We'll have to take a look at that. But we drove the ball a lot in the first half into blocked shots and difficult shots and everything else. I didn't think that it was a lack of our guys attacking. According to this, 42 shots in the paint. That's not taking into account the times we got fouled. So we got the ball into the paint. We weren't real efficient down in there. A lot of the times attacking. Also, which it doesn't show there, that's just shots. We got into the paint and turned the ball over.
I didn't think it was a lack of attacking. I thought it was a lack of being able to either finish or make a play to an open man.
Q. Stan, that first quarter and a half when the offense really struggled, how much of that do you think was rust? And how much --
STAN VAN GUNDY: No, I think that's -- again, the schedule is the schedule. No, I don't think it had anything to do with that. I think it had more to do with their defense. I didn't think we played with either great energy or very good focus on the way we wanted to play the game.
So, no, I'm not going to take that as an excuse. We just didn't play well. But, let me make this clear, a lot of it had to do with their defense. It was really good.
Q. Stan, what was Ray Allen doing out there that allowed him to score? What were you guys not doing against him to make him so effective?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't know, Ray Allen can really shoot. And he's always on the move. He and Pierce both had real good nights, as did Rasheed Wallace. Some other guys didn't. I didn't think our defense was real good either, to be quite honest. I think we have to make some adjustments there.
The only thing that really kept us even having any kind of chance and kept it close at all was the rebounding. The offensive rebounding. We got a lot of second chances. I thought particularly in the second half. I thought our guys made an effort to try to stay in the game. But when we got some better offensive opportunities, then we couldn't stop them. We could just never put things together.
Q. Jameer took I think -- obviously took a lot of the scoring load in the first couple of minutes in the second half. Then it just seemed he stopped being as assertive as he was in the first couple of minutes.
STAN VAN GUNDY: I think their defense changed. I think the shots he hit, they were going under on his pick-and-rolls. He pulled up and hit some jumpers. I thought their pick-and-roll defense got better.
Dwight Howard
Q. Dwight, Vince said he wondered if you guys were ready for the intensity, the defensive intensity they played with. Maybe it shocked your system early on and took you a little while to get into it?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't think it shocked us. I just think as a team we were just so anxious to get out there and play. After we started missing a couple of shots, I think we just got out of the flow of the game. When you're playing against a good defensive team like Boston and a good offensive team, you know, you have to take care of the ball. But at the same time you just have to play the game. But we have to get stops. We didn't do that early. We dug ourselves a hole. It was tough to get back from it.
Q. Dwight, did you feel like you guys were rusty from the layoff with that slow first quarter?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't think it was rusty. Like I said, we were anxious -- ready to get out there and go. I think they did a lot of good things on defense. They pressured us. They made us take tough shots. We just got to play. I don't think we moved the ball early like we needed to get them off our bodies. I think that's what we have to do to beat this team. We have to move the ball and play inside-out, and make shots.
Q. Dwight, I just want to ask you about the job that Perkins, Wallace and Davis did in tandem against you. What did each guy do in particular that maybe frustrated you. And as you struggled to get your shot going early, did you sense your frustration level growing?
DWIGHT HOWARD: No, not really. I just think for me I just have to get into a good rhythm. I'm out of rhythm. I played like a robot. It's just me I have to get on rhythm. Find ways to get the ball, and not get into a wrestling match with those guys. I think that's playing to their advantage, trying to wrestle with them and fight for position. Then they can play better defense that way.
So they played great defense tonight. They made it tough for me to score. But, you know, I'm not happy with the way things happened tonight. Now I have to go back and regroup and look at film and really focus on better ways to get position and score.
Q. I was talking to Patrick and he said you have to make some more of those shots. Do you agree with that and how do you feel about that?
DWIGHT HOWARD: We're going to miss shots. I'm going to miss shots. But I think the more I get into a rhythm I'll be better off. I wasn't in a good rhythm tonight. I just have to come back in Game 2 and not try to force anything. But at the same time just still be aggressive.
Q. What's it like they have so many big bodies that they can just foul you, foul you, foul you?
DWIGHT HOWARD: It was like that in the first series against Charlotte. They had a lot of guys and a lot of bodies. I think that's what they're going to try to do is try to frustrate me and get into my head and play their game. So I just have to do my best to stay focused and not get frustrated.
Vince Carter
Q. Vince, can you talk a little about Boston's defense? What kind of problems they present you and how you can kind of solve that riddle there?
VINCE CARTER: They're relentless. They're very aggressive. They work on their strengths. They play well together. We have to be smart, continue to move the ball to the open man to get good shots. They do a great job of contesting, especially when you're in the paint. And it took us a while to figure that out. When we did, we played a lot better.
Q. Vince, what happened there in the beginning? Was it the layoff? Was it jitters?
VINCE CARTER: Not jitters, man. Come on. You have jitters when you go this far, you're not going to win many games. I think they came out ready to play. They jumped on us early -- offensively and defensively. And when you get down on a good team like that, particularly on the defensive end where we weren't getting stops, it's going to be hard.
We fought like heck to get back in the game. Unfortunately, when you're down that many points with about nine minutes to go when they defend like they do, it's going to be tough.
Q. Vince, it's been so long since you guys lost. A month and a half. What was the locker room like? You guys aren't used to that. What was the locker room like and how do you expect you guys to respond to it?
VINCE CARTER: Upbeat. We were just very supportive of each other. We're just glad to see everybody really buckle down and try to get back into the game. At some point in time we knew you can lose. It's going to happen. Our goal was to go out there and first off protect home court and win every game. Why think anything less? It didn't happen. So it's time to bounce back.
I think it was a wake-up call that we really needed, in my opinion. I think it's great to go undefeated. You always want to learn your lessons but still win. It didn't work out that way tonight.
Q. Vince, coming off the long layoff, did you feel like you guys were rusty in that first quarter, quarter-and-a-half?
VINCE CARTER: I don't think we were prepared for the level that they were ready to play. They were ready to go from the jump. And we weren't on their level in the beginning, more than anything.
Q. Vince, that was sort of the same thing I was going to ask you, about the intensity level seemed to be so much higher than the first two playoff series that you guys swept. And also their smothering defense. How much do you attribute the 18 turnovers that you guys had to their defense or to your ball handling?
VINCE CARTER: I wouldn't say it was ball handling. If we were throwing the ball away, we weren't dribbling. More so us not being patient. I think when you have a team like that, that really plays the smothering defense and is very physical at the same time, you have to just be patient. They tend to rush you. That's how they play. I think us just seeing plays open and at the same time guessing for the next man instead of taking our time. I think once we settled down and played our brand of basketball, we played better. But we were coming from 20 points down at the time, if I recall. That's tough.
May 10, 2010: Magic-Hawks Game 4 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“The Hawks came at us very hard tonight. There defense was quicker and better tonight, but we just shot the ball extremely well. It would have been tough for anyone to beat us the way we were shooting. The Hawks kept chipping away, but we made it extremely tough to beat us the way we were playing. To sweep them the way we did, we obviously played well. I thought both teams shot the ball very well. I thought our defensive intensity picked up in the second half. We played very well after that. Our ball movement was very good, and again, we shot the ball very well.”
Vince Carter
“We knew it was a close out game, and we stepped up to the challenge from the beginning of the game and in the second half as well. We withstood their runs and actually made some runs ourselves. We showed patience in moving the ball, even when they started to pressure us a little bit. We were able to slow down and make plays for each other and get the ball to the open man. We tried to deliver the blow early in each quarter and knock them out, because we knew they would be aggressive. Every time we come out we want to play our best basketball. It’s great to see how focused guys are in shootaround and before the game. Everybody’s locked in on what needs to be done, from the beginning of the game to the end.”
May 8, 2010: Magic-Hawks Game 3 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“It looked like our guys were ready to play. We came out early in the second half with a big lead and still played even harder. My only real concern was 23 second chance points. Our guys are not playing overconfident, and it’s good to see how we’re playing. Early in the game we did a good job on the double teams, and got passes out to our shooters, and then we made shots. Overall, it was a great effort. Today I thought our guys did a very good effort reading their defense.”
“I think Joe Johnson is a great player who has had three sub-par games for him. Our guys are doing a really good job trying to guard him. We are double-teaming him on his post ups. Otherwise, he’s getting shots that he would normally make, but they’re not falling for him. Joe’s a great player, and he’s had great games for them in the past. We’re working hard on him, but I don’t think it’s anything in particular that we’re doing.”
Rashard Lewis
“We’ve tried to work on having a killer instinct in the fourth quarter all year. Coach has gotten on us about that in the regular season, and we’ve done a better job of that in the playoffs. When you get a lead, you tend to relax a little bit, but tonight we stayed focused and we took a big lead into the fourth quarter. That gave us a chance to rest our players a little bit. It’s the playoffs, and every possession and every game counts, so you just have to take things one possession at a time.”
“We have so much talent on our team, that somebody has to sacrifice their role. I tell the guys that we have guys on the bench who can start for other teams, and anybody can go out and have the big night scoring that we may need. Vince and Dwight are our main options, so I just try to fill the role that I need to each night.”
May 6, 2010: Magic-Hawks Game 2 Quotes
Dwight Howard
“I’ve got to challenge those shots but I think you to show the other team that you’re not going to come just down the lane but at the same time, you have to be smart. Some of those plays where they were just driving right at me and the only thing I could have done is get a foul. You know, just try to stay away from them.”
(On hitting 13-18 free throws) “It was one game. I have to move forward to the next game and not focus on how I played tonight. Got to get ready for Game 3. I shot every day so I don’t even know what I was thinking about, just once I shot, just move on.”
“We do have a lot of weapons but we do have to do a better job on the defensive end. We gave the lot of confidence with the way we played defense tonight. So next game, we have to make a conscious effort to get the job done on the defensive end. I think we did in the fourth quarter, we have to do for 48 minutes.”
Jameer Nelson
(On end of 3rd qtr. shot) “That was big. He had hit the three in my face and you know, as a competitor, I just wanted to go back at him. But there wasn’t enough time so I had to do it in traffic.”
“I felt that I wasn’t as aggressive as I need to be in the first half. Just had to come and get in gaps and penetrate in their defense for our team for our team to be a little successful.”
(On Vince Carter) “That’s who we need him to be, Vince Carter. Not to put any pressure on the guy, that’s just who he is. He’s a great closer, he’s a great attacker.”
Rashard Lewis
“They were killing us on the offensive rebounds, I think they had 9 offensive rebounds in the first half and we had 11 defensive rebounds. So we said that we have to box out, have to rebound the ball and we have to rotate. The pick-and-roll defense was what we wanted. They were hitting shots, they were getting anything they wanted on the offensive end, we had to pick it up on the defensive end and box them out.”
(On Magic 4th qtr) “I thought the defense; I thought Vince did a good job of controlling the game, distributing the ball, getting guys open shots. But it starts on the defensive end. I think they only scored 15 points in the fourth quarter.”
Mickael Pietrus
(On Vince Carter) “I think he’s been aggressive throughout the season. I think he hit a stretch where he was trying to get involved and I think he’s going to be aggressive for Game 3. He was terrific in the fourth quarter and that’s why we won the game.”
(On 4th qtr) “I think we played great defense, we moved the ball and we were a little sloppy the first three quarters but we came out very aggressive in the third quarter and we were able to move the ball again and we made our 3’s, made a lot of shots, and that’s where we got the lead.”
“We know that our defense wasn’t good tonight. So I think we knew that at halftime, we tried to pick it up in the third quarter, the fourth quarter and we sure did. We made sure that we stayed consistent defensively and try to get a win in Game 3 and Game 4.”
Vince Carter
“I was just trying to make plays; just patience is the most important thing in my mind. You know the first half; they were going to zones on my pick-and-rolls so they were making me give it up. I didn’t want to force anything. Just go as far as possible, move the ball, and those guys started hitting shots. And inevitably, opened up the lanes for me in the second half. Once I saw they were open, I tried to take advantage of it, just move the ball, more than anything and be aggressive. It worked out for me.”
“I consider a closer not only a guy who makes shots but makes plays and makes it easier for his team, and puts pressure on the opponent. That was more so my mentality and has been my mentality, just being patient and that’s who I’ve been for a long time and I didn’t want it to be any different coming here to this wonderful team with a lot of scorers. They trust that when I have the ball, I’ll make the right play what ever that may be.”
May 4, 2010: Magic-Hawks Game 1 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy On how the Magic were not rusty tonight…
“I was a little surprised with that. Especially at the offensive end of the court. I was a little bit surprised that we played the way that we did, especially early in the game but it was good to see.”
On their defense and holding Atlanta to 10 in the second quarter and 11 in the third quarter…
“I thought our defense was OK. But look, it was one of those nights too. Jamal Crawford was 1-for-11, (Mike) Bibby’s 1-for-5 and Joe Johnson’s 4-for-11. And I think when Al Horford’s 1-for-7, I think when we watch film tomorrow, we’ll look at the good shots that they had that just didn’t go down so that we understand that we’ve still got to get better defensively in this series. I think the challenge is to not get carried away with the score. It was just one of those nights where everything snowballed, and it’s one game. So, we have to really get our minds focused on what we need to do in game two and I think our defense in particular can be much better than it was tonight.”
On if tonight was a good game to help Dwight Howard get his mind off the Charlotte series…
“I thought he played with good poise, good patience down in the post. I thought defensively he was a little bit tentative early on but then he started to get involved in the game after the first five or six minutes. Clearly he just dominated the game. When they did come and double, he made good plays, ball movement out of the double teams was pretty good. When they didn’t double, I thought he had success down there scoring and drawing fouls. So, that’s obviously a big part of our game, so it was nice to have him on the floor and playing well.”
On leading the league in point differential and their ability to put teams away…
“Well I think the other thing that happens in a game like this is when we go down nine through 12, we’re still pretty strong. And so, sometimes those things happen. But our guys, I was happy particularly at the start of the third quarter, with a big halftime lead we played well and jumped on it. This isn’t the regular season now and our guys have to understand that you’ve got to play every minute and every possession. You don’t take any chances. You get a Reggie Miller type game against the Knicks, that the movie was on in the regular season and you go, ‘OK, wow.’ That’s only going to happen once every five to 10 years. But if it happens in the playoffs, once is enough. You just can’t afford to take anything for granted, leads, anything. And our guys didn’t tonight coming out to start the second half. Now, the challenge is for them to get their heads right and into game 2.”
On being able to play Dwight Howard for the first 20 minutes with only one foul…
“He was good tonight, there’s no question. I think again, he was poised and pretty relaxed on the offensive end of the floor. There wasn’t any frustration. It was good, he played very, very well.”
On if his team has the mentality to focus on game 2…
“Well we have all year. We’ve been very good of getting from one game to the next game and not getting stuck on our success. But, it’s still something that we will talk about. I told them tomorrow I will have for them virtually every time in NBA playoff history that a team has won a game in a big blowout and lost the series. I mean, you’ve got to let it go. It’s one game, you’re happy to have it, but in the playoffs the margin means absolutely nothing. It does not matter and it should not lead to a false sense of security at all. We’ve got to stay on it every possession, that’s the mindset we need to get into tomorrow when we get together. Despite the score, there’s a lot of things we could do a lot better and we need to make those adjustments.”
On saying they could play better defense…
“Well look, I’m not saying our defense was bad, I was happy with our defense. But yeah, I do think particularly in the first quarter our defense wasn’t great. They missed some good opportunities and our defense will need to be better in game two than it was tonight.”
On if Dwight Howard playing the first 21 minutes of the game was to help make up for lost time…
“No, I was going to get him out. There were a lot of times we have him start the second quarter. I don’t like to have a lot of guys come in at the same time cold off the bench. So, a lot of times I give him the first three minutes which was my plan. And then, that group was just rolling along. They were playing so well. I kept asking my assistant coaches at the timeout, should we give Dwight a rest? And they said no, let it ride. And we did. I finally got him out late in the quarter because I really started to see some fatigue. You know, probably got a little lucky the game went the way it did. I could’ve worn him down a little bit there. That was probably three to four minutes too long in that one stretch.”
On if their biggest strength is their ability to get scoring from so many different players…
“Well I do think we’re pretty balanced you know. And, I think guys have accepted that pretty well. Dwight’s our leading scorer at 18 a game. We don’t have the 20 point guys. We don’t have the guys we’re going to run every play for. Our guys are not guys who are going to get or average a lot of field goal attempts or things like that. So everybody is going to have to come to grips with that, and I think they’ve done a good job of that. And, I do think our balance does help us. Everybody’s comfortable taking shots within our offense. We don’t have to rely on one or two guys.”
Dwight Howard
“Well I don’t think we thought about the Charlotte series after the last game. I think that we have moved on and got ready for the next series. The next couple of days that we had, we didn’t know who we were going to play so Coach did a good job of making sure that we were ready to play tonight. We came in and got some good work in every night and I think that was why were able to get off to a great start.”
“We understand that it’s only one game and in order for us to win this series, we have to dominate every night like we did tonight and remain humble. The Hawks are a great team; they didn’t shoot the ball as well as they wanted to tonight. We understand that and we have to have the same effort. That’s the things we talked about in the fourth quarter, the starters and some guys. If we want to win this series we have to bring this effort that we had tonight, every night. And if we do that, we should win.”
“Tonight, I still played about the same amount of minutes as I did. I just think that we all came out with a lot of energy; we dominated on the defensive end. And for us to win, that’s what we have to do.”
“I didn’t allow anything to throw me off my game tonight. That’s what I have to do for the rest of this series, not allow anything to keep me from playing basketball.”
Rashard Lewis
“We were a little rusty, took us a quarter to get the rust off. I thought the second unit came in the second quarter of coming in and building that lead. And from there, we didn’t look back.”
“We don’t want to walk away, it was a 40-point game, we know that it was one game. We still have to got to be ready for Game 2. And we know that they’re going to come out with a different attitude.”
Vince Carter
“I think to make up for all that, just in case we were rusty, just wanted to come out with the effort and the energy. Just being aggressive and then going from there. The effort you can control. Sometime you come out and relax, maybe just not hitting shots or whatever. But I think we’re focused. I mean that we have goals that we’re trying to accomplish and we’re not trying to let any games slip, particularly at home. And I think every one was in tune with what needed to be done from the jump.”
“Just more so than anything, just doing our job. These guys are focused and in tune with what we’re trying to accomplish and what needs to been done each and every time we’re on the floor. So I think it was a great win for us but we still know what we have work to do.”
“For Dwight, be patient, take your time, let it come to you. Don’t get in a rush; don’t try to prove the world wrong about whatever. Just don’t try to just over do it, let the game come to you. And I think he did a great job of that. I think that we helped him out by hitting shots which kind of made them go away from the double-team a little bit and he was able to go one-on-one. But doing so, under control. And that was the key for him, just being under control.”
Jameer Nelson
“We played the game well tonight. We played defense, pretty much for the whole game took care of the ball, just made the right plays offensively. Don’t be confused by the score. They’re a tough team, they’re going to bring it harder and probably better the next game so we can’t be full of ourselves or overconfident.”
“Just attacked, just to make the right play offensively and try to stay attached to their guard as much as I could defensively. They like to get it going with pull-up jump shots so we tried to attack them before they attack me.”
“We can’t let things slow us down. We’ve been handling adversity all season long and with the lay-off, I’m quite sure it’s in the back of every player’s mind and all the coaches minds and every body else in the world, like how are we going to come out and play. We just wanted to come out with a lot of intensity and play our game.”
April 26, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Game 4 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
(On the series)
“Sometimes you are in a series where the margin does not indicates how difficult the series was. When you write it down in the book it says it’s a sweep, but this was a very difficult series. They made it very tough on us. We struggled to make shots. I thought they had a great defensive game plan for us. Both teams played extremely hard during some difficult situations. I was proud of our intensity and our resolve. I feel like we beat a very good opponent and it was good to finish off the series.”
(On Mickael Pietrus)
“He’s never been afraid of the moment. He is a good three-point shooter, but sometimes he’s erratic at the free-throw line. Tonight he went to the line and made them all.”
(On the Bobcats)
“They are good defensively, very physical and tough to move and cut. They made shots tonight. Tyrus Thomas was unbelievable. He really gave them a good lift. The bench was very good. The main thing is that they shot the ball better than we did in the whole thing. We made some threes, but that’s because they defend the paint so well. We were able to make 13 threes. Our guys fought really hard. I’m not saying that we fought harder than they did, but we were up to the challenge against the intensity in this building. They didn’t lose very many games here this year and we won in here four times.”
Dwight Howard
(On the team)
“We’ve accomplished a lot this season and to see the maturity of our team from game to game and from the season to the playoffs is very good. Hopefully, we can continue to get better and stay up.”
(On the Bobcats)
“We have tons of respect for Charlotte – not just because of what they did in the playoffs, but what they accomplished during the regular season. We have a lot of respect for them. We knew it was going to be a fight going into the series.”
Jameer Nelson
(On the series)
“I think we got a little better each game, especially in the second half. I think we made some adjustments every time we stepped on the court in the second half and we played more of our game.”
(On preparing for the second round)
“We have to get our game right as a team. We don’t know who we are playing against, so we can’t really focus on anybody. I think we have to get our offensive game going. We struggled a little bit with the physical nature of the game that (the Bobcats) brought to us this series.”
April 24, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Game 3 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
(On the intensity in the series)
“The three games in this series, and today even more so, are as hard fought games as I’ve ever sat on the sideline for. Whoever is on the floor at the time are fighting hard on both sides of the ball. The intensity in this series is incredible. There is nothing easy to be had out there.”
(On Marcin Gortat)
“For a series like this he is great. Dwight Howard is barely playing over half a game and if you don’t have a quality back-up like Gortat, clearly you are going to get more of a drop-off. It’s not a drastic drop-off (with Gortat). Raymond Felton made the free throw to put them up one when Howard fouled out. Marcin comes into the game, down one in a playoff game, going down the stretch and we are able to get the win. A lot of guys played well down the stretch so it’s not just him, but it’s a testament to his value to us.”
(On the Bobcats defense) “The Bobcats are playing great defensively. They are coming after Dwight hard. On Vince, Stephen Jackson is working his tail off. We said going into this series, this is a great defensive team we are playing against. It’s not like our guys are getting easy plays. Everything is being contested; every dribble, every pass, every shot. It’s not easy out there. This is a great defensive team who is well coached.”
(On Game Four) “This is a very good team and we have to be ready to play. It is not going to be easy, we have to outplay them. We respect the team that we are playing. We don’t have any lack of respect for the Charlotte Bobcats and we know are going to have to play a lot harder if we want to get the win and close out the series.”
Dwight Howard
(On today’s game)
“One thing that we did as a team tonight is that we never gave up. We knew that this was Charlotte’s first home playoff game. We knew that it was going to be tight and they were going to come out with a lot of energy. We just wanted to weather the storm and keep at it. We knew it was going to be a tough game but (Jameer Nelson) led us tonight and he did an excellent job of shooting the ball, passing the ball, and playing defense.”
(On what the team has learned from its previous playoff experiences)
“We’ve learned how to keep our composure – especially playing on the road like we did tonight. We were playing against a team that plays with a lot of energy. They are tough to beat in this building. We kept believing tonight and that is what got us a win.”
Jameer Nelson
(On the team’s bench play)
“We’ve been saying all year that we are pretty deep in terms of personnel. The guys that we have coming off the bench do a great job for us and it has been consistent all year. When Dwight (Howard) is not in the game, we definitely have to toughen up, get stops, and get rebounds.”
(On what the team has learned from its previous playoff experiences) “Dwight (Howard) and I have played in a lot of playoff games so far in our careers, so we knew that we were going to come into a hostile environment today. We know how to keep our composure now. Our previous experiences have set us up for situations like this.”
April 21, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Game 2 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“A very hard fought win. Much tougher game maybe than what the final score indicated. That team plays hard and well and never gives in. And I don’t think our team gave in either. Very, very hard played game. I think, and I know he was doing it for the sake of his team, you know, motivational thing, but you know Larry (Brown) made the comment that us taking a day off after the last game was an indication of the lack of respect we have for them. Actually what it is, is an indication of how tough both game one and game two were, very, very hard. And quite honestly our guys need some physical rest after the games, they do. These are very hard played games, it’s because of how they play and how hard fought the games are. And we’re bringing them in tomorrow but we’re not going to do a whole lot with them tomorrow either and that’s far from a lack of respect for them. It’s trying to get our bodies right to go back to battle again on Saturday because these guys play extremely hard.”
On if it’s a luxury he can get scoring from so many different players…
“Certainly it helps. And I thought Dwight (Howard) got some good offense going in the third quarter. I mean, it’s just so frustrating because you know, his first four fouls, and I’m not saying they’re not fouls I haven’t looked at the tape, but there’s certainly nothing blatant. There’s nothing where he’s, it’s obvious to everybody that it was a foul. I just don’t see the other great players in this league on the bench all the time with foul trouble, especially on marginal calls. I just don’t. But, you’re sitting there on all of those and you’re going, ‘wow, really that’s a foul?’ And he’s sitting down he’s played 28 minutes in each game. Clearly, our defense especially is at a whole other level. So we’ve got to try to find a way to get him on the court 38, 39 minutes because particularly on the road in Charlotte. It will be tough for us to survive him playing 28 minutes. ”
On what Charlotte did defensively to limit Jameer Nelson tonight…
“Well Jameer doesn’t average 32 Rick. He doesn’t get that every night. So what he did tonight was pretty much right on his average. I thought he played fine. We didn’t get out in, he didn’t get as many opportunities in transition, on the pick-and-rolls and stuff. We ended up going to Vince (Carter) more at times. I thought he played well though.”
On what Dwight Howard and Vince Carter did differently tonight to get their offense going…
“Well, the key is Dwight was on the floor. When he was on the floor we played pretty well. That’s a pretty good pick-and-roll combination. Vince is making solid plays. Probably should have given him a little blow in the second half, but you know, so that he wouldn’t have fatigued. But he was going well, making plays, wanted to keep him on the floor.”
On getting Dwight Howard into an offensive rhythm at the beginning of the third quarter…
“We got him the ball, once or twice on pick-and-rolls, but at that stretch they weren’t double-teaming him in the post. So, he got opportunities. They double-teamed him a lot early, they double-teamed him a lot in game one. We can get him the ball and made a conscious effort tonight to get him the ball. If you look at 10 field goal attempts and 12 free throw attempts in 28 minutes with all the double teams and stuff, we clearly you know, made and attempt to get him a ball but we can’t control their defense. If they’re going to double team, he’s going to have to pass the ball. We were a little better today, but I’m still not thrilled at the way we played out of the double teams, it’s been something we’ve been good at. We’ve got to be better at it going into Charlotte. We’ll continue to work at it.”
Dwight Howard
“In order to beat this team, you have to do two things, not turn the ball over and not allow them to get points in the paint. Three things; get to the free throw line. Those are the areas that we want to continue to work on, and I think the first two games we’ve done a pretty job. We have to continue to do that.”
“It’s tough. I mean you watch the game, you see what’s going on out there. For me, I understand that I’m playing for something bigger than myself and just can’t allow that to frustrate me or let it frustrate my teammates.”
“I just like the fact that we’re staying home. At the same time, we’re pushing each other every day in practice to get better. And it shows in the game. J. J.’s been pushing Vince everyday and they’re pushing each other. And both of those of those guys are playing great basketball.”
Vince Carter
“I just came ready to play. Nothing changed nothing I did different, I just let the game come to me and I wasn’t in a rush. Just make plays and when time permits, just be aggressive. I want to be aggressive but I wasn’t going to force anything. Coach got made at me a couple times, I had a couple open shots that he felt that I passed up but I was trying to make the extra pass. In the second half, I tried to be a little bit more aggressive and get closer to the basket and put the ball in the hole if possible.”
“I feel great first and foremost. We’re healthy going into it. Trying to stay healthy but right now our mindset is to get the next one. Game three is the most important game right now. We know the level of intensity is going to go up another notch, especially from them just being the first playoff game at home. So it’s going to be crazy in there. And I think we’re going to have to weather the storm. They’re going to give us a big punch early and most important is to weather the storm and pull it out in the end.”
“We have a lot of guys doing a lot of things. So it’s important for us to remain consistent. I think with a team like this who is stingy on the defensive end. You don’t want to force things. If he puts the ball in our hands and wants us to make plays. But just be smart and I think we’re aware of that. Fortunately we have a lot of weapons so I think we’re getting it from a lot of guys. And that’s great to have, that’s a luxury.”
Matt Barnes
“I love that, that’s what the playoffs are all about. Hopefully the refs will start letting Dwight be a little physical and stop calling such tic-tac fouls on him. You know, give him a chance to play. As far as the physicality comes, we welcome that now.”
“No respect. Absolutely, Dwight gets no respect, from the refs, from the league as far as not being mentioned as the MVP. It’s crazy to see what they do to him every single play and then he puts his arm up and they call a foul. So it’s tough but I think we did a good job of playing through that. Marc’s stepped up, Rashard played as good as usual and we kind of rallied around Dwight, kept his spirits up.”
Rashard Lewis
“I think everybody is going to have a different role every game. Like the first game, Jameer Nelson played great for us. Guarding him on the pick-and-roll, they kind of stayed with Dwight so they had a little bit more of an adjustment from the pick-and-roll. It’s from game to game, it will be different people and they’ll change their defense around.”
April 18, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Game 1 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
On having to work around Dwight Howard tonight and how it affected their offense…
“Yeah, we really, yeah other than Jameer (Nelson) in the first half and Rashard (Lewis) we really struggled offensively. Second half we only shot 30 percent, they pretty much played the way we expected. Very, very physical defensively and then drive the ball, post the ball, attack the paint, attack the paint, attack the paint, attack the glass. I mean, that’s how they play. I think it’s good that it became real clear to our guys today and we still got the win. You know, one of the things I said to them afterward and I said to you going in, is in the last couple of weeks we really haven’t played a real tough defensive team, everything was pretty easy offensively. So, we’ve got to adjust to a much more intense, much more physical defense. And I think it’s good that we got out with the win and experienced their defense and the way they’re playing. And I think from a coaching standpoint I think it’s really breaking down the film and going back to the drawing board. We’ve got to find some other things offensively based on how they play us and the adjustments they made in the second half defensively that I thought were good for them. I think it was a good day from that standpoint, that we got a real good effort out of them and they really got to experience the way they’re going to play and still got out of here with a win, and knowing that we need to be a lot better on Wednesday.”
On what element of the second half comeback by the Bobcats they would like to focus on next game…
“Well I think at the defensive end it was just all going to the basket and getting to the free throw line, which is how they play. Just drive the ball, draw contact, get to the free throw line or get to the rim. That was their game. Obviously a big part of that in the second half that affected us was Dwight playing less than half of the half. In the first half it was a little tougher for them to get to the rim with him in there. But late in the game, or in the second half it was tough because he was on the bench, so that was a big part of it. But we’ve got to do a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint.”
On if Jameer Nelson is a barometer for the team when he is attacking the basket like he did tonight…
“Well he was very good in the first half and then I think in the second half they were much more aggressive getting their big guy out on his pick-and-roll. That’ll leave other things open, but that we did not do a good job of in the second half, we didn’t do a good job when they came out and either showed hard on his pick-and-rolls or trapped him a little bit. We did not do a good job on our ball movement and taking advantage of that.”
On if he is OK with Vince Carter’s shot selection…
“I think two things. I think it was one of those days in terms of shooting the ball. I think most of those shots if Vince gets them again he’ll make but I still would like to see him attacking more. I didn’t think he was really in a mindset to attack today. But, they did give him air space. He’s got great confidence in that jump shot for good reason, he’s been shooting the ball very well, he had a very, very bad day today shooting it. We didn’t do a good job, I sort of went away from Dwight because we weren’t executing out of the double teams. So, I think we’ve got some things we can do better offensively to get, I think Vince will play better, I think we can be better in our post-up game and go to Dwight more. We’ll work on those things in practice on Tuesday and get back at it.”
On what changed when Dwight Howard got his second personal foul at the end of the first half…
“Well, again, he picked up the one sort of in retaliation, and that’s all they’re trying to do. Look, their big guys are going to hit him every chance they get and if he gets one foul retaliating they’ve done their job. He can’t get any of those. He’s just going to have to understand that no matter how many times they hit him, he can’t hit back. We need him on the floor. He gave one away, but the rest of them, look if that ball is going to come at the rim that many times it’s going to make it tough on him. That’s why I’m saying we’ve got to do a better job on the ball defensively and we’ve got to do a better job of our initial line of help. Dwight will be back there to block but they can’t be coming at him 25 or 30 times a game. It’s just going to be tough to avoid fouls if that’s the situation. So, I thought he was great defensively, other than the one fouling unnecessarily, I just think the ball was coming at him too many times.”
On Dwight Howard blocking nine shots tonight…
“He was great defensively, I mean, but we’ve got to get him more involved on the offensive end of the court too. He’s our leading scorer, our two leading scorers, one got plenty of shots and didn’t make them and the other guy we just didn’t get him involved. And we know what they’re going to do, it’s pretty clear. When he gets the ball in the post they’re going to double-team, if he gets it deep and gets a good spot they’re going to hammer him. So we know what’s coming. But with that said, we’ve got to get him the ball and he’s got to make plays out of the double-teams, which I think he can do. I think our other guys have got to be a little better with their spacing and then he’s got to make free throws.”
On what it means to the team when Jameer Nelson is playing well and if the playoffs mean more to him because of the Finals last year…
“I don’t think the playoffs mean more to him because of that. I just think he wants to win like everyone else. I don’t think the playoffs mean more to him than anybody else or more to him than anybody else. Our guys want to win, I just, as coaches, we’ve got to find a way, I’ve got to find a way offensively to give him a better idea of how to attack that defense. And defensively, we’ve got to find a way to keep them from being at the rim the entire time.”
Jameer Nelson
“When I’m in attack-mode, we’re pretty good offensively. I just try to come out big and set the tone. Whether it’s shoot the ball like I did in the first half or just find open guys. It just so happen that they weren’t helping at all with Dwight and kind of left me open a lot of the time in the first quarter and second quarter.”
“We know that we’re going to have to handle a little adversity from time to time, pretty much every game. That’s why we’re one of the good teams. We can handle the things that are going to come our way. We have other guys to step up for us. We have Dwight and Vince; they have a lot of faith in the guys that come of the bench. A lot of trust in them.”
“I think it’s just great just to play in the playoffs. The Finals, I wasn’t myself but I’m not making any excuses, I was out there so I should have helped my team out a little bit better. But it’s great, great to be out there fighting with those guys and not sitting over there in a suit just cheering them on as much as I did last year.”
Dwight Howard
“I was frustrated. But defensively I just tried to help my team out. It’s going to tough for me on the offensive end they way they were playing, double-teaming and swarming and not letting me catch, so I just tried to do a good job on the defensive end, blocking shots, just being there for my teammates. And I told them, don’t foul them, send them to me and that’s what they did.”
“I think that we have guys that can come in and score and play defense. We understand that there are going to be nights where the main guys are not going to have good shooting nights. Other guys have to step up and score. And tonight, the guys that came off the bench did an excellent job of keeping us in the game but also just playing defense. You look at the score tonight and it was very low. It was a defensive game. Both teams played pretty good defense. As a team, we just go to continue to play defense.”
“The one thing I knew coming into the series that they were going to double-team a lot and they did a good job of keeping it out of my hands. So I just have to continue to work, not get as frustrated you know when I don’t get the ball or things might not go my way. But I have to trust my teammates; Jameer stepped up tonight and played great. And we kept feeding him the ball. You know I want to be able to change games on the defensive end and that’s what wins. We all played defense tonight. I kept telling the guys all night, you got to play defense, you go to step up on the defensive end. Our offense is going to come. And when we don’t worry offense and focus in on the defensive end, I think we’re a pretty good team.”
Ryan Anderson
“I was talking to Jason Williams before the game and he was saying that if you don’t get chills, there’s something wrong with you. Just the crowd is at a different level, every possession counts, so it’s extra important to stick to the game plan. Every shot, the whole team is excited about it.”
Rashard Lewis
“I think stop getting into push and shove matches with some of the guys when he’s posting up. They give him some cheap fouls and he gets frustrated. The refs are going to make the call or not make the call, just go down the court and be ready for the next play. I think the small cheap fouls is what gets him in trouble a lot. If he can learn how to play through that and not get frustrated, he should be on the court a lot more.”
(Difference in Magic 2nd half) “I don’t think we mentally relaxed, I think we got in a little foul trouble with Vince Carter and Dwight Howard being on the bench. But they made a run and they’re a good team and a well coached team and they started playing better defense in the second half and able to get back into the game.”
“You most definitely have to be more careful when they started getting into a rhythm on the offensive end and started making basket and getting stops. That’s when you’ve got to execute on the offensive end, move the ball around, and on the defensive end, you’ve got to talk, got to play together, and you‘ve got to get stops, especially when Dwight’s not in the game, somebody else has to rebound for him.”
Mickael Pietrus
“I think in the third quarter we didn’t make shots. And in the fourth quarter, we really found our stride and made big 3’s. That’s what we really need form our team. I think that the second game we have to do a better job offensively.”
“It was physical. I mean the NBA is not going to give you the trophy and say its all yours, guys. No, it’s going to be physical from the get-go. So that’s what we need, that’s why you enjoy getting that trophy at the end of the season. I think that every one that we’re going to go through is going to harder and harder and harder from experience and we have to learn from it and we’re ready to take that challenge.”
April 12, 2010: Magic-Pacers Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“We won. We wanted to get off to a really good start in the game, particularly on the offensive part of the game. I thought the first six minutes of the third quarter was the best defensive effort of the season. I liked our defensive effort.
(On controlling the second seed in the playoffs) We have to win Wednesday. It’s in our hands. The good thing is that we’ve been able to do this and not play our guys a lot of minutes. Your goal is to win a championship. You try to put yourselves in the best position to do that.
(On Orlando’s focus) Our guys’ focus tonight was great. I was a little worried in the locker room before the game. We seemed tired. I was surprised by our energy early in the game.”
Dwight Howard
“(On the strong start in the game) That’s what we wanted to come out and do—come out and have a good start. We wanted to come out and start being aggressive and put the hammer down early. I think we did that.
(On his playing minutes) It doesn’t bother me. The main thing is just getting ready for the playoffs. We’ve been doing an excellent job the last couple games of just focusing on the small things to make us better for the playoffs.
(On the Magic defense in the third quarter) It was very big. We came out aggressive on the defensive end, got stops when we needed and scored. Going into the playoffs we have to do that.”
Matt Barnes
“(On the strong first quarter) We know that they are a tough team here at home and that they have been playing very well here of late. We struggled early in the season when we came here and they beat us. They are a very talented, scoring team that can shoot the ball and present a lot of match up problems. So we were very conscious of coming out strong in the first quarter.
(On their incentive to keep playing hard) I know we don’t like to look ahead, but if we were fortunate to win the Eastern Conference we definitely want to have home court advantage in The Finals. We have one game left. We just need to stay strong, play like we did tonight and we control our own destiny with our last home game Wednesday.”
April 11, 2010: Magic-Cavaliers Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
(On what was achieved today): “We got a win, but nothing else. It was just a bad basketball game from our standpoint. But we won, so I’m not going to complain. What else do I take from it? Nothing.”
(On game being close despite LeBron James sitting out): “No, no, I don’t care about that. That happens all the time in the NBA because, quite honestly, we would have played the game – I don’t know if we would have won – but we would have played the game much better and much more focused had he played. (Assistant coach) Patrick Ewing and I were talking right before the game, I mean the air went out of our locker room when our guys found out he wasn’t playing. I thought our guys got up this morning at our walk-through at the hotel and were really into playing. Then, when those guys weren’t playing, we had a lot of guys who didn’t want to play either. We wanted to play against their team and we really weren’t interested in playing against the other guys unfortunately.”
Jameer Nelson
(On the Magic today): “We fought through. We had a little bit of adversity that we had to fight through with them not matching our guys and preparing a certain way. No matter who was out there, we just had to keep fighting and play the game we know how to play. We went out there to work on certain things and accomplish our goal, which was to win the game and we did so.”
(On the Magic’s recent success): “We’re in a good spot in terms of our seeding. We’re playing pretty good basketball right now. But, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We still have two games to finish the season out with and we want to close it out the right way.”
Vince Carter
(On playing Cavs minus James and Shaquille O’Neal): “It’s tough, but at the same time, it’s something we needed to do. We’re trying to win every game, trying to win out, because they all mean something to us in the end. It was a slow first half and we know they’re (Cavs) notorious for coming out and trying to win the game in the first half as far as putting teams away. It was a good job for our team for just staying focused and fighting our way back.”
(On the Cavs in the playoffs as a possible opponent): “First and foremost, we have to win the first couple (series) and to be honest with you, I just hate looking that far ahead. I think this is a very special team that is very capable. And, that will be a great matchup, I’ll say that. But, anything can happen. For everybody who thinks we should be there, they can possibly fall. I don’t want to wish that on us.”
(On the Magic being ready for the playoffs): “I think we’re ready to go. We didn’t put this team together for nothing. If we’re not ready now, then we’ll never be ready. It’s approaching (playoffs). I personally didn’t play well tonight, so I just want to finish it (regular season) strong and we’re trying to accomplish a goal and win out. And, I think that’s a great building block going into the playoffs, it’s just the mentality needs to be established.”
Mickael Pietrus
(On the Cavs changes from last season to this year for the playoffs): “If you want to win a championship, in the playoffs, you have to go through the best and they are the best in the NBA. We are trying to get to that level. You have to realize that Antawn Jamison gives them a great lift. He’s great player, an All-Star, so this year it’s going to be an even tougher matchup for us. But, our team is made to win a championship, so I think we are going to really try to compete against them if we meet them in the East Finals.”
April 7, 2010: Magic-Wizards Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“I thought the second half we played really well. Sort of on cruise control, not with a lot of energy and intensity in the first half, much better in the second half. We couldn’t stop them, which is a concern to see 50 percent down there again (on the box score). You know, three times in the last five games, that concerns me. But, we played well in the second half.”
On if it’s still the defense that’s upsetting him…
“I would’ve hoped I would’ve seen better numbers tonight, but…”
On if the depth of their bench has helped them over the course of the long season…
“Yeah, I think so. It definitely helps. I mean, if you go down our 12 man roster, every one of those guys has played major roles in multiple wins. It’s not like one game or something, all 12 of those guys have played major roles in big wins and certainly multiple wins. I don’t know how many teams can say that.”
On his view of the remaining games after locking up the No. 2 seed and the Southeast Division…
“I just want to keep getting better. We’ve only got one practice left, it’s on Saturday, in the regular season but we’ve got a walkthrough Friday morning and we’ll have one the following Wednesday so we’ve got three more opportunities in the regular season. I’d still like to see us make some improvement, I’d like to see us do a little better job on the defensive end of the floor in the last four games. We’re just going to keep working on trying to shore up areas where we need to get better.”
On Mike Brown’s quote that their final regular season games are just high-level practices…
“Well they have home court wrapped up all the way through the playoffs so he’s right. That’s exactly what they are for them, they don’t need another win, he’s got 61 wins. It’s a nice situation to be in, I’ve never been there.”
On if he can’t change their position in the playoffs either…
“Well we can change our position relative to the Lakers. I mean, Cleveland, they’ve got the whole thing wrapped up so, it’s really incredible. I don’t remember times where somebody, maybe there has been, but I don’t remember times where somebody, with a week-and-a-half to go has got home court wrapped up all the way through (the playoffs). That’s phenomenal.”
On what specifically they aren’t doing well defensively…
“Well we did a good job keeping the ball out of the paint. We couldn’t guard their wing players tonight. If you look at (Nick) Young, (Mike) Miller, Cartier Martin they’re 19-for-30 from the floor. They’re all really good players, I don’t think we necessarily gave them much easy stuff, but it was just jump shots over the top and everything else. I don’t think it’s a lack of effort but it’s concerning to me, I’m not mad at anybody, it’s just concerning to me that we can’t limit those good perimeter players better than that. We did do a very good job on (Andray) Blatche, I thought our big guys, all of the them, did a good job. Rashard (Lewis), Ryan (Anderson) Dwight (Howard) Marcin (Gortat), I thought they did a good job of locking in on him, made the night tough on him.”
Dwight Howard
(On catching Lakers) “Well Stan has talked about it a lot. For us, we just want to continue to get better and just focus on the small things that will take us to the next level. So that’s the only thing that we’re focused on right now. I think that we’re doing a good job.”
“Going into the playoffs, we just want to continue to do the right things, especially on the floor and in practice. Working on the small things, being aggressive on the defensive end, talking. That’s what is going to set us apart come playoff time.”
“Matt (Barnes) and I talked before he got here. One thing that I told him was that when you come to this team, we’re going to need you to be kind of like the, I guess the, you know I’m the enforcer, but you know there are some things I really can’t do being the enforcer. Matt can get away with a lot of different things. So we talked about setting the standard with our team and people around the league that we’re not going to be pushed around.”
Jason Williams
(On the second unit bringing energy) “That’s our job, not saying that the first unit doesn’t know they’re job, but we’ve got to come in and bring energy, move the ball, and take open shots.”
(On scoring 6 pts. in 2 seconds) “They slid under on a high pick-and-roll on the first three and just got lucky on the second. I was just trying to throw it up before the buzzer went off.”
(on comparing w/ Heat team he was on that won NBA title) “One through 15, this is the most talented team I’ve played on, the deepest team. So we’ll see how it goes in the playoffs.”
Vince Carter
(On remaining games) “They’re still important. If we happen to play in the Finals, it’ll mean a lot, so the mentality is to win them all, regardless. It’s a practice game or not, we’re trying to win them all. It’s not about what every body else is doing. Just to continue to step on the floor, it’s business. It’s the playoff mentality, even now.”
April 4, 2010: Magic-Grizzlies Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“I thought the offense in the first half was good and I thought we played well in the last 18 minutes of the game. Particularly in the fourth quarter, I thought we played with a lot of fight and with a lot of poise and composure in the fourth, which obviously we didn’t have earlier. We didn’t have a whole lot of fight until everything went down and then we got a little bit of fight. And then we got our composure back and played well. The biggest problem tonight obviously is we put them on the line 38 times. But other than that, they shot 40 percent, we’ve just got to quit fouling, we’re just bailing people out. We’ve got to be a lot more disciplined in terms of that. They’re a very good offensive team. They really attack the basket and I thought we could’ve handled it better. Offensively, I thought particularly down the stretch in the fourth, we executed about as well as we could.”
On what happened in the third quarter with Matt Barnes…
“Matt thought he got fouled on the play, so Matt started to, he was going to get a technical, he started to run over to the official and complain and (Hasheem) Thabeet pushed him and then Matt sort of lost it. And then everybody was involved. And that was it. At least the benches didn’t empty, no punches were thrown, I don’t see suspensions coming or anything like that, so that’s good. When they said he was ejected, he left. So that was all positive in a way. And after that I thought for the next couple of minutes we were still a little out of sorts, upset, pissed off, whatever you want to call it. But then I thought we gathered ourselves pretty well and played well down the stretch of the game.”
On if he puts any stock into beating each team in the league at least once this year…
“Well we put that on the board before the game. The season is long and the days are long. I’m at work by 6:30 a.m. and the game’s at 6:00 p.m. I’ve got to have something to do all day. So yeah, I look at some of that stuff. So yeah, it’s a nice little thing, Dallas has a chance to do it in Portland on Wednesday night and that’s it. If they don’t do it then we’re the only team that’s beat every other team. I like that. I like going through the league and I think there’s something to be said for having gone out on the court and proving that you literally, I mean everybody thinks that they can beat everybody in this league and they’ll talk about it, we’ve literally done it. We’ve beaten everybody in this league. Not easy to do, 20 – 10 against the West. Yeah, I can put some stock in that. Does it mean anything going forward? No. But still, you play 82 games, and we all understand, everybody on our team understands, everybody in our organization understands that we’re at the point where we get judged on the playoffs. But we’ve been at this since October, you’ve got to take some pride and some satisfaction in the accomplishments along the way. When you get one more win, we win the division. You’ve got to take some pride in that and whether its media, fans or whatever, you can poo-poo that all you want, but it’s a long season and those accomplishments mean a lot. They certainly mean a lot to me and yeah, I think being the only team in the league to beat everybody, that’s a nice accomplishment.”
Matt Barnes
(On the altercation) “They called an offensive foul. I was going to debate the foul and (Hasheem) Thabeet pushed me. I let my temper get out of control. I pushed him and that was the wrong thing to do. I apologized to my teammates for letting my temper get out of control. I am glad we got the win.”
“I apologized for my temper. It had a chance to really cause damage and I never want to put my team in a situation where I am going to hurt them by my reaction. I apologized to the guys and told them that it’s not going to happen again. These guys know that I play with my emotions on my sleeve. I was just heated and I didn’t react in the proper way.”
“This team has become a family. A lot of people talk about the Orlando Magic as not being tough, but we are a tough team. We are a family and we are not going to let anyone come in here and push us around.”
Vince Carter
“We are just playing to win. That’s it. We are going to compete. Our mentality is the playoff way and we are just going to finish the season.”
(On the Magic being the only NBA team to have a win against every other team) “It is a great stat. I think that is an accomplishment to our team that we are able to compete with everybody in the league. We want to be able to do that because you never know who you are going to see down the road.”
(On his breakaway dunk) “Every now and then I will give you something to think about and enjoy. I can’t promise when you are going to see it again. It is always fun to do and for people to say ‘Oh, he can still do that’. I can still do that stuff. It’s just the after effect sometimes. Tonight I’m going to be like why did I do that?”
Rashard Lewis
“I thought our defense was a little slow and a step behind tonight. They got a lot of layups and a lot of points in the paint. That was the whole ballgame.”
(On the altercation) “It was something that happened in the heat of the moment. Matt (Barnes) jumped up to talk to the ref and (Hasheem) Thabeet pushed him. Of course, when someone comes up and pushes you, you are going to retaliate and push back. Unfortunately he (Matt) got ejected and the other guy didn’t.”
(If the push gave the game life) “It most definitely gave the game life. Both teams started playing a little bit harder. Everyone was a little upset and a little mad. We played with a little frustration. We didn’t play well for the first minute or two coming out of the altercation but overall we were able to pick it up and get back rolling.”
April 2, 2010: Magic-Spurs Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
(opening statement)
“Tonight we couldn’t control their pick-and-roll at all as we just did not do a good job on it at any point as it was frustrating. They went to the rim, the rim, the rim as we did not do a good job there. Ginobili obviously killed us in that stretch there as they went to Duncan as he also made some big hoops. Offensively, we were decent as we kept ourselves in the game and gave ourselves a chance there until the last five minutes or so. We just couldn’t stop them and certainly not for enough sustained time to get back in the game. The 62 points in the paint, they simply played extremely well as I wasn’t happy with our defense but in reality they played extremely well at a very high energy level.”
(on Dwight Howard’s struggling performance tonight)
“He struggled at the line, I mean, he has nights like that. Dwight was upset as that was frustrating in that regard, but we had an idiot behind the bench that we should’ve just ignored but every arena’s has them. It was a frustrating night as our guys ended up getting into it with the guy.”
(on Tim Duncan getting quick fouls in the first quarter) “It could’ve affected the game but he only played four and a half minutes in the first half but Dwight only played seven and a half. We didn’t get a whole lot of advantage out of that. ”
(on the “Hack-a-Howard” method of the Spurs) “You’re going to do anything you can to win a game. Mike is looking at the way we shoot threes and the way we spread it out and our quick comeback and the whole thing as he’s not going to take that chance. I thought it was a solid strategy. ”
Dwight Howard
(on this game against the Spurs tonight versus their last match-up)
“They’re fighting for something much more bigger than this game. We understood that as they came out tonight and played good on both end. We as a team have to come back Sunday and get a win.”
(on if tonight felt like a playoff intensity game)
“Not really. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to play as like I said, we just have to come back Sunday and have a better game on both ends of the floor as I’m pretty sure we’ll bounce back strong. We never let one game affect the rest of the season as we know we didn’t play our best tonight.”
Jameer Nelson
(on Ginobili’s performance tonight)
“I think who played on him played him tough and hard but it was just one of those nights where he was doing everything and making a lot of shots. He’s a tough guard, regardless of what night it is, but tonight he really had it going on.”
(on how the team handled the unfriendly crowd with playoffs approaching)
“To be honest with you, I think since All-Star break we’ve had the best record in the league so I’m not concerned at all. I’m not trying to be mean but I’m just being honest as you win games and lose games. Guys get hot on you but he had it going tonight as they went to him 85 percent of the time as he’s a great player. If you’re going to get a lot of touches you’re going to get a lot of shots.”
April 1, 2010: Magic-Mavericks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On what is says about the Magic to win this game after Dallas had a back-to-back) “Both teams struggled to score in the first half. The score, both shooting in the 30s, then we shot 60% in the second half, and yet the back-to-back helps you. It certainly helps you. They missed some shots they would normally make, didn’t have legs, things like that. With that said, they were 11-7 on the second night of back-to-backs and had won five in a row. They had been playing well on those nights, so it was still great to get a win. We definitely had a little bit of an advantage with that, but you want to take advantage of it. I think our defense was pretty solid all night other than some dumb fouls, then we hit a stretch of a couple of turnovers. We gave them a little bit of a – I wouldn’t say back in it because it never got below double figures, but they had Dirk’s shot that could have cut it to seven, a good open look from three. We made some mistakes but other than that I thought we played well. Dwight is tremendous. Five blocks, 20 rebounds, it just makes it tough inside on people. I thought he was great as usual. Vince got on a nice roll, and obviously Pietrus had a huge night. And then I thought Jameer, in the third quarter, really got us going. We had some guys step up on both ends of the floor.”
(On the contested shots) “I thought in the first half we took some very difficult shots, and then I thought on times on drives in the second half. I don’t mind when we’re going to the rim strong on big guy. I don’t like it when we are shooting runners over seven footers, I think that’s a bad shot. I thought in the first half we took too many shots with no passes. I thought our ball movement was better in the second half. We played more drive and kick and I think that’s why our percentage went up as much as it did.”
Orlando Point Guard Jameer Nelson
(About the team shooting better in the second half…) – “That’s part of the game. You’re going to miss shots. You’re going to make shots. And that’s everybody. And if you’re missing shots, that doesn’t mean you’ve got to stop shooting and stop being aggressive. I know I’m a good shooter and I know the shots are going to go down.”
(The coach talked about the responsibility of the team getting good shots…) - “The thing is, he puts us in situations to be successful and to make plays for ourselves, and for each other. I think we’ve just got to control the game and be aggressive, like I said.”
(Talk about Pietrus’ performance…) – “He was great. He just totally would shoot shots that he got. He’s a great three-point shooter when he takes them. Everybody on the team can shoot, so it’s not – like I said – you miss a couple shots there’s no reason to stop shooting. You’ve got to shoot the ball if you’re going to make it.”
(Talk about coming here and beating Dallas on their home court and what it means…) – “Well, we know how good we are. We’re not cocky or overconfident or anything, but we know we can beat anybody when we play our game. We played great defensively, and pushed the ball, and got good shots when we needed to.”
Orlando Forward Mickael Pietrus
(Talk about how you shot – were you looking for the three ball tonight?) – “No, I try to mix my game. I try to go to the basket first and shoot free throws, and the rest of my game is going to come. And I was able to get open shots and I made them and that’s all it was.”
(Talk about shutting Dallas down for a few minutes at a time tonight…) – “That’s how we’ve been winning games all season, with our defense. I think when we can trust our defense the offense is going to come. So I think that every game we start it has to be defensively. And the rest of the game – we have a lot of shooters, we have [Dwight], so anything can happen [if we play defense].”
March 28, 2010: Magic-Nuggets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
“I’m really happy and proud of our guys. I thought that our fight and competitiveness was tremendous – that’s a very tough team to play against. I thought our guys fought the entire day, got down 10 in the third, really got off to a bad start in the third quarter, fought our way back in it, started to really make some shots. We had some guys play very well obviously and we had everybody play real hard, and then down the stretch we got stops, we got rebounds and we made really good, solid plays. I think that was one of our best wins of the year; with Vince going down early, Pietrus out, we were really shorthanded on the perimeter. I was really proud of our guys.”
On if the team needs tests like this late in the season against elite teams…
“Well we need them, I don’t necessarily like them. I would rather win by 30 and relax. But yeah, you need them. You need to play in these types of game, and this team is (a) very physical team, very big team, can really score in a lot of ways, tough to play against. You’re always getting banged and everything else. I thought our guys kept their composure very, very well and really made good plays down the stretch. I mean, in the first half, I didn’t think we played very well, we didn’t shoot very well, we had the lead because we only turned the ball over three times and only nine for the game. I think that if we get that understanding of how important it is to take care of the ball and what that can do to keep you in the game, that’s key because if you look, at halftime, you’re looking at the shooting numbers and you’re saying, how in the heck are you ahead, let alone even in the game, and then you look down and you got three turnovers; it’ll give you a chance.”
On JJ Redick’s performance…
“I thought the key to JJ’s performance was that rest I gave him at the beginning of the game, that 1:35, so he could be fresh. He was tremendous, and that was the most we have had anybody play this year, and look, he played great, but I think of you’re somebody out there watching, what you have to know and we see everyday and appreciate, he is one of the best, if not the best, conditioned guys in this league. He works his butt off year-round to be in great shape. He really gets no more than usually 24-25 minutes – you need him for 46 and he’s able to do it. He’s conditioned himself extremely well. Obviously played very well. I mean, seven rebounds for him is incredible, eight assists to go with the shooting. And then Ryan had another great game. He was actually a lot better today even than he was the other night. I thought he got involved in the battle down there on the boards also. I thought Matt and Rashard worked really hard defensively and then Dwight was Dwight, I thought. He was getting banged around down there, it was frustrating, held his composure, got some really big rebounds and I think changed a lot of shots. Everybody that played contributed to that one.”
Dwight Howard
“Early in the season, we knew it would take time for us to become the team that we wanted to become. As of late, we’re just gelling. We’re playing hard and we’re practicing. Every body just wants to win.”
“It’s very big, you know. It sends a message. The last time we played these guys, we didn’t play so well and wanted to show them that we wanted to give our best effort. Just wanted to keep this thing rolling. And I think we’ve been doing an excellent job the last couple games of being aggressive on both ends, really trying to focus in on the defense. Guys like J. J. and Ryan, and Matt really stepped up. Matt had a very tough match-up tonight. He kept his head up; he did an excellent job on Carmelo Anthony. But really tonight’s story is J. J. Redick. And also Ryan Anderson, those guys really played big. On the defensive end, J. J. had a tough match-up on JR Smith but he held his own. On the offensive end he made buckets, passed the ball well. He played a lot of minutes. He played like 45 minutes; this is a career high for him, for his whole entire life.”
“I think we all understand that every body who steps on the floor has to play big. When Vince went down, J. J. played big for us. That’s what it takes, a team full of guys who want to get the job done. We all have one common goal. We want to win a championship. We all think about nothing else but winning, winning a championship. That’s what it’s going to take.”
J. J. Redick
“Obviously you can’t predict injuries; you just have to be ready in situations like that. We were down two guys really because M. P. was hurt too. I just said to Stan that I’m in good enough shape to do that and if we were on a back-to-back, I probably might be in trouble tomorrow but likely have a couple days off.”
“It was a big win for us. Especially at home and also with the way we played them back in January. We got our butts kicked pretty good up in Denver, that was a stretch in which we weren’t playing particularly well. So, to get a win now when we are playing good and when they were on their game, they shot 52%, it’s definitely a big win.”
“We are very deep, we have guys that can play multiple positions, I’m not one of them, but we do have guys that can play multiple positions and that helps as well.”
Ryan Anderson
“Shot is feeling pretty good. I mean I’ve been working a ton on it. Shooting a lot, getting a lot of reps up so it’s good that it’s translating into the game. But Dwight gets everybody open so it helps to have a guy like him.”
March 26, 2010: Magic-Wolves Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
“I thought the second half we made a much better effort defensively. I thought we could’ve really put it away earlier if we could’ve taken care of the ball. I thougth Dwight (Howard) was tremendous on both ends of the floor. And I thought Vince (Carter) had a real solid game. And, I thought our bench was very, very good tonight. And that’s why we let them finish the game out. I thougth that they did a good job late third quarter early fourth quarter getting us a margin and played extremely well, so there were some very good things tonight. First half, not much sense of urgency defensively. But second half much better defense. Now we’ll start to take care of the ball that’d be another big help for us.”
On if playing Ryan Anderson was a hunch, or he chose to do it because of match-ups…
“No, not a hunch. I was sort of kicking myself the other night after the Atlanta game because he’s had good practices lately. He’s played well against Atlanta all year and because of his ability to spread the floor – both those teams Atlanta and then tonight, he had a big game up there last time. They want to give their four-man, they want to get two bigs on Dwight, so your four man is wide open when they can spread the floor. So, that’s why we went with him. I didn’t know how he’d look quite honestly because he hadn’t played in so long. I think it’s a real credit to him that he played as well as he did. He didn’t shoot the ball very well, but nine rebounds and very active, I thougth played pretty good defense. I just thought he helped us. A lot.”
On putting Dwight Howard back in the game late…
“Well, it got back down to 13 again you know, and they got a couple offensive rebounds, I just don’t mess around with games. I try not to. I’m not one to take a lot of chances. To me, that’s when you don’t screw around. When you’ve got a game you make sure you get it. I don’t want to be giving one away.”
On the possibility that Dwight Howard will be the first player in history to lead the league in rebounds and blocked shots for more than one season… “It’s a tremendous thing. And he’s probably got to block three or four more shots in the last nine games and he might have to average two or three rebounds a game to lead the league in rebounds. It’s really unbeliveable, I looked the other day and I said to Brendan (Malone) well if ‘Dwight doesn’t get a rebound tonight and if Zach Randolph can get 101, then he’ll tie him for the lead. I mean, he’s so far out in front of everybody, you know it’s not like he’s barely ahead. I don’t know he’s 50 blocks and 100 and some rebounds ahead. He’s the dominate guy in the league in those two areas. He went in tonight leading the league in fieldgoal percentage, certainly didn’t hurt himself there. He’s got a chance, that ones close, but he’s got a chance to lead the league in three catergories, it’s just… he’s having a phenomenal year.”
Dwight Howard
“I think they get overlooked. But I’m just happy that we are playing a lot better than we did in the beginning of the season. We are really jelling. That’s the main thing going into the playoffs. I think we are doing all the right things to get better.”
“Tonight they had a lot of bigs. Darko is a seven footer, Al is a seven footer. For us to be successful I need to be dominant on the boards.
“I just want to win a championship. All the individual accomplishments are great but winning a championship is something we are all looking forward to.”
March 24, 2010: Magic-Hawks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
“This was a tough finish. I thought our guys did a good job getting us back in the game. The Hawks outplayed us for a good portion of the game. Our rebounding and defense kept us in the game. Vince hit a great shot to tie the game up, and then he played great defense on Joe (Johnson) on the other end. Unfortunately we forgot to box out on the weak side, and Josh (Smith) was able to make a great play. We became spectators and didn’t block out, and this is the second loss we’ve had like this this season.”
“On a night where the Hawks defense was good, so was ours. But we just didn’t make the plays down the stretch to get in front of them. They got up on us, and stayed up during the second half, and that made it tough. We knew they were going to be ready to play tonight. They win 80% of their games at home, and it was very evident that they came prepared to play tonight.”
Jameer Nelson
“This was a tough loss for us. It’s definitely not one person’s fault. Vince hit a big shot to get us tied up, but Josh got open and was able to make a big play at the end and get a big win for his team. Dwight (Howard) went to help on the other side, so that gave Josh space. The Hawks were obviously motivated to get a win tonight. We’ve beaten them all year, so I’m sure they wanted to win tonight. That’s a good team in the other locker room, so you have to give them credit for coming out and being ready to play tonight. They’re one of the toughest teams to beat at home.”
Vince Carter
“I was glad I was able to make that shot to tie the game up. We had to come from a big deficit to even get the game to that point. On the other end, I was so busy guarding Joe, that I didn’t see Josh get open. We were so busy trying to force Joe one way, it somehow freed up another player. It happened to be Josh, and he made a great play. We went up on them early in the first half, but they made a great comeback and held us off for most of the game. You have to give them credit for coming to play. Because they’re such a talented team it’s hard to come from behind and beat them at home.”
March 22, 2010: Magic-76ers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Opening statement…
“We did a good job closing it out. I don’t think we rebounded very well in the first half. We didn’t do a very good job stopping penetration the entire game. But on the offensive end we did a good job of getting good shots and we made a lot of three-pointers. That was really the difference in the game.”
On the team’s rebounding tonight…
“It was a problem for most of the game. The only time we kept them off of the offensive glass is when they made the adjustments, but they just let them score on the first shot. We didn’t do a good job putting bodies on them. If you are going to let (Samuel) Dalembert move and roam free then you are going to have trouble.”
On winning 50 games for the third year in a row…
“This year there will be quite a few teams. You will get seven or eight team each year to do it, so you are in the top quarter of the league. I think it is the mark in the league of a very good team, 60 being the mark of a great team. Fifty is a great mark and I don’t know how much it means or doesn’t mean to Vince (Carter), but it is a good mark for a team.”
Jameer Nelson
On the way the Magic closed out the game tonight…
“We have been doing a better job of closing team out as of late, despite the Miami game when we were up by 10 and we let them back into overtime. We hit some big shots down the stretch and won the game.
On Vince Carter getting his first 50-win season…
“I am happy for him. A guy like himself that many people criticize all the time and say a lot of negative things about has proven himself to everybody as of late and has been playing great for us lately.”
Dwight Howard
On winning 50 games for the third straight season…
“It is a great honor. It is showing we are improving every year. To win 50 games in the NBA is tough for anybody. People don’t realize how hard it is to win every single night. We have been persistent for the last three years and have been putting in the effort to become an elite team.”
March 18, 2010: Magic-Heat Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
On the Game
“That was a great basketball game. [Mario] Chalmers hit a couple of huge threes for the [Miami Heat]. I thought our guys played extremely well. Coming out of a game last night, there was a much better fight in us. I was really happy with our guys. Vince made great passes. Dwight [Howard]’s offensive rebound around four guys and his pass out to Rashard [Lewis] for a three was great. I was proud of our guys but we were very fortunate to win.”
On Dwight Howard’s Technical
“He slammed the ball down. But it had happened about six times in the game. There was no complaint to an official. Players do it when they get frustrated.”
On Vince Carter
“He played huge minutes tonight. He was great. He has gotten stronger. He is just in better shape. He has worked very hard.”
“He seems to be enjoying playing in big games.”
March 17, 2010: Magic-Spurs Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“I mean obviously we had a nice little advantage catching them on the second night of a back-to-back when we’d had a couple days off. We’ve been in that situation on the other side of it before so that no doubt helped us. I thought we played very well though, other than the end of the second quarter when we let them back in, but then in the third quarter we played well. They had some makeable shots that they didn’t knock down, we knocked down some shots and that was pretty much the difference. But, we played pretty consistently throughout. They looked a little bit tired and that was pretty much the story.”
On Vince Carter’s play tonight and if he’s been good enough at getting in the lane…
“He was fantastic. I thought both in the first quarter and then in the third quarter he was terrific. Plus, eight assists, you know with one turnover, you can’t ask for much more than that. He’s obviously playing at a very high level right now and when he plays like that we’re obviously pretty good.”
On Dwight Howard’s defense on Tim Duncan…
“Well I thought his defense was good, plus I thought he played well offensively. I thought he did a good job playing out of the double teams. He created a lot of shots for us. Even though he only had a couple of assists, a lot of times it was his pass out and one or two more passes, good ball movement, to a wide open shot. But it was him playing out of the double teams. They doubled him all night. What I really liked was that he didn’t get frustrated with the fact that he wasn’t getting shots, he didn’t force things. He was content to make the right play. And, played very well at the defensive end of the floor. I thought he was a huge factor in the game, even though his numbers were modest.”
On what they were doing defensively to frustrate Tim Duncan…
“Well, you know what, look, I mean, I thought Dwight played good defense. And Marcin (Gortat) the little bit he was on him. But, there are nights like that for every player too. Bottom line, when you have a great player like Tim Duncan is, you can play the exact same defense tomorrow night and he can go eight or nine for-10. So, you have to be realistic. I liked our defense on him. I thought we did a good job. And, at the same time he can make a lot of the shots he was taking and what you try to do is not make things easy and then you live with the result. But he’s a great, great player and thankfully he had a bad night tonight.”
Jameer Nelson
“We can’t be satisfied just getting to the play-offs at this point, with what we went through last year. To have a taste of the championship, you want to win it. It’s what we’re playing for. We’re not one of those teams that are happy all year and let’s celebrate just because we made the play-offs. We’re one the teams that wants to win it, to have a legit chance, you know.”
“You have to move the ball from one side to another, especially against a good defensive team. We’re hard to guard. We have guys that can put the ball on the floor, we got guys that can post that you have to worry about, and guys at the 3 (point) line you have to worry about. So we’re hard to guard when we move the ball.”
Vince Carter
“I think it’s a step in the right direction. You know we let one go last game on our back-to-back against Charlotte. We can get back into our winning ways. Play the right way. I think defensively we did a great job as a unit. We would move the ball offensively and make plays for each other, more than anything.”
“It’s not about who makes the most points, it’s just who has the open shot gets the ball and when you’re open, take the shot. So whether you’re open or not, you have to take the shot and I think we’ve doe a great job of exploiting different situations throughout the course of the game. We knew Dwight probably wouldn’t have a big night scoring but it was important for us to give him the ball to draw those double teams. Once he passed the ball out of the double teams, moved the ball to the open guy.”
“I was just taking what was there. I hit a few which made my defender have to get up on me and I just continued to attack and find open guys. So had a few things working for me.”
(On holding Duncan to one of the lowest scoring % of career) “He’s definitely a focal point, of course in Ginobili; we just wanted to make it tough for him, more than anything.”
Rashard Lewis
“Just keep shooting the ball. I didn’t worry about it at all. To me, the most important thing at the end of the day is to win ball games. Just like tonight, made a high percentage but didn’t get very many an overall I thought we played great as a team. We thought we played good defense, started off playing good defensively and built a lead. We stayed playing defense throughout the night and I thought overall we played good.”
March 14, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy: “We weren’t very good at anything today, we didn’t rebound, we didn’t take care of the ball, we didn’t shoot well, we didn’t defend, we just weren’t very good at anything.”
On if their problems started early on the defensive end…
“Yeah, that starting unit, that’s two games in a row now that they just haven’t brought any defensive mentality to start the game. So, obviously something they have to correct.”
On what he can do to get Rashard Lewis out of his shooting slump…
“Yeah, I don’t know. We went through it with Vince (Carter) in January and now Rashard, you know is just not playing well at all right now. You know, it’s not just the shooting, I mean, he’s not rebounding the ball, he’s just not playing with much energy. I don’t know.”
On if Rashard is sacrificing for the team and passing up shots he should be taking…
“It’s not a matter of that. He’s not making the shots he’s taking. He’s turning the ball over, he’s just not playing well. It’s not a matter of anything else, he’s just not playing well. And, you know, I have confidence he’ll bounce back but right now he’s just not playing well.”
On how different the Charlotte Bobcats look now versus when they faced them earlier…
“We’ve basically played them with that group other than (Gerald) Wallace didn’t play, so they were different. But, they’re not much different.”
On the performance of Mickael Pietrus tonight…
“I thought MP played well, I thought MP on the offensive end I thought MP and Vince and Dwight (Howard) all played well. But it was pretty much a three man show, nobody else could get anything else going. So it’s just not enough.”
On his thoughts on possibly facing this team in the first round of the playoffs…
“I don’t have any thoughts right now about the first round of the playoffs.”
On if the moving screen calls in the game tonight disrupted their rhythm…
“I don’t know about that. We didn’t play well. Look, we didn’t play well. We didn’t play with much energy. We didn’t have enough guys play well individually. We just didn’t play well. It was a bad night. Hopefully we’ll get back on it, we’ve been playing very well lately and hopefully we’ll be right back to that on Wednesday. We just weren’t very good tonight.”
Mickael Pietrus
“I don’t know if it’s tired legs or not. Everybody has two back-to-backs. We were trying to keep our winning streak tonight. I think we’ve been playing pretty good; we have one of the best records in the NBA since the All-Star break. We’re really going to try to pick up a winning streak because it’s going to be very important for us before the play-offs.”
“I just wanted to play my game. They called my name and my shot was hot so I wanted to continue to focus to aggressive on both ends of the floor and help my team. So hopefully we’ll come back strong on Wednesday.”
(On Charlotte) “They are fighting for a play-off spot; they came out ready and hungry. That’s a very hungry team and they came out and made a lot of shots. They played extremely well. That’s one of those teams that fighting for the play-offs. We have to be ready for that.”
Vince Carter
“It’s just what it is, I don’t know. We should have won that game.”
“I hate to make excuses. We showed up to play the game, we gave ourselves a chance and they can score. They can defend well, they get into passing lanes. They just caught us tonight.”
(On Rashard) “I tell him to keep playing. I’d never tell him to stop shooting the ball. He’s a proven player that has done a lot for us, hit big shots. So I’m not worried about him. With him being on the court, they’re still going to have to cover him. They still going to run out there and cover him because of what he’s done over his career and this year. I think we’ll be fine, he’ll be fine.”
J. J. Redick
“Our defense wasn’t very good at times, our offense was even worse. You can’t really win when that happens.”
Jameer Nelson
“They did a good job; they played with a lot of energy. You have to give those guys credit in the locker room:”
(On Stephen Jackson) “He’s playing well. He’s definitely stepped up their level of play as a team. It’s just the intensity that he brings offensively and defensively. He’s emotions; everything is a positive for that team over there.”
March 13, 2010: Magic-Wizards Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
On the game:
“I thought the guys off the bench in the second quarter, along with Dwight, really turned the game around. I thought they did a tremendous job. Our starters got off to a much better start in the third quarter. That, to me, that 18 or 20 minutes was the key stretch where we played good basketball.”
On bench play:
“Our bench guys were really, really good tonight – all of them. I thought they gave us a huge lift. Our starters were not very good early. It was enough to get the win against a team that had a lot working against them tonight.”
On Andray Blatche:
“Blatche is very, very good because he can get that shot off over the top any time he wants. He can score in the post. He can put the ball on the floor. He’s a tough matchup. We were prepared to put Dwight on him down the stretch if we needed to. I thought we worked harder on him in the second half but he’s a force down there.”
Dwight Howard
On bench play:
“That’s what got us going. Guys came in with defense, we hit shots, and we were able to run and be effective in transition. That’s the way we got back in the game and ended up winning.”
On scoring 28 points tonight:
“I trusted my teammates. They found me in good spots and I was able to score. I was able to draw the double team and kick it to guys who were knocking down shots. I think we did a good job of playing side out.”
On current eight-game win streak:
“I think we are just starting to gel right now. Early in the season we all knew that it was going to be a roller coaster ride for us. We all understand that we have to learn how to play with each other and I think now we’re learning. We play well together and we are going to continue to get better. We’re growing as a team. It’s tough when you have five or six new guys on the team. You’re trying to learn their game and also continue to play the way we did last year.”
Vince Carter
On the game:
“We just tried to come out, play our game, play to win, and get better. We’re playing for a lot this year so we’re trying to get ourselves on track. We knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy and try to win the game.”
On bench play:
“Our second unit was phenomenal tonight. They gave us an energy we didn’t have in the first eight or nine minutes and got us back in it.”
J.J. Redick
On bench play:
“I think the bench has been pretty consistent all year. During the first quarter tonight Mickael Pietrus looked at me and said something to everybody that we have to pick things up for the starters. We didn’t come out with a whole lot of energy, especially on the defensive end and that’s really been our staple for the last two months.”
On the Wizards:
“I think they played hard. Those guys are still playing hard. Andray Blatche is playing at an extremely high level. He’s obviously really benefitted from the trades that they made. He’s a very talented player.”
On the third quarter:
“The third quarter was great. We talked about that at halftime about coming out and not having another let up. We played a lot better the last three quarters.”
March 11, 2010: Magic-Bulls Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
“We got off to a good start, that’s what we should’ve done. They were a little, well they started the game a little undermanned and then obviously when (Derrick) Rose went down, you know went out of the game, they were very undermanned. So, I thought we played a good first quarter, got control of the game, then a great second quarter and we did what we should’ve done.”
On if he’s happy they’re ‘taking care of business’ against teams they should…
“We’ve done a better job of really being ready to play, there’s no question about that. I think our approach to these games has been very, very good. So, yeah, it’s not an easy thing. But we’ve handled it pretty well.”
On Derrick Rose getting knocked down again by Dwight Howard…
“You know, the thing on that play is, looking at it, I don’t even think Dwight fouled him, I think Rose fouled Dwight. He pushed off. But regardless, Derrick goes in there with such unbelievable force that it was the same as the other night. He’s going full speed and he’s hitting basically an immovable object and he lands tough. I feel really bad, I hope he is not hurt badly. I got to know him just a little bit, just barely, but just a little bit at the All-Star game, I think he’s not only a great, great player but a guy with a lot of class. A guy with the kind of attitude you like to see in the league. So, I hope he’s not hurt badly.”
On if the team is finally playing as one unit and they’ve turned the corner…
“There’s no corner to be turned. And I don’t think that’s ever an excuse anyway. You just, you bring in new guys, they’re good players, you learn to play together, but there’s no corners to turn. The season just keeps going and anytime you think, ‘we’re there, we’ve turned the corner,’ or whatever, you’ll find out that you’re not. I mean there’s still 16 games to go. There’s going to be ups and downs and nights where we’ll find out that we’ve got a lot to work on.”
On what the Magic brought to the table tonight…
“I thought they brought good energy. I thought particularly in the second quarter. And then, I thought in the third quarter we were really stumbling and not playing good basketball and I thought that Jason (Williams) really got us going again. I was happy, I’m just happy I think all of our guys are coming into the game with a solid approach, really trying to play consistently from night-to-night. I’m happy with that.”
On their ability to move and pass the ball tonight…
“I think ball movement is a big thing for us and I think that when we’re not playing well is when we get stagnate, stand around, keep the ball on one side of the floor and that’s what we did early in the third quarter. And we don’t play very well like that, that’s not our game.”
Dwight Howard
(On starters getting rest) “It means we’re playing better basketball. Hopefully we can keep it up. We’re doing the right things, we’re coming out and starting games right, closing games. Our defense has really picked up. Hopefully we’ll continue to do that. And also stay humble while doing that.”
“We’re just trying to get better, no matter who we play at this point. We just want to continue to do the things that are going to make us a lot better going into the play-offs. Our goal is to win the championship. We understand that going up to the end of the season to the playoffs, we want to be playing our best basketball. And the way to do that is to be consistent in our energy, effort and defense. I think we’ve been doing that the last seven games.”
(On other bigs getting rebounds) “It’s good to see when guys are coming back and rebounding instead of just relying on me the whole time. I do understand why they get back because our coaches have asked every body to get back on defense. But feels good knowing that when the other bigs come into the game, Marcin, Brandon, Ryan, those guys are rebounding, it makes our team a lot better.”
Vince Carter
“I’ve done this so I know what it’s like, I know what it takes. Its still patience, doing what we have to do to take the necessary steps getting there.”
“Right now we’re trying to play the best possible basketball we can. Hopefully roll it into the playoffs. We’re hitting the floor running, playing at a high level, and each and every night it doesn’t matter the opponent, more so what we need to do o get better.”
(On the season) “I don’t care how the beginning starts, its all about how you finish. I think that all people care about. It’s how you finish. You can go undefeated going into the playoffs up into the All-Star break and have a terrible second half of the season and every body is going remember that. So right now, it’s important for us to continue get better.”
Jameer Nelson
“There’s not so much joking around, it’s a lot more serous and especially now, every body is focusing in on every thing.”
“One thing is that we want to get better every day when we step on the court. Whether it’s practice, shootaround, or in games, we just want to do well.”
March 9, 2010: Magic-Clippers Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
“I liked the way we approached the game coming off a big win the other night. There was no let down especially in the second half. We played well and hard, and we didn’t turn the ball over in the first half. It was just a mature, very solid approach to start the game.”
The thinking behind playing Dwight in the first half, and Marcin in the third…
“(Dwight) didn’t have any foul trouble, and he didn’t look the least bit tired. In the second half he did, probably because I played him the full 24 minutes. But in the first half he didn’t look the least bit tired. I’ve seen him when he’s tired and he just didn’t look tired, and there was just no reason for subbing him. I liked the lead that we had, and I didn’t want to mess around with the game and he was playing well…When he did look tired I gave him a break and thankfully we didn’t have to go back to him. So on the night he didn’t play too many minutes, everyone’s at 30 or below. It was a pretty good night from that standpoint.”
On usually starting Dwight in second quarter…
“I’ve been starting Dwight whenever he’s not in foul trouble. I’ve been trying to make sure that we hit situations where we’ve got enough scoring on the floor. When he’s out there he can be with the second unit, so I’ve been starting him in the second quarter and then I can bring back two out of the three, say Jameer, Vince and Rashard when I take him out of the game. I’ve been trying to do that. So I started him in the second quarter like I had been, and he was just playing well, and it looked easy. It didn’t look like he was straining a whole lot, he didn’t look tired. To take him out then would have been to take him out just to take him out, not for any reason.”
On if he will play Marcin more towards the end of the season to tune him up for playoffs…
“I don’t think number one that he needs to tune up, he’s good, he’s ready to go, he’s in good shape, he plays well when he plays. I don’t think he needs anything. We’ll play to win games so that’ll be pretty much the sole focus of everything we do. I was prepared to play him tonight at the four, they had been playing (DeAndre) Jordan and (Chris) Kaman together and even if they got a lot of play out of (Drew) Gooden, or (Craig) Smith, they all sort of play like centers so I was prepared to use Marcin there, but we just didn’t need to do it. But there will be times when I play him and Dwight together down the stretch here.”
On what he liked out of Brandon Bass…
“I just thought his energy was good. That’s what we need more than anything is for him to come in and play with great energy, and give us a boost there. We know he can score. I’m a broken record on this, it’s a matter of with he and Ryan, better defensive rotations and rebounding the ball, and giving us that energy.”
On if he’s going to continue bringing Bass off the bench to sub for Lewis…
“Right now Brandon’s played six games and we’ve won six in a row. I’m not going to change it just to change it. I’ve got great confidence in Ryan that if the matchups are such that we go the other way, he’ll do a great job. I can play Marcin there with teams that are bigger, so you know I’ve got pretty good confidence in all those guys.”
Dwight Howard
“Well, I was just happy that we came out in the third quarter and handled business. Usually when we have a big lead coming out of halftime, we play around a little bit and we let teams back in. I think tonight we came out and did an excellent job of putting them away.”
(On starting 2nd qtr.) “Was I surprised about it, yeah? I know that Coach saw that I didn’t have any fouls I was trying to be as aggressive as I can to get to the basket but also find my teammates. Like I’ve said, telling you guys, we’re getting better. Night in and night out, we’re playing better as a team, we’re passing the ball a lot better, we’re shooting the ball a lot better, and we’re playing defense a lot better. So hopefully we can continue that.”
“With the play-offs coming up, we just want to make sure we get ourselves prepared for what’s ahead by challenging ourselves every night to get better. And that’s what we did tonight; coming off a big win against the Lakers, our team could have easily come in tonight and wasn’t focused on the right things. But we came out tonight, we were ready to go from the jump, and we got the win.”
Jameer Nelson
“One of the things is that we take care of the ball, we have good enough offensive players to get good shots, for themselves and for others. So the thing to do is to continue to work on that, value the ball.”
“We‘re looking at ourselves as championship contender team. So we have to start playing like it. I think we’re going a better job of that every night that we step on the court and every day we step in practice, we’re getting better.”
“I think we’re starting to peak a little bit, I think we’re starting to do things like we need to do, like shutting down the paint. One thing we have to do is guard the 3-point line a little better.”
Rashard Lewis
“I thought we did a good job of putting them away and keeping a 20-point lead. Getting a lot of guys in the game, guys coming off the bench because around this time, we’re going need all the guys to get a little more experience because once the play-off come, we’re going to need the whole team.”
“It shows the maturity that this team is getting to. Especially late in the season, we’re trying to put teams away and not only that, keep the lead. Coach is trying to coach 48 minutes of the game, he’s trying to make us play 48 minutes of the game, which is what we should do. It was good to get the rest, especially after a hard fought game against the Lakers. Tonight we were able to put them away and get a little rest and get ready for Thursday.”
March 7, 2010: Magic-Lakers Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
“That was just a battle. That was much more a battle than a basketball game. It was extremely physical, both teams fought extremely hard the entire way. Nothing was ever easy and it was just a game where, you know I didn’t think we played very well to be honest, 20 turnovers is not good. And I keep saying it, but we’ve got to find a way to handle the basketball better. We missed key free throws down the stretch. So, I don’t think that we played very well, but I thought we played very, very, very hard. I thought we really battled, to outrebound them by 11, we gave them 14 offensive rebounds but got 15 of our own. Jameer (Nelson) gets nine rebounds, he’s like my size, I thought our guys fought extremely hard. I thought the competitiveness was outstanding. We obviously need to play the game better. But, I thought we fought very hard. I’m glad we got the win because you know, then you can sort of make that point, it was on a game with 20 turnovers, shooting 41 percent and missing 11 free throws, a lot of things not great, but we get the win because of how hard we played. I’m really happy with that one, loved our competitiveness, I’m very proud of our guys. We’ll just move on and try to get better now.”
On the defensive play of Matt Barnes…
“You know Kobe (Bryant) had a good day, he only shot 40 percent, he had 34 points, he’s a great, great, great player. The whole thing is we didn’t want to give him anything easy. We gave him a couple I thought were too easy. We did send him to the line eight times. The thing with Matt is you know he’s going to battle, he’s going to get up and try. That corner 3 he hit, Matt was right there. He pushed him off, got a little space and rose up and hit that one. That was incredible. The guy’s a great, great player. (Pau) Gasol played great, but we did a good enough of a job on the other guys that we were able to come out with a win.”
On the play of Jameer Nelson and if he did everything right today…
“Well I don’t know about that. He had some key turnovers, he missed a big free throw, and I’m not trying to put him down, but I’m not going with the ‘he did everything right,’ 5-of-14 from the floor, OK. But I thought what he did is he created shots for us. Against a team that it’s very tough for us to get good looks, he was in the paint, drawing people, making plays, hitting some of his own shots. Don’t get me wrong, he was instrumental. There’s no way we win that game without the plays he was making, he was phenomenal. And again, to get nine rebounds in a game like that against the biggest team in the league, and Jameer’s the smallest guy on the floor and he gets nine rebounds. He’s in their fighting the entire time. I think you’ve got to give him a lot of credit there. He fought hard and created a lot of plays, big plays.”
On if getting the consistent effort throughout the game is a by-product of working on it, or the matchup…
“Well it’s this kind of matchup, there’s no question about that. What you want that to become is a habit. That’s just a way you play every time you come on the court. I read their articles coming into this game. And you knew you were going to see a team playing very tough on the defensive end of the floor today because that’s all they talked about. Their defense, they need to turn it up. You knew you were going to see Kobe attacking all day. They’d lost two in a row and the guy is one of the great winners, and great competitors that’s in this league. You knew he was going to go after it. So, you knew you were going to have a tough time today. I thought especially from a competitive, who was going to play harder, standing up to the physical play, all of that, I thought we battled them toe-to-toe, very hard. And, you want to build that into a habit. That’s the way you play all the time. I know that’s what they’re trying to do, that’s what we’re trying to do. You know you’ve got 18 games to go, you can’t screw around anymore. You need to play that hard all the time.”
Dwight Howard
On if this is the most physical game of the year:
“Oh no, every game for us is physical. The Lakers are a big team, with a big lineup. They have big, strong guys that come off the bench so that type of game is what we expected. We just wanted to play our brand of basketball and get the job done.”
On how the win felt since the Lakers stole his dream of a championship:
“It felt great. From the time we stepped into the gym today until right now all we have thought about is dominate. We did that. Matt Barnes and Mickeal Pietrus did an excellent job tonight on Kobe; he didn’t get anything easy today. We tried to help them out as much as possible and we got the win so that is all that matters.”
Vince Carter On the aggressive play against the Lakers:
“I was just trying to take what was there; they put so much emphasis on Dwight that they won’t let him get easy catches. I was trying to be aggressive and not force anything. In a game like this, with two defensive teams going at it, there won’t be a lot of open shots to take.
On the missed free throws at the end of the game:
“That bothered me. After I made twelve in a row in the game, then go to the end of a game and miss one, it bothered me for sure. It would have been different if I had missed free throws all game, but that wasn’t the case. I’m happy with the win but we could have been on the other side of game because of the misses at the free throw line.”
Jameer Nelson
On if this win helps the team get to the level they were at last year:
“Our team’s goal is to win a championship, so no, this game doesn’t win us the trophy. During the next few weeks will determine which level we will be at. It matters how hard we work and how committed we need to be. We need to work as a team, play well together and win some games.”
Matt Barnes
On what he does to keep his cool when the intensity rises up:
“You have to remember that it is a team sport, there are no individuals out there. If I get in trouble or get a technical, than I am hurting the team. Our team helps out each other with the intensity, if one of us gets out of line we hear about it from one or two guys, which has gotten us out of some trouble this year.”
March 5, 2010: Magic-Nets Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
“All the time. All year losing the lead is how we play. Give us a lead and we will play poorly at both ends of the floor. I have absolutely no idea how to fix it. We had 11 turnovers. But we got the win.”
Dwight Howard:
(on the game….)
“It was a tough game. It’s a win. There is no need to be sad. We got the job done and that’s all that matters.”
(on the Nets double teams…..)
“The Nets sent a lot of different guys at me to double team. That forced me to make passes out of the double team and find my teammates. I tried to be patient and find the right guys. I’m just happy that we came out on top of this one. “
(on the Nets different defenses….)
“I didn’t know what to expect. I just wanted to be ready. I just wanted to come out and be aggressive and be smart. I didn’t want to pick up and quick fouls. “
Vince Carter:
(on their inability to put teams away …)
“I don’t know. We’re just trying to get wins. Give credit to them. That team plays hard regardless of their record. We played relaxed a little bit but we got the job done. He was a little upset, but we were able to get the win and that’s all that matters.”
(on the Nets staying in the game ….)
“We just tried to play until the end. We won the game. They are going to make a run. Our goal is to put teams away and we didn’t do that.
(on the Nets struggle…)
“It’s unfortunate. Those guys on the team are my friends. I put years in here and these are my true friends here. It’s an unfortunate situation. I feel for them. I still try to keep in touch with them and not abandon them. It’s a great feeling that we still have a mutual respect for each other.”
(on his appreciation of the fans reaction….)
“Of course, any time you leave your former team and the appreciation from the fans and your teammates. It’s always a good feeling.”
(on his thoughts on his last game at the Izod Center….)
“No, I wasn’t really prepared to think about it.”
March 3, 2010: Magic-Warriors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
“That was a team on a back-to-back with eight guys and the game went as it should. There were a few moments there I wasn’t real happy with, but the game went as it should.”
On if the few moments he wasn’t happy with were when they didn’t close out on the 3-point shot…
“Yeah, I mean again, we give up 10 3s, I mean it’s been a problem all year. I don’t know, we’ll keep working at it, we don’t do a good job at the 3-point line at all.”
On imaging what it would be like to only dress eight players every night…
“The number is not a problem to me. Eight, a lot of people only play eight every night. It’s who the eight are that’s important. If the eight are your top eight guys, I don’t think that’s a problem. In some ways that part makes it easier, you know who’s going to play, nobody’s worried about minutes, there’s certainly no complaining, your rotation’s easy. But, it’s a matter of, they’ve been decimated. There’s no Monta Ellis, there’s no Corey Maggette, Kelenna Azubuike went down early, they’re calling guys up from the D League who are doing a good job, (Anthony) Tolliver, (Chris) Hunter, now Reggie Williams, they’re doing a great job with all those guys. But, you’re going to struggle when you’ve got just eight guys and a lot of them are just coming up and getting their first taste of the NBA. They’re working hard and they’re playing well, but you just don’t have enough. It’s not the number people get carried away with that, give me the right eight, you’d be fine.”
On playing Brandon Bass three games in a row…
“It sort of started with a matchup thing, but just to get a different element in the game. We’re struggling from the 3-point line, we had one good game in Philly the other night, but we’ve been really struggling and so just to get a guy who plays the game a little bit differently offensively. But also we have been playing teams that are very quick at the power forward spot and I think Brandon’s got more quickness to be able to handle that. I like both of those guys they’re very different. But, once we saw the matchup thing and talked about it then I wanted to give Brandon some games, not one game then off for another two weeks and see what he could do, I thought he was a lot better tonight than he has been. A lot more active, I thought made some real hustle plays, got on the boards, that’s the element he can bring to us. We know what Ryan (Anderson) can bring, so I think we need to have them both ready heading into the playoffs because depending on what the matchups are, either one of them could be the guy in a playoff series. Ryan’s not going to sit for the last 20 games, I can tell you that. I’m going to do everything I can to have both of them ready to go so that we can make a decision based on who were playing.”
On Dwight Howard not having a foul in tonight’s game…
“That was good and they didn’t really have anybody to go to in the post offensively. Yeah, it’s great that he didn’t foul, one or two fouls wouldn’t have made any difference to me, it was good that he wasn’t in foul trouble. They played him one-on-one for a good part of the game and it was good for him. He didn’t have people swarming around him until later in the game and he could just play very comfortably and easily.”
Dwight Howard
“It wasn’t a hard game to play. Like I told you guys earlier, our job is to get better going towards the play-offs, we’re playing a lot better basketball on both ends. We’re playing defense, offensively we’re moving the ball, playing inside-out, we’re running, we’re doing all the necessary things to get better. So hopefully it continues and just looking forward to our next game. Game-by-game get better.”
(On having 0 fouls) “That’s a world’s record. I think the guy from Guinness was here tonight, it’s a world record for me. Happy about that.”
“I know Stephen Curry said at halftime that we have to shoot 3’s cuz we’re not going to be able to get to the paint and score. So me and Marcin, the other bigs are in there blocking shots, letting teams know that we’re down there and we’re forcing them to shoot 3’s and jump shots. It makes our defense a lot better so we’re going to continue.”
Vince Carter
“It was easy to keep focus, they still played hard. They took Miami to the wire yesterday and just one turnover they could have easily won that game. If I’m not mistaken, 10 coming back in, they were down 25 points, and were able to win, so this wasn’t a cupcake game.”
(On starters getting rest in 4th qtr.) “I think it’s very important, regardless of the team we’re playing. I think if you do the work and establish a lead, we have to have the mentality to put teams away regardless of what quarter it may be. You’re up 20-something in the second quarter, there’s still a lot of game to be played. Third quarters are very important as the end of the games.”
(On Dwight’s game) “We wanted to establish him. He was in foul trouble the last time we played them and he understood that. Right now, tonight he played a smart basketball game.”
Rashard Lewis
“That’s a team that definitely doesn’t have their best player out there but they’re still capable of scoring a lot of points. If you watched them play Miami last night, they scored 100-plus points and had a chance to win at the end of the game so we didn’t want to take them lightly coming into our building tonight.”
(On starters getting rest in 4th qtr.) “It’s very important around this time of the year. If you can put a team away, put them away early.”
March 1, 2010: Magic-76ers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the win tonight…
“We shot the ball very well and this game came down to shooting and who was going to miss first. I don’t think either team put too much into it defensively to be honest. But, we shot the ball well and scored a lot of points and got a good win.”
On 3-point shooting tonight…
“That is what tonight was about. I thought it was pretty easy for both teams to make shots and it was just a matter of make or miss and we made more than they did.”
On being consistent tonight…
“We played great offensively. Everybody was putting the ball in the basket and the ball movement was good. We kept our turnovers down. But so did they. There wasn’t a lot of resistance on either end in this ball game.”
On Jameer Nelson since the All-Star Break…
“He just looks like he is back to where he was early on last season in terms of having his quickness and having his legs on his shot. I think everything is coming together.”
Jameer Nelson
On the game tonight…
“Offensively, everything is going good for me and the team. We said if we can play defense we can get this game and get it going away. We did a great job coming out in the third quarter getting the lead up to 12, 14, 16 point leads and then keeping our foot on the gas and taking it up to a 20-25 point lead or whatever it was.
On the efficiency of the Magic tonight…
“We got all shooters on this team. We are not a selfish team. The thing is as long as we take care of the ball and get shots, we know we are going to make a lot of them.”
February 28, 2010: Magic-Heat Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the game)
“I was happy with a lot of things tonight, but I think the happiest is that we were pretty consistent throughout the game. It wasn’t a game where we made a run, and then they made a run. We won every quarter. None of them by a lot, no big blowout quarters, we just consistently played pretty well, that was the first thing. I like the fact that we came off a game the other night where probably the biggest reason we lost was not taking care of the ball and only turned it over eight times tonight. And I like the way our bench played, I thought our bench was very, very good. We told Dwight (Howard) in there afterwards that we certainly owed him, he’s been carrying us. He had a frustrating night tonight with calls and everything else and virtually everyone else who played in the game played well and we were able to get a solid win. We needed to get a win, but we needed to step up for him, he’s been doing yeoman’s work and we needed to step up and help him on a night where he was having a tough night.”
On the play of JJ Redick…
“I thought he and Vince (Carter) both played really well. It was hard for me not to put Vince back in. This wasn’t like this was a game where Vince was struggling, he was 7-for-10 from the floor and making good plays and I had every intention of going back to him but then I thought JJ really got going and I was bringing some other guys back in and I don’t like to have everybody out there cold, so I just stuck with him. They both played extremely well, we got 32 points out of that position. We took care of the ball, I thought they were outstanding. I thought Matt (Barnes) and MP (Mickael Pietrus) were solid defensively, neither one of them turned the ball over, which is important to us. MP had one huge rebound down the stretch, so I thought they played well. I thought in the second half Brandon (Bass) gave us a pretty good lift. Marcin (Gortat) was great tonight. Marcin’s been very good when we needed him for bigger minutes and I thought he did a really good job tonight. So again, obviously Rashard (Lewis) played probably his most aggressive offensive game in a long time, he was putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the basket. We’ve had a lot of nights where Dwight has been one of maybe one or two guys who plays well and he’s been carrying us and tonight I thought he had a tough night for a lot of reasons and then we had nine other guys make really solid contributions so it was a good win.”
On when they got up by 12 or 14 if they had a sense of urgency to ‘put them away’…
“Well we certainly played more solidly I thought. I thought we did a better job, the things that beat us the other night, not taking care of the ball and rebounding. We did a great job on the glass down the stretch, we had everybody in trying to rebound the ball, guys really fighting getting off the boards. We got outrebounded in the first half pretty solidly, gave up nine offensive rebounds, only gave up two offensive rebounds in the second half even though they missed a lot of shots. We took care of that problem, we took care of the ball and I think it’s always a good sign when your team has a game where they screwed up and they know why they screwed up and they have a focus on correcting those problems.”
Jameer Nelson
“We’ve been talking about that all season, Dwight’s been preaching that everybody has to step up and tonight he got in foul trouble or couldn’t get it going. But when he was out there, his presence was felt. When he does a great job for us, we can’t let him down.”
‘They obviously went on a run. We withstood that run that they went on and gave them a couple of points without scoring. We learned our lesson there.”
(On limiting Wade in 2nd half) “We had to help more. We can’t leave guys on an island when they’re playing against anybody, let alone an All-Star, a superstar, one of the best players in the league. You got to shut down the paint and make other guys beat you. We did that, we gave up 32, 33 points in the second half. And if you don’t shrink the floor, you may give up 50 because he’s going to get going and keep it going.”
J. J. Redick
“I was able to take advantage of some pick-and-roll opportunities, and turn the corner and get into the paint. I tried to use my shot fake to get guys off the ground and lean into them and I got a couple that way tonight.”
“He (Van Gundy) did say after the game that we owed Dwight a good game, probably owed him like him more than one game. He’s done a pretty good job of leading this team, especially the last six weeks; he’s been pretty darn good.”
Vince Carter
(On limiting Wade in 2nd half) “We just wanted to continue to make it tough, challenge his shots, keep off the free throw line more than anything.”
Marcin Gortat
“I mean, he (Dwight) was carrying us for the last 59 games, 60 games, so definitely glad that I could help. I glad that could help the team off the bench and bring the energy that he’s used to bringing.”
“Of course I’m happy that I played 22, 23 minutes today. Usually I’m ready for 3, 4, 5 minutes a game whether you’re getting them in the first quarter, or beginning of the second quarter. Later when you’re sitting down here, you got to sit here and help your team from the bench. But Dwight had problems today and Coach gave more playing time and I was really happy. I was waiting for this opportunity.”
February 24, 2010: Magic-Rockets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the game)
"We're not very good when we get big leads. I'm not happy by the way we close out games. We played really good the first twenty-eight minutes and then we did a good job closing out the last four minutes of the game. We made almost made zero shots in the second half and got to be a real struggle for us. I thought we made good plays and got good looks at the basket but our defense was not there. We don't defend the 3-point line very well. We give up way too many three's and we don't close out on shooters well."
(On Dwight Howard's play)
"He was incredible! He was so patient inside and made all the right moves. He is so far ahead of anybody in this league in rebounding. He's been great. His game has matured and he is not forcing the ball to the basket."
Vince Carter
(On the game)
"We try and attack early to establish how we want to play the game. We knew they would make a run and we took their hit and kept on playing. If we are going to peak at any time, this is the right time."
Rashard Lewis
(On the game)
"It was nice to come home but it was most important to get the win. Houston is a very scrappy team that plays very hard and we knew they would make a run. We played great defense in the first half and that helped us build the lead. Then Houston started hitting 3's and it made it tough for us because they really spread out the floor."
(On Dwight Howard's play)
"He's been playing great and making his post moves inside. He's really been working on it and it has really been showing in the games. His offensive game has really been coming on."
February 21, 2010: Magic-Cavaliers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I'm sure everybody in there enjoyed watching that one. I mean the best players all played really well. LeBron (James) was great, Shaq (O'Neal) was great, Dwight (Howard) was great, Jameer (Nelson) was tremendous at the end, Rashard (Lewis) hit a big shot. Vince (Carter) was great in the fourth quarter, the best players were all really, really good. Physical, tough, competitive game. We survived a huge run at the beginning of the third quarter and bounced back and got the win it's not about any of the numbers or anything today it was just a hard-fought game and a great win to get. You know on both sides you see a lot of positive things, they had to like what they saw in (Antawn) Jamison today and what he can give them. A lot of good things and just a great basketball game, very happy to win it."
On Vince Carter coming alive in the fourth quarter…
"We probably should've done it earlier, we put him in the post a little bit and I think that got him going. Jameer made some really good passes to him, he finished some plays, but you're exactly right. More than the overall numbers, what we really need him to do is finish in the fourth. I think every one of the really good teams in this league has got to have a finisher. And not only the shots he made in the post, but the one that wrapped it up was a great, great play to Rashard in the corner and wins the game. So Vince was great down the stretch, Jameer hit tough shots, Dwight carried us until everybody else could get going. Those four guys that we really depend on were tremendous. I thought everybody on our team fought hard, we got a lot more out of our bench today. JJ (Redick) and MP (Mickael Pietrus) both made some shots. Just other than the first four or five minutes of the second half, a game to be happy with and proud of."
On the pick-and-roll with Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson…
"We put it in yesterday, that's the first time we've done it. You know pretty simple play, hardly genius stuff, there's like third grade teams that could come up with that stuff, but that's about where my intelligence goes anyway in terms of coaching, but no, we did put it in. Vince has been in those situations before and I think we're looking for ways to get him back in to some of the stuff that has been more comfortable for him and it worked today. Whether it will work on Wednesday or Friday, or next Sunday or next Monday you never know but, it was good for us today."
On the physical nature of game and how that's not the Magic's playing style…
"Yeah, it was a very physical game – very, very physical game. Some games are like that and you fight through it and you know I've said before, people can have whatever views they want of our team and they've had a view for over two-and-a-half years that we're a soft team, and so my response is always go back and look at our record against the teams that are supposed to be too tough for us. Look at our record against Boston, look at our record against Cleveland and go from there. What matters in this league is results. You can have whatever opinion you want and that's fine, but it's about winning and losing in this league. They've beaten us twice and today we win. OK, so they're still up on us on the season."
Dwight Howard
(On rivalry vs. Shaq) "Well, I just want to win basketball games and help our team get better. I think day-after-day and game-after-game we continue to get better as a team. That's the only thing I'm looking forward to getting better going down into the stretch. That's about it."
"I just think that we have to get better, doesn't matter who we play. We played a great team tonight in Cleveland. We came out from of the gate playing great basketball. We got the lead coming out of halftime. And we got a good win, we got a good win."
"Vince has been really picked it up on both ends of the floor. I'm glad he's playing great basketball right now. Hopefully he'll continue to play the way he has been playing and I'm just happy with our team. I'm not satisfied, but I'm happy with our progress. We continue to work every day to get better, and its showing. Guys stepped up tonight, played big, hit some big shots, that's what we need. We need guys every night to step up and play big on both ends of the floor."
Vince Carter
(On being more demonstrative today) "It ignited our team, really. They were just a little more physical than us and throwing us around and everything like that so it was just something to hopefully motivate our team more than anything."
"Play off-style basketball there. Competition at a high level. Two teams going at it. Makes for great basketball."
(On his 4th qtr.) "I was just playing within the flow of the game. Coach put the ball in my hands throughout the course of the game. On pick-and-rolls, they were showing hard, trying to make me get rid of the ball. Kind of worked in our favor because it Dwight going."
Jameer Nelson
(On his 4th qtr.) "I think we play well in the fourth quarter, it wasn't all about me. Even if I make the shots, there are other things I have to contribute, other guys cutting, running the floor well, setting screens, finding you when you're hot. The one thing is that I'm going to shoot the shots no matter how many shots I make or miss. I'm going to shoot the shots that I'm given."
February 17, 2010: Magic-Pistons Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the game tonight…
"I thought, clearly, Dwight was unbelievable, and our second half defense was very, very good. Our guards played well offensively. But really, Dwight and our second half defense I thought were the keys. I thought our first half defense was sadly lacking but we took it up in the second half. We were also minus seven on the boards in the first half and plus eight in the second half. A lot of it comes down in this game, you got to make a great effort and in the first half we did not make a great effort. In the second half we did make a great effort. With Dwight playing like that, if you make an effort, we are going to have a pretty good chance to win."
On Dwight Howard's performance…
"Thirty-three, 17 and seven. One turnover. You can't play a much better basketball game than he played tonight."
On Dwight Howard's playing time…
"I know he is capable of playing the big minutes, he's in great shape. I would like to be able to operate a little bit better than we have been when he's out of the game so we can give him a few more minutes, and that's something we'll try to get together. I don't want to go 27 more games with him having to play 41 minutes every single night because we're not functioning well when he's on the bench. So we'll try to get that a little bit better, but he was phenomenal."
On if he was happy with Vince Carter's shot selection tonight…
"I thought, again, our guards, I thought offensively played very, very well tonight. Made shots, 13 assists and one turnover for our starting guards, shooting the ball well. I thought they were very, very good offensively. I thought the only real negative is our defensive rebounding in the first half, just late on too many things that, by watching in the second half, we clearly knew how to do and were capable of doing. I'm glad we turned it up. I think we have to understand we need to play like that all the time, but it was a good second half."
On if Howard is overlooked as one of the best players in the league…
"As far as the way people look at players, LeBron is sort of up there by himself now the way he's promoted and the way people talk about him. Then I think you have Kobe not far behind and then probably Wade and Carmelo. Then you probably get into the next group that Dwight's in – and that's still a pretty darn good group. Yeah, he should be talked about with anybody in the league, but we've said so many times and it affects so many things, it's a perimeter league. The big guys are never going to get the same recognition that the perimeter guys do. But if he can continue to do what he's doing and his second straight year of leading the league in rebounding and blocked shots, his offense is clearly getting better and he's playing great at the offensive end of the floor; the recognition will come. At some point people can't overlook you any more and he's been playing unbelievable basketball all year but particularly the last month. He's leading his team to a lot of wins. That's ultimately what people will judge him by, and you have to judge him pretty favorably right now."
"I think in the second half, pretty typical for a team like that though. They are real physical and always reaching and slapping, then a guy like Ben Gordon doesn't like it when somebody gets up into him. That's pretty typical, as you know, I don't care where you go, that's pretty typical of bullies. They like all the physical stuff and then they don't like it when people come back at them, and they were very frustrated when we came back at them. J.J. just got into Ben Gordon and it was not something he appreciated. They want to play free and clean and be able to get into everybody else. It doesn't work that way."
Matt Barnes
'It's stuff that we've been working on and talking about is playing tough on the defensive end. And other than Rip having a big game, I think we did a good job tonight."
"They (the Pistons) do fast break but they also grind and they are very physical. This is stuff that we have to prepare for, we've got 27 games left, one at a time and we just have to keep improving."
"They played last night so we knew that they were going to have good legs in the first half at least. And they really put it to us in that second quarter. And I think that at halftime, we made some adjustments and settled in. I think we gave up 36 points in the second half. So it's a constant effort and a steady improvement on the defensive end."
"The game is going to be physical. I like that out team is going to be physical back. Early in the season, teams were trying to out-tough us and punk us and stuff like that but I can slowly see a change in, even J. J. got into it tonight. So that made me smile. You know we're not going to be dirty but we're not going to be pushed around and I think we're definitely making an effort in changing that."
Vince Carter
(On Dwight's seven blocks) "Yeah, I've been there. When he gets rolling on both ends, he's a tough guy. He's tough to defense and he's tough to play against as far as getting into the paint. You worry about beating your man and his timing is unbelievable and it helps us get extra possessions."
(On game's first play) "It was just open. It was one of those ones that I was going to shoot it because I was wide open but there was a lane so I decided to go in. I think it kind of set the tone for us in itself. My goal is to always come out and be aggressive and be effect and it kind of works hand-in-hand."
Rashard Lewis
"Every game important, to get better as we get close to the playoffs. We got to be more consistent and play 48 minutes because you can't play half a game and try to win ball games."
"It's a good sign, to let you know that we're not going to back down. Matt already has it in him, giving it to everybody else. And if J. J. is out there playing physical and playing hard, it's a good sign for us. We have to be a physical team come playoff time."
February 11, 2010: Magic-Cavaliers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the Magic shooting in the fourth quarter):
"We had some great shots. We had Rashard's (Lewis) corner three that would have tied it, we had Jameer (Nelson) with a wide open corner three."
(On keys tonight):
"Obviously, the biggest thing was we couldn't stop them. The second biggest thing, I thought for us, was Dwight (Howard) only getting 30 minutes. In retrospect, I should have just left him in the game in the third quarter and played him straight through. But, we had a little bit of a lead and then it went up when Marcin (Gortat) first went in. But, once they cut the thing back down to about three, I certainly should have brought him (Howard) back in. Probably should have left him in. So, that was a mistake. And, then down the stretch, we ran the one play for Rashard, which I think was a good play, and he missed the corner three and I think that would have tied it back up. After that, I should have gone back to having the ball in Dwight's hands and I didn't. I stayed with pick and rolls, and we didn't get anything out of them. We didn't make good plays, and I think with the score tied, we needed to get some stops, which we didn't get either. From a play-calling standpoint , the ball should have been back in Dwight's hands and it wasn't. So, I'll take the responsibility for that."
(On Hickson and Varejao):
"We gave them a lot of room, focusing on keeping the ball out of Shaq's hands early, trying to keep Dwight out of foul trouble. But, obviously, he got in foul trouble a little bit. They got some openings and I give them credit, they took advantage of it."
(On LeBron James):
"Look, he's the whole deal. I'm not trying to take credit away from anybody else, but he's the whole deal."
Vince Carter
(On the Magic shooting slump in the fourth quarter):
"It's tough when you're not hitting shots. We did a great job, first and foremost, getting back into the game. Our defense really helped offensively, we were getting in transition and trying to get some easy baskets. All of a sudden, they (Cavs) got on a run and started rolling. The rest is history."
(On LeBron James' passing effectiveness):
"You've got to give up something if you want to make it tough for him. We gave him different looks. He's a smart player, he's a great player, but yet a smart player. Those guys feed off of him, but they read him. I'm sure they've seen all types of scenario. For them, just be ready when he has the ball and they do a great job of it."
(On the Magic):
"We're very resilient. We know we can play with anybody in the NBA. It's just we have to finish the job. We worked so hard to get back in the game, and I think it a little bit out of us. This is one of the teams we're going to see down the road, so we have to find a way."
February 10, 2010: Magic-Bulls Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Q: On the first quarter:
A: We played great in the first quarter. They're on a back-to-back and they didn't have Derrick Rose. That helped quite a bit too. I thought our defense for the most part was pretty good. We had some breakdowns, but for the most part our defense was pretty good. Quite honestly without Derrick, they're a little easier to defend . . . (laughs) not a little easier.
Q: On the offense:
A: We had a good first half offensively then shot 38 percent in the second half. In the second half I thought we had some good moments where we just missed shots and other times when we just didn't move the ball very well. It's still up and down but we're playing a lot better. It was great to get off to a good start tonight. I thought Dwight was great, 18 and 14 and he didn't play the entire fourth. A lot of good things but we had a lot going in our favor tonight.
Q: On Matt Barnes:
A: His energy was good but I thought we had all five guys tonight in that first quarter. They all played very well, that's why we got off to such a good start. Everyone was playing well. The ball was moving and we were getting out into transition. The Bulls were missing shots and we were able to get out so that was good.
Jameer Nelson:
Q: On this half of the season:
A: These are big games right now. There's not too many games left and every game counts especially when you're going into someone's arena. We were a good road team last year but we haven't been as good this year. We want to get back to that.
Q: On the first quarter:
A: We were playing defense, we were moving the ball well, getting open shots and kind of had them running around a bit. When they missed shots we pushed it as hard as we could and guys ran.
February 8, 2010: Magic-Hornets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"What about Vince? Anybody got that question tonight? That was incredible. I mean, that was unbelievable. Thirty-four in the second half, 16 in the third, 18 in the fourth, most of them didn't even hit the rim. I mean, there have been better performances, but not a whole lot of them and not one from somebody on my team in a long time. That was absolutely incredible. We had a lot of guys do good things, but quite frankly, tonight they were all in the shadow by that. That was vintage Vince Carter. That was really, I mean, unbelievable. And everybody wanted him to keep going. It wasn't like one of those nights where everybody else was like 'get me the ball,' no no, everybody wanted to get him the ball. Phenomenal, phenomenal second half, we needed it. We did not have much energy tonight. We could not keep up with them. Obviously they just shredded us defensively and we needed it. We needed just a great, great performance to get us a very close win and we got it."
On Vince Carter's overall game:
"He was, look, seven defensive rebounds, he did it all tonight. He was phenomenal…. You know, the guys a great player and he got it going. I guess I was supposed to go into some big psychological thing, I could've taken credit, 'well, you know, I had a talk with him'… No, he was just great, he was great tonight. He has had nights like that in his career, you know, it was fun. That place was rocking in there. The only mistake I made was I should've had J-Will the inbound, so they would've had to foul him and he could've gotten 50, but my mind wasn't really on that. Vince is a really solid inbounds passer, so I had him inbound it, but I should've given him a chance at that."
Dwight Howard
"As a team, a couple of weeks ago after the Boston game, we had a talk. We all told each other that we had to be honest with each other. Out there playing or in the locker room, don't be afraid to tell the next man anything. You know we have to hold each other accountable. When we're not playing well or taking bad shots, we have to be able to tell each other, 'Yo, that was not a good shot at this time.' Little things like that. Me and Vince, we've developed a relationship to where we can tell each other anything. When he's not playing well, I can tell him, 'Yo, you got to pick it up.' without him taking it and being upset. That shows that we're coming together as a team."
(On Vince tonight) "I thought it was Vinsanity tonight. He was unbelievable. The thing is that we kept telling him tonight and since he's been in his so-called 'funk' I would say, or what ever every body else would say, just to be aggressive and attack. When he's aggressive, he's attacking, he's getting to the basket, he's getting opportunities for every body else but he's also scoring. And then when he's doing that, they've got to pick their poison. I was very happy to see Vince come out play the way he did tonight."
Vince Carter
"For me, it's just a blessing all the shots that I made worked within the offense or what not, especially early. Or off of Jameer or J-Will penetrating, me being on the weakside, Dwight pulling so many guys in, and hitting open shots. Second half, I just continued to be aggressive, hitting shots. I had in the first half, a couple of easy lay-ups I missed, they fell for me."
"It's been a while, I'd say last year I had a couple of times had some pretty good nights. I had nice night against the Clippers even though we lost. For me, it's just more so getting the win. After a very sluggish start, they were more aggressive than us, pushing the ball, they were attacking and being the aggressors. We had to do something about it. I decided to try and make my mark, you know, and told Dwight again, step up and be yourself, be who you are. He made it easy for us. He made great screens where they had to make decisions. I started hitting a couple of shots so it's like Dwight or Vince, they didn't want to keep a body on him so I tried to be aggressive and hit shots."
"It's a new month. A new month brings new things. The past is the past and it's going to be that. I can think back to all 11 of my years, I've had rough months. It's just the way it goes. I know the expectations. You work so hard to have an impressive resume and it's expected each and every night and I totally agree with, understand that."
February 5, 2010: Magic-Wizards Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"We deserved, I mean, it was a nice comeback in the fourth, Rashard (Lewis) hit a huge shot, but quite honestly we deserved to lose. The way we came out and played in the fourth quarter, defensively, put nothing into it. You know, a sign of real immaturity and very, very disappointing. And there you go with exactly what I've been talking about when you start to think, oh we've turned the corner, or whatever. There's no corners to turn. You need to keep playing hard. We get out rebounded by 11, and obviously Caron Butler and Randy Foye just took us apart. We had absolutely no answers for either one of them. We tried all three of our bigger wing guys on Butler, he killed them all. We had both point guards on Foye, he hurt them both. Great games by both those guys. But if we had just brought something to the game in the third quarter it was certainly a game we could've won, should've won. But we didn't and so now we move on."
On the lack of help from the Magic bench in the second quarter…
"Well yeah, our bench has been very good and was not in the second quarter tonight at all."
On the shot Caron Butler took at the end of the game…
"One-on-one, pulling up from good distance, but that's his game. That's his game, that's how he plays the game and we were not able to get into him and take away his air space. He was able to create space on virtually every shot right until the end. Great game by him."
On what the officials told him about clock at the end of the game…
"Well they said it took eight-tenths (of a second). Well, it really didn't matter, they started it early, there's no question about that. But Rashard (Lewis) missed the shot anyway so, it didn't have any effect on anything. The only thing is you don't know if the horn going off early sort of affects you on the shot and makes you rush it a little bit. But there's nothing they're going to be able to do about that but one of them started it early."
On their offense in the second half…
I thought we took a ton of bad shots. But, I thought both Jameer (Nelson) in the second half and Vince took tough shots and I think that's why they're shooting is what it was. A lot of tough like, one-legged fade-aways and things like that. But, we also had some good looks, Rashard had some good looks down in the post. We had some good looks we didn't knock in but we did take too many bad shots."
Matt Barnes
(On Butler) "He was hot, but we allowed him to get into that rhythm. We came out pretty flat in the third quarter and him and Foye went on a nice run. And as a team we have to come out with more focus in the second half and do our jobs. And we didn't do a very good job of that."
"If you have a good healthy lead in the first half and you come out and play solid, most teams will fold. We came out flat and they made a run and outscored us by 20-22 in the third and then after that, you know those guys were on fire. We got to do a better job."
(On Wizard's 3rd qtr.) "You know, that was a lack of concentration, lack of effort, focus, its not any one person, it's a team. It takes a team to stop people. But individually I have to do a better job of slowing him down in the third, not let him catch fire going into the fourth."
Jameer Nelson
"It was all of our defense. After they were missing shots, they were hitting shots. We should have imposed more on getting stops rather than missing shots or making shots."
"We have to be more mentally tough. If you call that immaturity or whatever you want, it all goes into the same category."
Vince Carter
"It is flat out unacceptable. We did a great job of getting ourselves back into the game. But unfortunately when you have slippage like that, you're going to lose a buzzer-beater."
"Just learn from it first and foremost, make a valiant effort coming out of the half. Keep your foot on the gas."
Rashard Lewis
"As soon as I grabbed the ball, the horn went off. The horn really went off before I grabbed the ball; I thought they started the clock early. It really didn't throw me off; I just thought they started it early. I wouldn't have had a chance to get the shot off because they started it before I had a chance to get he shot off."
"It's just frustrating to lose the game. The shot doesn't mean anything when you lose the game. Caron Butler hits a tough shot, I thought with good defense on him. He just had it rolling in the second half. Made a tough shot at the end of the game."
(Thoughts on ruling that game was over) "No, because we lost. But there's nothing we can do about it now, just have to move forward and get ready for the Boston Celtics."
February 2, 2010: Magic-Bucks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I was really, really happy with that win. Number one because I have tremendous respect for the Bucks and the way they play. They play so hard and at such an energy level that you're going to have to defend three or four pick-and-rolls in one possession. They really, I said even with two minutes to go I said to Brendan Malone, 'You're going to play these guys, you have to play 48 minutes of the game, they're not going to let up, ever.' If they're not the best coached team in the league they're certainly right there with anybody and they play hard every single night. And so, to go out and defend them the way we did, I thought the last 15 minutes of the first half, our defense was outstanding. Obviously, we got off to a very poor start and their energy was great, they played great. But I thought the last 15 minutes of the first half our defense was great. Then we started the second half three or four minutes not playing well, but then I thought the third quarter our defense was very, very good. I was happy with the effort we made tonight. Obviously, we had pretty balanced scoring, we got double-doubles out of Dwight (Howard) and Vince (Carter). Vince had seven assists, I mean a lot of good things tonight, so pretty happy. Plus, I thought we guarded their free throws very well. Very well, I mean they shot under 50 percent at the line. We've been working on some things and I thought we were outstanding."
On Vince Carter's play tonight…
"Seven assists tonight, 10 rebounds, there's not much to fault there. We left him on the floor for a long, long time tonight, which was good. He hasn't been picking up huge minutes so that'll push his conditioning out a little bit. So, I thought it was all good tonight. I thought he was good, I liked the fact that he put in a lot of minutes tonight. I thought JJ (Redick) was excellent too, as was Matt (Barnes). I thought Matt in the second quarter, I thought his intensity defensively was a big key. I don't really have a fault with anybody who played tonight."
On how big it was for Vince Carter to get off to a good start tonight…
"Well I think it certainly helps, but I do think he can't be, hopefully, beholden to that. You know, sometimes when you're in a slump you have to get off to a good start or you just think, oh, it's going to be another one of those nights. I think that he's got to get away from that. He has to remember who he is. He had one bad month, but this guy has had an unbelievable career. Almost 19,000 points, he's averaged 23 points a game for his career. This is a guy who's had unbelievable success. That's what defines him, not one month. I think he's got to keep that in mind, who he is and what's he's done and go out there and play with great confidence every night. It's a lot easier for me to say probably than for him to do, struggling, because he wants to do well. But he has to remember who he is."
Dwight Howard
"We tried not to let them get it into the paint. And then if they did, me and Marcin would try to be there and block their shots. That's what it's going to take for us to be a great team. We have to protect the interior, not let them get to the basket and score. So we did a good job of that."
Matt Barnes
(On recent defense)
"We needed to pick it up obviously. I know he (Van Gundy) prides his teams on defense and we went through a point when we were struggling, we weren't playing defensive and weren't putting out effort. Now I think we're back on our defense, it's definitely showing."
"We had a lot of fast breaks. It's something that we're trying to get back to doing. At the beginning of the season if you remember, we weren't really running. Now I'm out there running and I think it kind of rubs off on other guys to run to lay-ups instead of running to the free throw line and it just opens up the floor a lot more."
"Vince played great tonight. You know Vince's in a little slump right now but I mean he's been a great player throughout his career. He'll get out of it and I think games like this are going to help him."
Vince Carter
"It's just like we're missing some guys, and of course they're going to try and get Dwight in foul trouble, we're try to get him going bright and early. I just took the initiative to step it up and try and make plays for the team."
(On his first four plays on being drives)
"I just took what was there. They, especially off of Dwight, I think my first basket was a lay-up off a pass from Dwight. After that I was trying to attack, and pick-and-rolls, whatever the situation we were in."
"If teams don't want to take their body off Dwight sometimes, so I try to be as aggressive as possible and take what was there. If the lay-up wasn't there, we had some guys that were open. Especially in the second half, we were starting to get open shots, Rashard started to hit open shots because of me trying to attack early in the first half."
(On being the leading rebounder for most of the game)
"Yeah, I told Dwight that I was going to try and outrebound him so he better look over his shoulder. Just kidding. Most importantly, they attack the glass so it's important for us to help out and try to be as active as possible. Matt does a great job of having a body in there, getting some rebounds, so I just wanted to help out."
January 31, 2010: Magic-Pistons Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the win)
"It's good to get the win, this place is just a house of horrors for us. We were rolling along pretty well early, they did a good job of coming back. Jameer got hurt, Vince (Carter) got in foul trouble, Rashard (Lewis) in foul trouble, then (Mickael) Piertus got hurt, crazy stuff always happens in this building for us. I'm just glad that we are done here for the year and quite frankly I hope that they don't make the playoffs and we get into a position to play them. This just has not been a good place for us and it's good to get the win."
(On Pistons coming back)
"That is how they play, they play very, very hard and we knew that they were going be like that. When you have a team like the Pistons, that beat Boston in here, they are struggling and games like tonight get you going in a season. Game's like tonight are what get you excited more than anything else, plus they were coming off getting blown out by Miami, a very bad performance. It's that NBA mentality that everyone knows that they are going to come very hard and we knew it was coming, we just didn't handle it very well tonight."
Dwight Howard
(On winning in this building)
"It is part of basketball, we knew that they were going to come back and instead of us giving up, we got the win and that is all that we can ask for. When they had a small lead, we felt the whole game that we were still going to win this game. Teams are going to make runs, teams are going to score and teams are going take the lead, but you can never give up on a game whether you are up 20 or down 20."
(On Anthony Johnson's performance)
"He just came in and played good. When Jameer (Nelson) went out with the injury, AJ stepped up and played big. Everybody who gets on the court needs to do a good job, no matter how many minutes you play or points you score and that is what he did tonight."
Anthony Johnson
(On his play)
"It's been awhile since I've been out there but I was ready physically. Physically I was okay. They play slow and deliberate so with fouls and timeouts I was able to keep my wind and be able to make big plays. I'm just happy to help when my number is called and we got a much needed road victory.
(On steal at the end)
"I was guarding Stuckey at the end and I know he wasn't known for his three-point shooting so I was just playing centerfield out there. Ben Gordon, with his ability to hit big shots drew two guys and I was just the next guy to rotate over and I think Rashard (Lewis) tipped the ball, which gave me an extra step as well. It was a good read of the play and fortunately it bounced my way."
January 30, 2010: Magic-Hawks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought other than the first few minutes of the game, obviously, we were pretty good and I thought the second half was probably our most consistent half in a long time. It wasn't like an explosion and a big run all at once, I thought we just played solid defense and made solid plays. We had the one stretch, very short stretch, we turned the ball over twice, they scored five points, a two and a three, and then we got right back on playing well. So I was happy with that. To hold them under 40 percent and outrebound them by nine, a very good offensive team, I thought that was great. Obviously, Dwight (Howard) was incredible, at both ends of the floor, challenging shots, 18 defensive rebounds, scored extremely well. Ryan (Anderson) gave us a big lift. We had a lot of guys play well tonight. So, a pleasing victory."
On Dwight Howard's will throughout the game…
"Yeah, and I thought just his presence and his will like you said. They were very aware of him every time they went to the basket. He was just tremendous. He dominated that game all the way through. So, a tremendous effort from him."
On if they have the Atlanta Hawks 'number'…
"Again, you play four times in an 82 game season, the games are too far apart, you know it's not like a playoff series, I just don't buy it. You know, we came in tonight, they're coming in on a back-to-back. There's just a lot of factors. So no, I don't believe in a team having another team's number. I just believe that we played well tonight. And then we played very well the last time we played them and we played a very good second half the first time we played them. I mean, we have played well against them just like they have played well against Boston. But, I don't think that means anything more than that."
On Vince Carter's play tonight…
"Well I didn't think he was bad tonight. I just thought that, I didn't see anything wrong with anything he did. I mean, he got some rebounds, I was just, second quarter I thought we had a unit that was going well so we stayed there most of the time. And the same thing in the fourth quarter, we had it going, I liked the way everybody was playing so I just stayed with those lineups."
On Ryan Anderson…
"Ryan had his best game probably since at least since he was starting early in the year. I mean big baskets. I think what you see with Ryan is, people look at his shooting, but a lot of those guys stretch the floor for me and that's about all they do. You look at Ryan, he scores driving the ball to the basket, he scores down in the post, he scores on offensive rebounds when they were switching. I mean, the guy's only 21 years old. When people talk about all the real good young players in this league his name never comes up and I think No. 1, people forget how young he is. And he's playing behind a guy like Rashard (Lewis) who was an All-Star last year. But this guy's a very good player with a chance to be outstanding."
Dwight Howard
"I wasn't concerned about any numbers tonight. For me and the rest of team, we just wanted to come out and play very aggressive on both ends. We started out a little slow, the Hawks made a big run. But we settled down, we fought back and I think we did an excellent job of playing inside-out tonight, running the ball. But also on the defensive end you see a difference from the first part of the season 'til now. We're talking more, everybody's rotating earlier and that's a great sign for us."
"I think tonight, we didn't care who we played. We're right now trying to get better as a team. Our effort and energy, we're just trying to pick it up a lot more. Just be very aggressive, like I said, on both ends of the floor. For the most part, we did that."
"I think we've showed glimpses all year. We just have to put together a full game to what we can accomplish as a team. I think we're on our way. We want to continue to work every day in practice to get better, to continue to fight, and push ourselves every day so we can become that team that we want to be."
Rashard Lewis
"Ryan Anderson played great for us tonight. He hit some big shots, got to the basket, hit some big three's, as well as J. J. Redick. Those two guys came off the bench and did a great job for us tonight."
Jameer Nelson
(On Dwight's game tonight)
"What do you want me to say; he's the best big man in the league. I mean, he's still impressive. He had what, 30 and 19, 31 and 19, still impressive to me. I don't see guys putting up 31 and 19 rebounds in the same game, it's either or. Even the stuff that doesn't (show up) on the stat sheet, like the shots he changes and the help that he gives us, we just have to be there for him when he goes to blocks shots. He's playing tremendous right now."
"The thing is that we've got to keep getting better every game. We've got work to do. Time is ticking and we've got to continue to get better."
"Obviously we want to win every game. You want to take something out of every game. I think the games that we've been playing, we've been playing better and even the losses that we had, we take something out of them. We need to be in games like the Memphis game, we need to be in games like the Celtics game. It's a good test for us later."
January 28, 2010: Magic-Celtics Postgame Quotes
Dwight Howard
"It was physical the whole game. But I think we just tried to match their level of game playing tonight and we got a real good win."
"I know with Kendrick, he's a great low-post defender. With him, you can't try to be as physical. He's a big, solid mound of a guy down there. So instead of trying to be physical with him, I can move him and that's what I tried to do in the second half. Watched some tape on him this morning, the way he's been playing, he's been able to try and root me out every time. I just try and bang, bang, bang with him. But I think tonight I just tried to go one way, or go the other way or just is aggressive and it worked."
"It was a big win for us. I think we kind of grew up tonight as a unit. We didn't give up. The crowd was out of it, every body thought we were out of it. We just came back and played."
Rashard Lewis
"They're a good defensive team; they had us on our heels all night long. Dwight stepped it up in the second half. Coach put me at the three and Marcin at the four because they had a big line-up out there. That's when we were able to get some stops, get easy baskets and get it into Dwight. He was able to get into good post moves and get to the free throw line and make some baskets."
(On last play) "The play was drawn up for Vince to come and get the ball. Paul Pierce played pretty good defense on him. Denied and couldn't get the ball into him. J. J. had to pick the dribble up so he couldn't dribble the ball. Just ran up to give him another outlet and got the ball from him and turned the corner with my right hand and took it too the basket. Expected the defense to collapse and I was very surprised that when I got around K. G., I saw the rim because they're usually a great defensive team."
"The past couple games, I feel like I've been a little bit more aggressive. I think instead of sitting out and shooting three's, come into the basket and get a couple of lay-ups every once in a while because the three ball isn't always going to fall. And you have to do something different to get yourself into the game. And I'm trying get a lay-up."
Marcin Gortat
"Being there at the end was such a great feeling. For the first time this season, I got a chance to play such an important game, so crucial minutes. I'm happy to have this opportunity to play as a four man, and the most important thing is that the team won. Hopefully now we'll start building this winning road. I hope we start winning right now."
January 25, 2010: Magic-Grizzlies Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On Zach Randolph)
"I thought it was a huge thing. He was only 9-21 but his rebounding was a huge factor and I think that was the problem. We tried to match up late when it was close and then we actually got beat at the three spot. Rashard (Lewis) had trouble showing on pick-and-rolls and then got beat on the back cut. He made us make some adjustments that didn't work for us."
(On the loss)
"The turnovers are creeping up and it's every game. It's tough because we're putting so much pressure on ourselves at the offensive end and we're not shooting the ball great. Then when you have 18, 19, 20 turnovers every night, it's becoming a real problem. Even down the stretch, Jameer (Nelson) gets in that jump ball; that's huge. We didn't do much right in the second half. I did think our guys fought and hung in and we got a lead, and they came back; it was a good basketball game fighting but they made more plays than we did at both ends of the floor."
(On the Grizzlies)
"I thought we opened the game with tremendous intensity. I thought our intensity was better than theirs and then when they turned around, their intensity was a lot higher than ours was. They just flattened us out and got back in the game then took the lead at the half. I thought that was the stretch of the game that was really, really crucial and we just did not match their intensity at that point.
Rashard Lewis
(On the loss)
"We just shot too many three-point shots. I think that killed us. We have to get good shots every time we come down the floor. I think later in the game, we just shot three's instead of playing our game inside out. Every time we shot and missed, they came back and scored and got back in the game then they got the lead."
"I just try to get in there and rebound and block shots."
"We're just trying to get better. Our guys…we're playing better basketball now so it's going to be a great test for us. All that matters is who wins at the end of the playoffs."
Vince Carter
(On the loss)
"We're just going to have to focus in and bounce back and be ready to go. One of the things about this team is we're capable of bouncing back. We just want to get it back together, plain and simple."
January 23, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On tonight's game)
"This was a great game for us to win. We haven't had an overtime game all year. We were just hanging on in the fourth quarter. We weren't really digging in and getting stops. In overtime, that was the best defense we've played all year long. It was our defense that helped us win."
(On the team's defense)
"I thought we were really attacking. Jameer Nelson was defending on pick-and-rolls and so was Rashard Lewis. I thought in the overtime Dwight Howard's defense was unbelievable."
(On the Bobcats)
"They are a very good team. They had won nine in a row here at home, the second best home record in the league, so this is great win for us."
Dwight Howard
(On tonight's game)
"Charlotte made a big run late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter. It was tough, they started hitting shots. D.J. Augustin had an awesome game tonight. I thought our defensive intensity in the second half and overtime got us the win."
(On the team's defense)
"I just try to be aggressive on the defensive end and block a lot of shots to help out my teammates. If they drive, I'll be there. We are playing defense and I am able to block shots."
Rashard Lewis
(On tonight's game)
"We are most definitely going to take a lot of confidence from this victory. All season long, we have been terrible in back-to-back games. We didn't hang it up. We kept pushing and playing hard and we were able to win the game."
(On the overtime period)
"We played great defense in overtime. We didn't in the fourth quarter, and they got back into the game and were able to send it into overtime. We were able to score baskets and we got the win."
January 22, 2010: Magic-Kings Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought our energy and intensity tonight were tremendous. Did not have a very good offensive game but we were able to dominate the game because our defense, particularly in the middle two quarters, was outstanding. To be up 16 at the half and holding them to 25 percent and not have them score for the first five and a half minutes was just tremendous. Liked our energy offensively, I thought that we really tried to run the ball again, which I liked. I thought guys were running, I thought our point guards pushed the ball. Obviously the one thing, just like I said last game, the turnovers are mounting and that's something that as we go forward, you'd hate to see us playing as hard as we are the last couple of games and cost ourselves games by turning it over. So we have to get that under control. I was happy with the whole approach everybody had tonight."
On the play of Vince Carter…
"I thought Vince played really well. We had to take him out at the end of the first half for fouls, and obviously he didn't play in the fourth quarter so he didn't get a lot of minutes. But had we really needed to go to him tonight, his whole disposition and the way he played, defensively he was the best he's been, even when he played Martin he was right with him. I thought that his whole disposition, his energy level, his intensity, I thought offensively he made good decisions, I thought he was really good tonight."
On Dwight Howard's free throw shooting…
"Yeah, fantastic. He made his first 10, 11 of 12. Outstanding. And the other night he wasn't nearly as good but he was pretty good. He's made 27 out of 36. If he could stay in that 70 to 75 percent range, all the defense on him changes."
On how the perimeter guys are making strides on defense…
"I thought from an individual standpoint, I just think the last couple games our disposition has been better to really be right with people and not give them anything easy. And then I think our help was very, very good for most of the game. For the most part, I thought our help was good. Even when guys got by us and into the paint they were forced to take very tough shots."
Jameer Nelson
On tonight's solid performance:
"There wasn't a change in me. I have always been an attacker. I have to stay in attack mode so the other team is guessing at all times."
On tonight's great team defense:
"We were playing hard, helping each other out and talking. We grabbed a lot of their misses and other than the turnovers the game was pretty good for us."
On how much pain he is playing in:
"Pain? No pain. If I need a day off, I need a day off. We are all men out here therefore I can communicate with my coach and tell him I need a day off. That's what I did yesterday. Everyone on this team has nicks and bruises. I don't consider myself injured."
J.J. Redick
On tonight's victory:
"Tonight's game was a breath of fresh air. It has been a tough month with the schedule being on the road. The last two games were ones that we needed to take care of. In both cases we played great in the first half and really clamped down defensively."
On the defense against Sacramento's guards:
"For the most part, we had great help defense. Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin are great scorers and it is difficult to defend them with one guy."
On playing the Bobcats tomorrow night:
"I have been paying attention to what the Bobcats have been doing and they are really tough to play at home. It is going to be a challenge. Offensively, we have to take care of the ball. They are a great defensive team and we have to get great shots every time down the court."
Dwight Howard
On his 11-for-12 free throw shooting tonight:
"I have been practicing and practicing. Today after practice I felt really good. I made 80 out of 100. They can keep fouling me if I can shoot 75 percent. I am just going to keep practicing those shots and hopefully everything can work out."
On the team's performance tonight:
"We have been playing well the last couple games because of our intensity on defense. We are helping each other, which is a key. Everyone is coming together recently and we need to continue to do that when we head to Charlotte and Memphis."
January 20, 2010: Magic-Pacers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"The main thing is we got off to a great start, the guys were really ready to play. They had great energy, great ball movement…I think reflecting that they really wanted to get something done, so that was great. Dwight was obviously tremendous and I thought we did a good job getting him the ball, he did a good job making his free throws and had a big night, and Matt [Barnes] obviously gave us a big lift, particularly on the boards, but I mean he really filled up the stat sheet, a double-double and then six assists, so I thought he played really well. Rashard is starting to really come back to being himself offensively and J-Will had another really, really good outing I thought, and then Ryan and Marcin, though they didn't really get a lot going offensively, I mean they got nine rebounds between them in 17 minutes, so that's a big lift also, so we had some good contributions by some people, and then to out-rebound them by 15 I thought was a big key to the game. The only real negative in the game, and it reflected in letting them get back in it in the fourth quarter was the 21 turnovers, but that's about the only real negative in the game."
On motivation carrying over from the 3rd quarter of the game against the LA Lakers
"A little bit of both, I thought our guys worked really hard to get ready today, and I think they wanted to play well, that we had some good moments offensively in LA, and now the next step in getting to where we want to be is sustain for longer periods of time and not shoot ourselves in the foot with mistakes."
On the getting into the lane, driving and kicking
"Yeah, I thought we were playing the game we wanted to play, inside-out, I thought our guys came with great energy… a much better performance, and I think we were able to do that against L.A. and the key is being able to do it for longer and longer periods of time."
On the team taking on Matt Barnes' personality
"I think his energy is certainly very, very helpful, to go get 16 rebounds. He runs up and down the court, he's in tremendous shape…. I think that he has really given us a big boost, he's putting in big minutes, he's guarding 3s and 4s and some 2s, like in Kobe the other night. One of the things we said when we got him, one of the things Otis liked, one of the things I liked, was his versatility, I think he's showing that… He's a guy that can do a lot of different thing."
On Vince Carter's play
"Look, it's just too much scrutiny on one guy. That's all we come in and talk about every game. 'What did you think of Vince, what did you think of Vince?' We played well."
Dwight Howard:
"In order for us to win, we've got to have hard work and energy every night. Even if we make mistakes because hard work clears all that."
"I told those guys before the game that it wasn't going to be the same game they had against us that last time we played them. I told them at shootaround today and I meant it. So we just came out as a team and defensively, we came out with a lot of energy."
"It felt good to win but I just like the fact that the starters came out with a lot of energy. We ran, played defense, got stops, that's what we have to do for here on out."
(On Matt Barnes) "One thing I like about Matt is just that he just wants to get out there and just bring a lot of energy. He rebounds, he plays defense, he's in-your-face and that's what you've got to have from a guy like Matt Barnes. He doesn't care about putting up numbers or anything, he just wants to get in there and bring the energy and effort that we need."
Matt Barnes
"We got off to a great start and kind of carried it throughout the game. We had a few peaks and valleys but overall, it was good performance. It's just one game but it's a good start and hopefully we can build on this."
(On career high rebounds) "It's just we needed a rebound. Me, Dwight, and everybody else did a great job of chasing the ball down and that stopped them from getting second opportunities."
(On missing triple-double) "Someone told me that I need four assists, but the ball never came my way so I could pass it. But personal stuff is not really important, more important is for us as team to get back on track, to get Dwight going, get Vince going, get Rashard going, and really come with that energy."
"Like I told the guys earlier, I'm new here so obviously I'm not a leader. But I hope unspokenly, by me playing hard would lead by example. You know we're a very talented team; we just need to put forth more effort. And hopefully when we turn that corner and start doing that, and when we do, we're a hell of a team."
"We had to pick it up. We came out with great energy. You know, we've been playing pretty bad lately and we've had no one to blame but ourselves. We can't blame back-to-backs, travel, or any of that kind of stuff because every team does it. We come out with a great focus today, and great energy. And it shows what happens. And hopefully we can take a mental note of this and continue to do it."
January 18, 2010: Magic-Lakers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought we did a good job in the first half fighting back. We got off to a bad start and I thought our guys did a good job fighting back and staying in the game. That was the most resolve we had shown in a long time. I thought we played a great third quarter and then the team did nothing to start the fourth. We made too many mistakes. If you look at the stat sheet there are not an overwhelming number of turnovers but there is a five turnover difference in the second half. The two things were the five turnover difference and our careless plays. We threw away four in-bound passes not looking at the defense and then their bench really outplayed our bench. Our bench has been very good, but just didn't play well today."
On their improvements this season:
"We showed a little bit of improvement for us, we showed spots but that's the problem. We are too streaky and we are not solid enough over the course of the game, right now. But we did play better than we have in a while, which I guess is good. But when you have played better and you have a loss, it's not a very good feeling."
On Dwight Howard:
"They (Lakers) did a good job in the second half and made sure they double-teamed him. I thought he made some good passes out, we got a couple of good shots and they made it until right at the end when they didn't want to come off and give up threes. They came very hard at him in the second half. He got tired into the third quarter because I didn't give him any rest in the first half. But I thought he played very well we just couldn't get him shots in the second half. We got him the ball but we just couldn't give him shots."
On Shannon Brown:
"Shannon Brown just played really really well. We had some defensive breakdowns, but I mean he was hitting pull-up jumpers. I didn't like the shots we gave him going to the basket, but again that was not the difference in the game. Both teams end up with the same number of points in the paint. To me the difference was the fourth quarter run, the turnover difference, unforced errors, and their bench play was outstanding."
Dwight Howard:
On Shannon Brown and his chances in the dunk contest: "I think he's a great, unbelievable dunker. He's awesome above the rim. He's in the category of Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins."
On the Magic going through this current stretch:
"We just got to continue to play. We came out great. We just got to do a better job of figuring out other team's game plans and try to go forward from there. We've been in a tough stretch but we've just got to continue to work. We're going to get over this."
On the Lakers stepping up despite the struggles of Kobe Bryant:
"Any team is capable of doing that. Other guys just stepped up and played with a lot of energy. That's the reason they won."
January 15, 2010: Magic-Blazers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the game
"We couldn't get anything going. For a while we hung in defensively even when we were struggling and again I think frustration sets in and we just lose our resolve defensively. The first half tonight I though was pretty similar to the second half in Denver the other night, it just got away from us."
On Portland
"We just got totally out played. I thought they played tremendously. They played the game about as well as you can play the game. They played with tremendous energy, great unselfishness and ball movement, worked very hard defensively, played a speed and quickness level far exceeding ours. I thought they were tremendous and I told our team afterwards that that was a great team we played tonight. I thought they were fantastic. They competed very hard and worked very very hard defensively…They did a very very good job.
On the team
"When you get beat the way we did, I'm not going to get up here and start on one guy or another guy. There's plenty of blame to go around tonight. We played 10 guys and I coached, so there's enough blame for the 11 of us to handle on a game like tonight. I think trying to single one guy would be #1 pretty difficult tonight."
On Dwight Howard
"They doubled teamed him all night. You can limit post guy's shots. That's not a hard thing to do. When he got good position they just fouled him every time. It's a little deceptive because he had a lot of free throws also and a lot where they fouled him before he could even get a shot up and the ball on the side…Every time he got goo position they fouled him, if he got it off the lane they doubled teamed him. Not an easy thing to do. It's been a game plan we've seen a lot and when you go 3 for 10 or 11 from the line then that's a game plan you're going to continue to see.
J.J. Redick
On the game
"Portland played with so much energy tonight and we didn't match that. We were down 20 at half time; you can't dig yourself a hole like that. On both ends of the floor they just kicked out butts."
Rashard Lewis
On the team
"We're going to get everybody's best shot. We knew that coming into the season. Last year we kind of flew under the radar, this year we're not flying under the radar and teams are going to give us their best."
January 13, 2010: Magic-Nuggets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"Well our turnovers were awful and we couldn't play their post-ups, and that I'll take the blame for. Double teams they scored every time, when we didn't double they scored every time and we just turned the ball over, we couldn't find any offense to run that was any good. We were ineffective down in the post, we couldn't exploit there switches at all. Couldn't beat anybody off of the dribble and get any stops that would allow us to get out in the open court. We clearly got totally dominated in every area of the game in the second half and I'm very disappointed.
(On Dwight Howard)
They're better interior defenders than what we saw last night and it was just a tough night. And in the second half he didn't even get a shot he had four turnovers and got to the free throw line a couple of times. Just a very bad night, I've said it that if we can't get Jameer (Nelson) and Rashard (Lewis) going than we're going to struggle. The guys that were getting scoring from on a nightly basis, our bench guys are doing a good job but we're getting offense out of Matt (Barnes), and Mickael Pietrus, JJ who had a tough night and Ryan (Anderson). It's our key guys, the guys that we look to, I've got to find a way to get them going more offensively than if I don't than we're going to continue to struggle."
Dwight Howard
"They did a good job of mixing it up and trying to have me off balance. (Third quarter) We have to do a good job, a better job of fighting. They started hitting those big shots and got a big run. We just kind of gave up, that's what it looked like and we can't do that if we're talking about winning a championship. So we can't blame it on a back to back or anything like that, everybody in the league plays back-to-back but we do have to come out with a better effort when teams like Denver make their run. We have to do a good job of staying in the game. We cannot keep talking about struggling, we just have to find a way to put the ball in the basket and it doesn't matter who does it. Tonight they out worked us, they got easy points. And we didn't do a good job of playing defense, and that's what got us our last two wins before tonight. So we just have to get back on the defensive end and play better and the offense will come."
Matt Barnes
"No, you can never blame it on a back-to-back. Every team in the league plays back-to-back and we came out flat in the third quarter, they went on a 9-0 run and it was an uphill battle from there. I think they got the lead to almost 30 at one point. We didn't come out ready to play in the third quarter and they took advantage of that. (Personal performance) It was bitter sweet, it's always a team game so overall you're disappointed because you did not win."
January 12, 2010: Magic-Kings Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Team's defense…
"I thought our defense stepped up in the fourth quarter and they missed some shots. They had some good open looks but thankfully not for their better shooters. We had some guys who were below 30 percent and high 20 percent three-point shooters getting the shot. I thought the real key tonight was that we limited their points in the paint. They were No. 2 in the league for points in the paint, averaging 47 points a game and they only got 26 points tonight which had to do a lot with Dwight (Howard). I thought our help defense was good. They hit some shots in the first half, a lot of jump shots but in the second half we were able to keep them on the perimeter. They didn't make as many shots and at the other end we were able to pound it inside. We kept the game at a little bit up tempo, didn't allow them in the open floor as much and we rebounded a lot better in the second half."
Dwight Howard's performance…
"We got him the ball a lot. He had two turnovers early. One was a travel and he had his third turnover early in the third quarter on an offensive foul. He didn't throw bad passes tonight down the stretch. He had five assists, made his free throws, scored his points and didn't turn the ball over. There was no reason not to go to him. I think that when he's that efficient it's easy to keep pounding the ball to him. He did a great job tonight and our other guys did a good job getting him the ball."
Matt Barnes
Team's defense….
"Dwight is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year but we all have to bring it on the defensive end. I think if we do that we can be one of the top teams in the league. I think we just have to consistently bring that defense because we have so many weapons on the offensive."
On the Sacramento Kings…
"They can play. They have a really good young team. Tyreke Evans is going to be a superstar. Spencer (Hawes), Jason (Thompson), (Omri) Casspi, and Kevin (Martin) and Francisco (Garcia) coming back they have a solid court. If they can all stay healthy, I wouldn't be surprised if they make a run for the 8th playoff spot."
Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans playing together…
"Kevin is a very talented player and Tyreke is a very talented player. I think they will make it work. Kevin is not on the ball as much as Tyreke is so hopefully they can coexist. They are both very talented and will be a tough matchup for anybody."
Dwight Howard
Team's defensive effort…
"We just have to continue to fight. The only way that we are going to get better is if we play defensively like we did tonight. I think we came out tonight with a great defensive effort as a team. In the second (half) we were able to hold them to one shot per possession, get rebounds, run and get easy buckets."
Holding the Kings to 10 points in the fourth quarter…
"We did a good job containing the ball, so when guys got beat we were there to help. We didn't let them get more than one shot. I think the biggest thing that they did great in the first half was outrebound us. In the second half we made a great effort of not giving them the easy buckets and second chance points."
January 9, 2010: Magic-Hawks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"That's about as happy as I've been with a regular season win in a long time. It just seemed like, I don't know it seemed like a month or month and a half since we've won a game. Just a long time, that felt good, it felt good just to get a win. But, even better is we played really, really well against a very good team. A good feeling in the locker room a lot of guys played well, virtually everybody we played. It feels good, we've obviously got a long way to go and based on how we've played lately we can't start feeling like, 'OK, it's over we're out of the woods,' we've still got to keep pressing ahead and trying to get better but tonight we just needed to get a win so we can all get a goodnights sleep and get the monkey off our back a little bit."
On if they have to shoot extremely well to win games…
"No, I mean there's no substitute for shooting, you know, I mean you've got to put the ball in the basket but I do think if you just even watch – the 20 fast break points in the first half, we haven't had that in a game in forever. I think our energy tonight up and down the floor was a lot better. And, I think when you're energy is better you tend to get better shots and when you get better shots you tend to make more of them. Now, that doesn't account for all of them, some of its just shooting, but we've been standing around, you know you've been watching, standing around, playing very slow. Tonight, we were up and down the floor, the ball was moving, it was just a lot better night, I think it just goes hand in hand."
On if this is how the team is supposed to play…
"Well I stay away from supposed to, but this is how we'd like to play. I thought we had a pretty good inside-outside balance, we got some good post-up stuff. And then Dwight (Howard) made some plays outside of the post so I thought we had a pretty good balance there. The best thing was I thought it was by far our best game playing in the open floor in transition in a long, long time. I can't really remember the last time I thought that we got up and down the floor pretty well."
On the play of JJ Redick…
"JJ is, well look, I've said it all along, he's just the guy that I think we've come to trust and by we I mean not only the coaches but his teammates. I think if you ask them he's not going to make mistakes, he's a tough guy he's going to compete hard, he's going to try and make the right play, he's an unselfish guy, he's all about winning and he focuses and works every single day and I hold him up as an example to some of the younger guys because I think a lot of times in this league you think, 'I'm not playing right now, I'm never going to play.' Which is exactly how JJ, after my first year JJ was like, 'You guys should trade me, I'm never going to play here,' the whole thing. They think things never change, but he just kept working and getting better. Then obviously last year he started in the Boston series and was still playing significantly through the rest of the Playoffs including the Lakers and now he's playing even more. You keep working at it like he does, and his focus and you keep learning everyday and I think what happens is, he's still not he quickest most athletic guy but as experience comes, he's ahead of the play so he can keep up defensively. You know as a rookie, well I didn't see him as much as a rookie, but as a second year guy, he'd be a half-a-count behind. Well he's not athletic enough to be a half-a-count behind. Now he's not a half-a-count behind, he's right into what he's doing. It's the value of experience, especially for a smart, tough guy who works at it everyday."
Dwight Howard
"It just felt good to get a good win tonight. I was very upset about losing the last four games, all of us were, and we were frustrated and tonight we didn't worry about the offensive end. We started off playing great defense and I think that's what got us a big lead tonight. Our defense, we blocked shots, we were there all the rotations, we did everything like we were supposed to do. On the offensive end, we got some easy buckets and it helped us. Even though we're in this stretch where our offense is not clicking like it was last season, I think the biggest thing is for us to continue to get better on the defensive end and really try not to worry on the offensive end but really just focus on getting stops and everything else will come."
"I just like our effort tonight. We've got to play with the same intensity and effort every single night. We were everywhere, like I was said; we were talking to each other, getting in rotations at the right time. We were just doing everything at the right, doing every thing like we know how to do. So hopefully we can continue it and just fight through all the situations that we've had so far. I think we needed a little wake up call and the thing now is to stay on the right track."
Rashard Lewis
"Any win is good for us. Kind of break out of this slump. Can't one game really turn you around especially going on this road trip playing some good teams, starting in Sacramento."
"It's a confidence builder. We still know we're a good team but we have to go out there and do X's and O's. But still if we don't go out there and play hard, we're not going to win regardless of getting this win tonight. I think we really have to focus in and know that it's going to take a lot of hard work to win ball games."
"It happens to everybody; it happens to the best team in the league, happens to the worst teams in the league. Nobody is perfect, you're going to hit times, little bumps in the road where you're not going to win ballgames, you're not playing well. Good teams bounce back from it. So it' happened to us so still have a long season ahead of us so we can't put our heads down."
"I think we put a little pressure on ourselves, especially on the offensive end. We weren't playing with a rhythm, we weren't playing well and still wasn't playing great defense. I think today we played a little more aggressive. Like Coach said, we played great defense, built a lead early, and kept playing."
January 8, 2010: Magic-Wizards Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the loss:
"It just gets worse. It was terrible. We were fine until the last 10 minutes of the game and then we gave up fast-breaks and second shots. We didn't have one guy on the floor that could make a shot. They got games out of their key players. (Caron) Butler and (Antawn) Jamison were both very good and some other guys. Dwight (Howard) had a good offensive game as Rashard (Lewis) and Jameer (Nelson) were both down. We can't get more than one of our four guys to do anything offensively on a given night. I've tried to change the play calling to where we have a more even shot distribution, which we're getting, but we just have guys struggling. I don't know what the answer is right now."
On J.J. Redick playing for an injured Vince Carter:
"J.J. played hard, he just couldn't make shots. Even that's a little skewed because he hit the one late that didn't matter. He just couldn't make shots. It happens to everybody we just can't get guys to step up, not that the guys aren't trying."
On playing Brandon Bass over Ryan Anderson:
"The quickness is a tough thing for Ryan, but I have to get him back in there because our offense is better. But Brandon had five offense rebounds. I think he played hard and well. I did not really think he was the problem. I didn't think our bench was the problem. I have to somehow get our key guys to play better. They've got to play better. That's how you win games. Our other guys, some guys had a tough night, but we're getting okay play out of those guys. We need consistent play night in and night out of Jameer, Vince, Rashard and Dwight. That's just the way it is and it's up to me to get that and I'm not getting it."
On getting the team going:
"I do not have the answer. Obviously if I did we wouldn't be playing like we are. We've lost four straight to sub-.500 teams. The one thing we've always done is done a good job against the teams below .500 and now we can't do that. We're just in a bad roll right now."
J.J. Redick
On the loss and four-game losing streak:
"We had the lead and they scored eight quick points and after that it seemed like we couldn't get a stop or make a bucket on our end. It is obviously frustrating. Shots not falling is not frustrating what is frustrating is losing these games. Tonight the main thing that hurt us was allowing second chance points."
Rashard Lewis
On the loss and four-game losing streak:
"We just seem to have been losing the last few ball games. It still doesn't mean we aren't one of the elite teams in the East. We just have to continue to play defense. We were up ten points in the fourth quarter and we started missing shots and didn't get back on defense and the Wizards took advantage of that. It is very frustrating when you are not winning games but this is the NBA and it happens, but we still have to bounce back. We just have to come out against Atlanta next game and play a full 48 minutes."
January 6, 2010: Magic-Raptors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I mean obviously another very tough night and I really don't know what else to say, we're just not playing very well. We're not playing very well and for most of the game we're not playing very hard. So, until that changes then it'll probably keep going like this. And then, when it does change, then we'll have a chance to be a good team. We're just not putting enough into it for long enough periods of time, I think that's the fourth time in the last five games that we've had double-figure turnovers in the first half. I mean, we're just not doing what it takes to win games. We didn't play well at either end of the floor tonight, it's just a struggle right now. But, you know eventually we will decide, we will figure out that we're the ones that have to change it. That this isn't happening to us, that it's happening because of us and we'll get it changed. I think right now we're feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit and that's going to have to change."
On if the three J.J. Redick took toward the end of the game was the play he drew up…
"Yep, yep. He was drifting on it, but he got some space. He got some space, we set a good screen. And then there's other options on it if he didn't have the shot, but I don't think I would've wanted him to pass the shot up. He just didn't get quite straight up and down, he was drifting. He's pretty good coming off those, I knew he wasn't having a great night, but nobody really was. I thought about going to Rashard (Lewis), but they're switching everything so you're going to have to get it on the dead run. That's not as much Rashard's forte as maybe JJ's. Plus, I'd worn Rashard out I think, playing him the whole second half. So that's why I went where I went. And, I thought it was – I'm not going to say a great look, but a decent look for where we were, it just didn't go down."
On their lack of effort tonight and recently…
"Well, I think guys it's the frustration that people are feeling and so instead of frustration maybe fueling an anger, to where you want to do something about it, I see us more hanging our heads a little bit. Now, obviously in the fourth quarter that changed around. I've never been a big fan of comebacks that you don't win in. Those kind of things happen in the NBA every night but maybe we can build on it now. We put a lot into the last eight to 10 minutes of that game and the only way that can be of value, because we didn't get a win tonight, is if that sort of propels us to put the same kind of effort into the game on Friday, from the beginning of the game. I know there's plenty of talent in that locker room. I know we have good people. And, I know that it is totally up to us and no one else to get this turned around."
Dwight Howard
"We're a little out of sync as a team; we're struggling to find offense every night. But we're not going to complain, we're not going to do anything but keep fighting. I'm glad that we, not losing, but going through this stretch where we just have to fight each and every night. And every night is not pretty for us. But I think success is right around the corner for us. But we have to continue to just find ways to get better. I think if we continue to get into the gym every day and we practice very hard, as a team we do every thing every day in the gym to get better. It's just we come short in the games. But we're going to continue to fight. Like I told the guys tonight and the other in Indiana is that I know that we're going through this phase. But we just have to remain together. We have to continue to fight and we're going to overcome the situation."
Jameer Nelson
"I think that we're out there thinking a little too much, not sure of ourselves at times. The only thing we can do is continue working at it and get out of this funk that we're in right now. I mean eventually every team is going to go through a little funk, the good teams get out of it on top."
(How to do that)
"Win."
J. J. Redick
(On his last shot)
"We shouldn't have been in that position. We can't keep turning it off and on. The way teams play like Toronto did tonight, where they're shooting the ball, we have to be better from the start."
"I think the main problem is everybody. Stan talked to us before the game about doing things to win, having the concentration and focus be on that. I think that might be part of it. There's obviously some frustration offensively on a lot of guys right now, nobody is really shooting well and I think that affects our whole game."
"It's the third straight game that it's been like this, we're playing a team that's sub .500 record and it's just that I think we expected to come home tonight and things will be easy and Toronto made sure that it wasn't easy, they played great. That's the thing about this league. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night. Everybody's talented and obviously Toronto's playing very, very good basketball right now."
January 5, 2010: Magic-Pacers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
We're just playing terrible. Offensively it's really bad right now. I need to look at everything. We had 20 turnovers and 38 percent shooting, so offensively it's not working at all.
(On early foul trouble)
Dwight's fouls definitely hurt. It precluded us from getting off to a great start. Those were two tough calls to get. That's the way it goes, but that's not enough of an answer. We didn't play well.
(On Roy Hibbert)
He was fantastic. It helped that him a lot that Dwight got into foul trouble and was not able to guard his as aggressively. We double teamed him some but he hit a couple of shots at the end of the shot clock. He works as hard for low post position as anyone in the league
Dwight Howard
(On his problems in the game)
I got into foul trouble and couldn't be as aggressive as I wanted to be on either end. I just have to find a way to stay in the game and not get frustrated.
(On what's the problem with the team)
I just think we're out of sync, everybody. We're not playing the way we know how to play. Expectations are so high for us this year, we're not playing the way we know how to play. We get out there and we're just holding on too tight instead of just playing free.
(On Roy Hibbert)
He was just on fire tonight. He had an unbelievable game and I'm proud to see him mature into the player he is. I'm very happy for him.
Matt Barnes
(On the team)
I think offensively right now the team is in a rut. I don't know if you want to say we hit the wall or what. The last few games we've just been shooting pretty terrible and I think it's carried over into our defense. You just have to stop the bleeding somewhere.
(On what Dwight Howard said to the team after game)
It was just stay focused and stay together. We're going through a rough time right now. So we don't need to branch off into individual people and talking behind people's back. We're a team, we win together and we lose together.
(Is it energy?)
It's a lot of things. Energy is definitely one of them. We just have to come out of the gate stronger in the first and third quarter. That's something we've been trying to work on.
January 2, 2010: Magic-Bulls Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Q: On the game.
A: To me, there's only one factor tonight. They just played a lot harder then us. They played with more energy, more effort, defended harder and went to the boards harder than us all night. It's amazing that we were within shouting distance at the end of this one. No, the back-to-back is not a factor, that is only an excuse. If you have any heart it doesn't factor into it at all. They play hard all night. Our only shots were really making threes. We are having a problem finishing in the paint. However, tonight I don't want to be too negative on our team because that would take away from the Bulls' fine effort tonight.
Q: On their three-point shooting.
A: We will usually hit those and have a good stretch of those shots. However, we've got to be clearer about when to get it inside and get better balance on that inside-outside game. Tonight we didn't get it in deep to Dwight a lot. When we did they fouled him. They just did a good job double-teaming him from the baseline and stripped him. If they didn't do that they fouled him and sent him to the line.
Q: On Derrick Rose.
A: He was just tremendous tonight. It's another thing we need to clean up. It seems every night the point guard is the one hurting us. Rondo and others recently have done that to us as well. To me now, the difference in Derrick Rose's play is that he is healthy. He's feeling better, playing better, and has his legs under him like last year. His improvement then helps everyone on the team. He creates a lot for the other guys. Earlier this season he said he wasn't healthy and wasn't aggressive. Now when I look at the box scores the last six or seven games you can see the change and he's been playing great.
Jameer Nelson:
Q: On Derrick Rose tonight.
A: Attack, attack, attack. He's strong, fast, and was knocking down jump shots tonight. When he's knocking down his jump shots, it makes it tough to guard him.
Q: On his game tonight.
A: I think I was being a little too passive in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter I found my shot a little more. It's hard to measure individual success after a loss.
Ryan Anderson:
Q: On the Bulls.
A: They're a great offensive-rebounding team. That's what they do. Noah's the second offensive rebounder in the league.
Q: On playing back-to-back games.
A: We can't use that as an excuse. We should have come out with a little more energy. Shots just weren't falling for us. Shots we normally make, especially in the third and fourth quarter. We really struggle to make shots. If we're not going to play good defense, we really need to rely on our offense to win games. Tonight, our offense wasn't working for us. It was a tough game for us.
Q: On Taj Gibson.
A: He's a great player. I played against him in college. He's a really talented, long athletic kid. He can really rebound the ball and he really fits in their offense. He's got a great jump shot and he's got great footwork. He's a great fit for them.
January 1, 2010: Magic-Timberwolves Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On Matt Barnes - "He's the only guy on our team who runs first of all. Nobody else will run, everyone else jogs, he runs."
On Dwight Howard playing a lot of minutes - "Dwight's a pretty well-conditioned guy, he got some time off in the first half, so we thought we could play him through it."
On their five new players - "They're all good players. I think it's pretty easy to fit good players in, it's hard to fit bad players in."
On the team - "I still don't think we're playing to the level we can play at, but we're finding ways to win games in the meantime."
Matt Barnes
On second half rebounding - "They hammered us on the boards that first half and I think we kind of pulled even in the second half."
On why he's in the starting lineup - "I bring energy, bring toughness, run the floor and try to guard their best offensive players, and just kind of bring a spark."
On him playing hard - "We've got a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things, so just to be able to go out there and play hard, I think helps our team."
Dwight Howard
On Minnesota's defense - "The way they were playing me they made it tough for me to score. I just tried to find my teammates."
On Minnesota playing well - "It doesn't matter who you play in this league anybody is capable of having a big night, any team is capable of winning. I like the way they play, they really look for each other."
On second half rebounding - "I think we did a better job of going to get balls instead of just standing there and hoping we get the rebound."
December 30, 2009: Magic-Bucks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On tonight's game…
"Obviously a really, really good second half on both ends of the floor and then the only thing we really didn't do tonight, I thought we turned the ball over in the first half, a lot. And, we didn't rebound the ball very well tonight. But other than that I thought we played very well, particularly in the second half."
On his lineup decisions and putting in Matt Barnes for Mickael Pietrus…
"Yeah, well it didn't end up doing us any good. We just haven't had good first halves. We haven't been good in the first quarter and then our second unit hasn't been real good in the second quarter either. We try to tweak it a little bit, hard to tell tonight because of the foul trouble. We didn't really get into a rotation at all in the first half, a lot better in the second half clearly. But I'm concerned with the way we start games, we never jump on anybody. And obviously our second quarters haven't been a lot better, we're always fighting from behind, or you know, at least a little bit behind at halftime so we just try to change that up. I don't think it will do a whole lot to their minutes necessarily I'm just trying to change who they play with a little bit."
On when Vince Carter went down and they then proceeded to go on a big run…
"Well I don't think that had much to do with it, you know I think we were starting to play well until then and it just continued. I don't think that, you know, I didn't notice anybody getting real fired up about that, we were just playing very, very well. Vince was playing well, Dwight (Howard) had a great night offensively, I thought he looked great in the post, he just couldn't get many minutes. We just played very, very well in the second half."
On the play of his point guards tonight…
"Jameer (Nelson) was really, really struggling but he had some things going on with his family, which I didn't find out about until after the game, which is a good time to find out. But, he didn't get any sleep, so he had no energy and that was my main thing with him. I know it'll take some time to get back in the groove but he had no energy, I sort of found out why after the game, but J-Will (Jason Williams) was tremendous, picked him up very, very well, played great and was obviously very instrumental in the second half."
Vince Carter
"I feel pretty good, a little headache. He threw a shoulder at my face, I guess trying to stop me from coming around a screen. Helped my jump shot though. I just laid there for a second, I felt a little dizzy so I wanted to lay there for a second, let everything get back together and then get back up. Next thing you know, everything was lined up correctly. Rim actually looked straight. Thought Coach was going to take me out and that's why I was just sitting there on my knees, I was just trying to gain my composure and I looked at him and he said, 'All right Vince, you're going to take the ball out.' All right, let's keep it going."
"It was just an all-around thing. Definitely on the defensive end I think our pressure, limiting them to one shot. Yeah, they were getting a couple of offensive rebounds, especially in a row. But in general, we created turnovers. First of all, we took care of the ball and we were able to get out in transition and just get lay-ups and open jump shots. Once we got rolling, we just kept going and going, something I'd like to see us do for 48 minutes of course. But this team has been able to persevere through a bad first half and play a phenomenal second half."
Jason Williams
"I always have confidence in it (his shot). It's just sometimes it doesn't go in. But that's my job, trying to make open shots."
"I think in the first half, we didn't play with any energy. It seemed like the same thing when we played up there against those guys in their place. They came out and play with a lot more energy and got a lot of points in the paint in the first half. Second half, I think we held them to ten points in the paint which is big for us."
(On guarding Brandon Jennings)
"It's not a one-on-one match-up. They run a lot of pick-and-rolls and whoever is guarding him has to have a little help on the big man whoever is setting the screen and sometimes you have to hope he misses."
"It's just a game. No matter if I'm starting or coming off the bench, the goal is still ten feet and it's five against five out there so I just have to keep playing my game."
Jameer Nelson
"I've never been through it before. I'm just doing what every body tells me to do that make the decisions. They don't want me to practice everyday or practice as much, and so just, I want to. I ask to, but I just have to listen to them and do the things they tell me to do."
December 25, 2009: Magic-Celtics Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"Well, the second quarter was real bad, a real frustrating evening, again I thought that our guys competed hard. Down the stretch a couple of times we made big mistakes that stood out to me because they were so crucial. But in general our defense was pretty good, we just couldn't get good shots. We did a better job in the second half, I thought we played more of the way we wanted to play in the second half in terms of moving the ball a little better and finding open people. The first half we just continued to force and force and force; it was frustrating, we just would not make the adjustment. You'll notice, they scored 12 more points in the paint on the exact same number of shots in the paint. You know, we were going in and trying to challenge and they were blocking shots, we were throwing up airballs. We just would not draw help and make the pass to the open people. I thought we did a better job of that in the second half. I thought Vince (Carter) played really well in the second half and I thought we created some shots for Rashard (Lewis) drawing help so I thought there were some better things. But we've had a constant, well pretty consistent problem with our offense against them and that is that we just do not sustain good offensive play throughout the game. Now, they're a great defensive team, but there are ways we can get good shots; we know it, but we just won't play that way for long enough stretches. A frustrating day, very frustrating, 18 turnovers, yeah they had 21. Not exactly a pretty NBA basketball game. I thought we battled hard, we had our chances when we got back in the game. But when you dig yourself that big a hole you've got to be perfect at both ends and we just weren't."
On their play in the second quarter of the game…
"Well we played very, very poorly. They played well defensively, you know when I go back to watch that on the film I'm going to see that we played very poorly. Everybody was just trying to go one-on-one and beat their guy, taking contested shots. There were at least five possessions in that quarter with no passes whatsoever. A lot more possessions with one pass and you're just not going to get good shots, the quality of shots we need against a good defensive team like that without the ball moving. And for whatever reason we just didn't do it. We started the second half playing the same way. But finally we got to where we moved the ball a little bit and fought our way back in. We got back in and then they stretched the lead back out, then we got back in again. But like I said, it was to a point where we've got to be perfect, you've got to get stops and scores. We got it to three and we needed one stop and we just haven't been good in those situations either. When we need one stop we haven't gotten it."
Dwight Howard
"Instead of attacking, we shot a lot of jump shots and we can't do that and be successful. When we are hitting (shots), that's fine but we have to have a balance inside-out and also attacking the rim. That is something we have to work on."
(On the team's offensive philosophy) "It is usually inside-out and that is what we have to get back to. I talked with coach (Van Gundy) after the game and we recognized that it doesn't matter who we play, we have to establish an inside presence while also driving to the basket and then getting guys open for threes. We can't just come down and settle for quick shots because once we do that, like we did in the second quarter, that's when Boston was able to get such a big lead on us. They got a cushion because it was just one shot and we were done."
(On the Magic's effort) "We played hard. There is no question about it. You can look at the stats on the defense end and it shows we played hard. There were a couple of areas where we didn't come up with the loose balls but for the most part we did play hard. It's been like that for the last four games. I think offensively is where we've had some struggles but all of that will come with time."
Vince Carter
(On the Celtics defense) "They have a lot of athleticism, they move well and they take up a lot of the paint, so they make it tough. They do a great job and believe in each other on the defensive end. That is always a mark of a good team when you never have to look over your shoulder and I think they do a great job of that."
"We didn't make a lot of shots, we had turnovers and at the same time the Celtics did a great defensive job which made it tough. They put us in a hole and we were able to fight back but we couldn't win it in the end."
Jameer Nelson
(On the game) "We just couldn't get it going offensively for whatever reason. They are a great defensive team and they took us out of a lot of things but we kind of let them. It wasn't like they were doing something that we didn't see before."
"Our game plan was to make them play defense for a couple more seconds than they did. We only made them play defense for one pass. Most of those shots were good looks but that just wasn't our game plan."
December 23, 2009: Magic-Rockets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought again that we played well defensively, particularly in the second half. I think it helped us, no question that they played last night, I don't think there's any doubt about that. But I thought we played very hard defensively in the second half. Dwight (Howard) was phenomenal again, 20 rebounds, four blocks, he's making it awfully tough around the basket for people. When (Carl) Landry was on a good roll, they went to him once, he shut that down and that stopped, so he did a lot of real good things tonight. And again, I thought we finished the game out very well, so some really good things. The turnovers again, not good, and 11 of those are coming from Vince (Carter), Jameer (Nelson) and Dwight and those guys are going to have some turnovers because we put the ball in their hands. Hopefully as Jameer gets back in there more, his will cut down. We got a very good effort out of Ryan (Anderson) off the bench tonight. So, some good things tonight I thought it was a positive night."
On Jameer Nelson's play tonight…
"Well I think he'll get better every game. He was a little tired out there – 29 minutes won't be a lot as the season goes on but right now it is. So, I thought he got a little tired but other than that I think that his quickness is pretty good. He made some shots which is always good, so yeah, he'll keep getting better."
On if Vince Carter is trying to drive and pass more due to his shooting slump…
"Yeah, he is, I think he is. And I've got to think that a guy who's shot as well as he has his whole career, it's got to come back. I know it's frustrating for him right now, he's not making shots that he normally makes but he did make a big one with the shot clock running down. Had a big assist late in the game, got to the free throw line. For the second straight game I think, even though he's struggling shooting the ball, for the second straight game, he's finished the game very, very well for us. With the ball in his hands, he's making plays. I think again, like I said, the other night that's one of the big things we need out of him, that's a big part of his role, as a finisher in the fourth quarter, and he's done that really well.
On Dwight Howard's night offensively…
"He was fine offensively. We didn't do a good job of getting him the ball. I thought there were several times when he was open, but our guys were also open to shoot the ball. That's a tough decision for good shooters, the only way you can shoot it well is to be thinking 'shot' when you're open, and Dwight's down in there with the guy on his back. We've still got to do a little better job of getting him the ball, but I wasn't really upset with the shot selection. He was fine offensively, but defensively he's just been great and on the boards. He's sort of back where he belongs, leading the league in rebounding and blocked shots, that's where we needed him. We made the point that he had backed off that early in the year, and he has stepped it up in a big way now. He is really, really competing defensively and on the glass and it makes it awfully tough on other teams."
Dwight Howard
"I think our defense is really picking up. I think tonight in the second half, they had only 35 points. So that's real good, to hold a team to 35 points in two quarters. You know we did an excellent job on defense, helping, talking, and just moving, we have to continue to do that."
(On Jameer tonight) "Oh, little Mighty Mouse is back! Just happy to see him back on the court, happy just to see him healthy. He has to get back into the flow. I told him tonight just play. Don't worry about mistakes or missing shots or whatever. Just go out there and do what you do. We know that you're not going to be perfect, none of us are. But if you got there and just play, things are going to happen for you. And he did it to tonight. And all we expect from him."
"I know that the only thing's that important is that if I'm blocking shots and rebounding, we're going to win games. I have to do what it takes for our team to win, which is rebound and block shots and do it at a high level. If I can block shots and rebound, everybody else on the team is going to do a better job of defending. It's a matter of trust. I tell the guys, "Hey, I got your back. Continue to play good defense, I'm going to be behind you to erase the mistakes.' And that's what it takes, we have to be able to trust each other, they got to be able to trust me and I'm going to my part to help this team get over the hump on defensive end."
Jameer Nelson
"Like I told you all last game, what ever minutes they give me, I'm going to play them as hard as I can."
"I still passed up a few shots but that's stuff is just going to come. It's just me trying to find my rhythm and not trying to be super-selfish."
(How long to get into rhythm) "I don't know. I felt pretty good today, just didn't feel like myself at times but just fight through it, like everything else."
Vince Carter
"We'll continue to do better, our goal is to try to play as close to a complete game as we can. Defensively, that's where we're trying to make our mark. That creates easy baskets offensively. I mean you hold a team to 35 points in the second half, it created a lot of easy baskets for us in the second half, just kind of put the game out of reach."
December 21, 2009: Magic-Jazz Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"There was a lot of good individual performances today but to me the numbers were holding them to 40 percent (from the field), only 28 points in the paint and you're talking about one of the best field goal percentage teams, and they're in the top two or three in points in the paint. Those are two huge numbers, and then to outrebound them was the third, so again, like the other day I was really happy with our guys and if we continue to play with this kind of focus and intensity then we're going to be in pretty good shape. I was very happy with them, very proud of the way they played."
On the confidence JJ Redick is playing with…
"He is playing with great confidence and for good reason. I mean, success breads confidence and he's playing very, very well. But, on top of the confidence the guy is just so focused. He's on top of everything. He's a guy you can trust defensively, he plays with great energy offensively, he certainly – well I don't know, I don't think he's the fastest guy we've got in the sprint but he runs harder and gets down the floor better than anybody we have. He comes off screens harder, he's just a guy that plays very, very hard all the time. He has great confidence in himself and I know that we have great confidence in him. When it was time to put Vince (Carter) back in tonight it was a little scare, I had to put Vince on (Andrei) Kirilenko, which is giving away a lot of size, but I wanted Vince back in the game and there was no way I was taking JJ out."
On the comments Jason Williams made and his decision not to put Jameer Nelson back in…
"Well, because his (Jameer Nelson's) minutes were supposed to be limited, though they did tell me I could put him back in in the 4th; to be honest, I thought Jameer played pretty well. I thought he showed good quickness, I thought his decisions on when to shoot and when to pass were not real good and that's to be expected and so in a tight game like that I just decided not to put him back in, in the 4th quarter. But, AJ (Anthony Johnson) was there and had a great 4th quarter and competed real hard and I thought made some good plays, so it worked out OK. As far as what he said, you'll have to ask him."
On how the team is playing right now…
"Well we're still struggling, you're not seeing smooth easy play but you're also playing very good teams. I think it's good that we get in these games, because our guys have to know that if you play good teams it's not going to be smooth and easy it's going to be a fight all the time. And our guys are stepping up to the fight, we're engaging in the fight. I like that. We're playing extremely hard. I still think offensively we can play a lot better. Again, a 12 turnover first half tonight is not very good. We've got to be better against the better teams in terms of taking care of the ball. That's an area I would really like to see improved. I'm really happy with the effort and the focus. I thought Dwight (Howard) was tremendous again tonight. You know, five blocked shots, didn't get the double-figure rebounds, his minutes were down, but he's just playing so well. Like I said, you look at five blocked shots and them at 40 percent (from the field) and 28 points in the paint, they go hand-in-hand. It's not easy to get anything in there when he's playing like he was tonight. And a couple of them he had to come a pretty good distance to make the play, those weren't easy blocks."
Dwight Howard
"Well I know that for our team to be successful, I have to protect the basket. So if I'm not getting blocks, just being there, a presence, helps our team win."
"I have to be more aggressive. I have to block shots and I have to do it at a high level and I have to do it every night for our team to win. If I'm not blocking shots, then we're not aggressive on the defensive end. Guys are not wanting to let guys blow by or get to the basket so they foul. So they're sent to the free throw line. And I think we were doing a better job starting last week of not fouling so much, giving guys easy shots but letting them finish in the paint with me and Marcin back there. So I just got to block shots."
'For me, if I'm out there and I'm running and I get a couple blocks early, whenever, and I'm feeling real good and I can go get any shot, that's the way I look at it. I try to alter as many shots as I can, force guys to pass the ball out. It feels good when you hear other teams saying, 'Hey, Dwight's coming, so make the extra pass.' I'm doing my job; it makes everybody else around me better."
J. J. Redick
"Had a conversation with someone today (Coach K) and we just talked about, the thing I realized this year is that it's a continual process. And I think about a guy, not that I'm comparing myself to him by any means to Kobe Bryant. But he's constantly mastering his craft. And I think that's what I've come to understand is that you have to work all the time. And this continual process, there's a lot of things I have to do better, some things that I can work on right now."
"I think I've gotten better at understanding the aggression level that you have to play with, balancing it with taking good shots, making plays, and not forcing things."
"The thing that really hurt us in the first half was the turnovers, obviously. We scored 64 in the second half. So I think the ball was really moving. We were getting out in transition and attacking before their defense got set, that helped."
Jameer Nelson
"I felt fine. I just, no matter what the minutes are that they give me, I have to go out there and play them and play them aggressively. I think for the most part, I did that. Missed some easy shots; actually turned some shots down but then it's because of rhythm."
December 19, 2009: Magic-Blazers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I just thought the whole day, even at halftime I told the guys, we weren't playing well offensively but we were fighting really hard. I thought on the offensive end we were forcing a lot of plays. They're very good defensively too, you look at the numbers they're one of the top three or four defensive teams in the league. They're very long and I didn't think we did anything to move them around. We were too much one on one, we had a lot of turnovers today. But we played really hard. To out-rebound them by 19 and hold them in the thirties I just thought our guys battled pretty much every possession so I was really happy. Even at one point when we were behind I said to Brendon Malone, we're struggling but our guys are playing so hard. So I was really happy with the effort today."
On J.J. Redick and Matt Barnes performance
"J.J. I thought gave us a huge lift. Matt I thought had a very professional performance, to not play in the first half and then come in and play well in the second half. I thought AJ did a good job. I thought J-Will played well too, he got in foul trouble again. AJ was playing well, we had a group on the floor playing well so we just went with them."
On Vince Carter's shooting in game
"I did think he had a couple of shots where he was trying to be aggressive but he was off balance and forcing some shots early on. I thought he made some solid plays at the end. He got to the free throw line in big situations. He made a nice pass to the corner. And like everyone else I thought he played very hard defensively today. I was happy with his effort. I know there's not going to be too many 1-for-14's in him. I think it's always good for Vince, or for anybody, that when you have one of those days that your team gets a win and you can shake it a lot easier and a lot quicker."
On the Fourth Quarter Hustle Plays
"That's what you have to do when your struggling offensively, you got to make plays like that. You got to play defensively. I thought guys stayed on the boards, I thought we really defended hard. I know we need to play better probably a lot of nights, but as a coach I am proud of what they did tonight."
On Today's Hard Fought Win
"I think these are the games you have to be able to win. We won one up in Boston earlier in the year, we won one today. You have to be able at times to just win with your defense and your will. I've said this many times, every team in this league will win when they have those great offensive nights. Some of the teams don't have them as often, but everybody will have them and they'll all win. I think what really separates teams is when you can dig out some wins when you're not having a good night and we didn't have one tonight. It was a hard played game by both teams and our guys fought very hard. You have to be able to win these. I know we didn't play well offensively and we turned it over way too much, but there really are a lot more positives in this game than negatives. To win on those nights is fantastic."
Dwight Howard
"Offensively, I think we struggled. But we made it up on the defensive end. We did our best on Roy, he was unbelievable. We did a good job on Aldridge, you know he had a tough one tonight."
"We've been playing sub-par basketball against teams that are over .500. Coming out with a win tonight really helps us. We really didn't shoot the ball well tonight, we didn't play well on the offensive end, but defensively we locked in and got stops when we needed them."
"I think we did an excellent job of rebounding late in the game. Me, Matt Barnes, MP, Rashard, all of us rebounded the ball. And that's what it's going to for us to win. We all have to gang-rebound and we did that tonight."
J. J. Redick
"Obviously I'm more confident right now than in any time in my career. But I also don't feel as much pressure to make shots. Even nights like tonight when I didn't come into the game saying to myself, 'All right, I need to knock a few shots down.' I just play the game and took the shots that were there."
"I think coming off the game Thursday night, this was really good for us because it wasn't easy. When you lose a game like that, blown-out on the road, you want to come home and you want it to be easy, you want the ball to go in the basket and it wasn't like that. And for us to win tonight, we had to compete very hard and we did that."
Vince Carter
(On starting games slow) "We've been conscious of that; I mean we've been fortunate to be able to dig ourselves out against some teams. But the better teams are going to hold you down in a place you don't want to be so we're very conscious of that and we tried top do a better job of that tonight. And I think we did; so hopefully that's the end of that."
(On rebounds tonight) "Everybody helped Dwight out. I mean he does a great job on the boards but Matt was doing an excellent job and I was just trying get myself back into the picture and just try and get a few loose balls here and there."
December 17, 2009: Magic-Heat Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I hate to say it, but before the game I saw this coming. And I said to my assistants, we just were not a good group in terms of even when we have a bad game we focus on the next game. We weren't focused and we didn't come out ready to play. They were great. We were real bad. When you have that combination you can have a really lopsided game. I take a large amount of responsibility though. This was about four games in a row where we've had pretty substantial alterations to what were doing in our defensive schemes. We had too much confusion on the court. And thus we couldn't play with the intensity we needed to start the game with. I'm not going to take all of the responsibility. This is three out of the last four games that we've gotten off to really bad starts. Each guys got to look at themselves in terms of how they are ready to start the game. I think that our ability to come back a lot has led to a false sense of security. I do think that I had guys thinking too much. They were confused trying to come up with schemes to make it tougher on them. We just weren't playing with any intensity. They were doing what they do, very, very hard and very, very well. [Erik Spoesltra] did a much better job of having his team ready to play tonight than I did. A large part of this was coaching and the other part of it was effort."
"I think the confusion really stopped us from getting off to a better start. That wasn't the only thing that happened, there were a lot of things that happened that had nothing to do with confusion."
"We need to start games with an energy and a focus and we just didn't do that tonight. The reality of the situation is that if you look at the standings right now we are 4-6 against teams that are over .500. The reality is that if you want to talk about being a championship contender that can't be good enough for you."
On Dwight Howard:
"I didn't think he started the game real well. But I thought that as the half went on he was the one guy we had that was competing pretty hard."
On Vince Carter:
"The first two or three plays the ball was in his hands. And he did make a couple of really good passes. He wasn't as aggressive as he could have been. I thought he tried to be more aggressive in the third quarter."
December 16, 2009: Magic-Raptors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought it was a good all around game. A lot of guys played well, played decently at both ends, there's not a lot of bad numbers out there tonight. A good solid win and we move on."
On Dwight's defensive performance:
"He was really coming tonight, I thought that was outstanding. He was great, he was on the glass, blocking shots, very active."
On Jason Williams' performance:
"And he played real well, and he's sick. He finished up early tonight and no matter what happened he wasn't going to be able to go the rest of the way, hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow. Both he and A.J. played very well I thought."
On the Magic's match up to Toronto's Defense:
"There's no question, in the first half, again I didn't think our defense was as good as it could have been. It wasn't bad other than the fouls, once we cut the fouls down. I thought we defended much better in the second half. It is hard when scoring is as easy as it easy to really buckle down defensively."
On Jason Williams aggression in game:
"I thought he was more aggressive tonight and he wasn't even feeling good so it was tough. He just couldn't put in a lot of time. Seven assists, no turnovers, double figure scoring, a good night."
On Hedo Turkoglu's Return to the Amway:
"I thought he got a good reception, I don't know. Once the game starts I don't know what happens. I thought before the game he got a nice reception. Anybody who's booing him in my mind really can't be a Magic fan. I don't understand how you're a Magic fan and you're booing him. He did a great job for this organization for a number of years. We wouldn't have gotten to where we got to last year without him. He deserves nothing but the respect and gratitude of the fans. Plus he's a good guy. This is not a guy who ever caused any problems. I can't imagine how you can be sitting in that arena and boo Hedo Turkoglu. I didn't hear it and I don't understand how anybody could do that."
Dwight Howard
(On his 8 blocks) "I know, I'll try to get better."
"I just feel that we've got to get better defensively and it starts with me. I'm telling guys, let them come in the paint and instead of fouling; just I'll come there and erase the mistakes. I think guys did a good job tonight when they're man tried to drive to the basket, instead of fouling, they allowed me to come block it. It works both ways and we did a good job of it tonight."
(Difference between last year's defense and this year) "Not just letting them get an easy basket or let them come straight to my chest, I think guys did a good job of once they got into the paint area, instead of fouling right away because that's the way we were doing, sending teams to the line, they just stayed with their man. I think that's what we did a lot last year and it worked."
Jason Williams
"Stan talked to me and wanted me to be a little more aggressive. That's what the boss wants and that's what I'll try to do, you know."
(On his play tonight) "I give all the credit to my teammates, they're the ones knocking down shots, they're doing the hard part. My part's the easy part."
"I just got to keep them happy. They all think they're open every time. As long as we win, that's what counts.
Matt Barnes
(On balanced scoring) "We let two get away on the road and we know that we had to come back and defend our home court. And we knew Toronto played last night and if we went at them, maybe we could make them to check-in a little early and I think we did that."
(On Dwight's blocks) "He's a monster. He gives the other players a chance to really get into their opponent. Knowing if we get back, he's has our back. And that's a good security blanket to have back there."
"I've really struggled with my shot all year. Getting that extra work in is starting to come around. But really just trying to attack the defense, knowing that if I keep attacking them, they'll sag off eventually and I'll get some open shots. That's just the mindset I have now.
December 11, 2009: Magic-Suns Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On last possession)
"No, we didn't do a good job. It's always tough when you are on a short clock and all you can get is a three. The rebound in that situation is really the problem. The Miami game we lost because of two rebounds at the end, and we could have had a chance here tonight. We are a good defensive rebounding team, but for the three years I've been here we haven't been able to get rebounds in key situations."
(On coming back from 19 points down)
"You know what, we lost. They made a good effort but you don't get anything for that. It's all about winning and losing. I was happy with their effort and I'm not trying to put a negative spin on it. Our guys fought hard, but the bottom line is if we had laid down and lost by 40 it's the same in the standings."
Rashard Lewis
(On Stoudemire's rebound at the end of the game)
"We just didn't come up with the rebound. Dwight closed in on Dudley to block the shot and no one picked up his man to box him out. Like coach (Van Gundy) said it's been killing us the past three years. When we lose games it has always come down to rebounding the ball"
(On relationship with Coach Van Gundy)
"We have no problem. I think the media crated more of a problem than anything. Stan (Van Gundy) and I are on the right page. I think the people on the outside have made a bigger deal than either him or I did.
(On coming back from 19 down)
"This combined with being up 18 last night and losing makes it frustrating. Coming in tonight and digging ourselves a hole early on came down to not playing defense. We didn't have the right rotations at the right time. We beat ourselves. Phoenix is a good team and they play good at home. If you make mistakes they will beat you.
Dwight Howard
(On only shooting one field goal)
"They did a good job of double teaming me. I had to trust my teammates. Every time I caught the ball they were coming. Coach (Van Gundy) told me that as I go the team goes. They were going to make sure they took me out first and let our other guys beats them. It's a good strategy but I just have to find ways to still be aggressive."
(On coming back from 19 down)
"No matter what, win or lose, we always give a good effort. I think as a team we do a good job of playing through every situation. Me missing free throws and being double teamed; we just have to play through that. We came up just short but there are no moral victories."
December 10, 2009: Magic-Jazz Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the game
"They deserved to win after the first 18 minutes they just played a lot harder, a lot more energy and a lot more focus than we did. They dominated us, we didn't run back, we didn't move on offense. We played with no energy. They played very, very hard. They played very well and we played very poorly and when that happens in this league, particularly on the road, you're going to get beat. We have established a habit it, has been going on for awhile. We jump out well then relax and let everybody back in the game. The difference is Utah is a better team."
On Deron Williams
"He killed us; he is just a great player. He totally outplayed our guards tonight, but that is going to happen at times. Our guards have been very, very good. They have played very well. Tonight was a very bad night for both of them and Deron Williams had a great night."
Vince Carter
On the game
"I'm a sore loser…I'll be the first to tell you that. Regardless if they are a good team or not, I expect us to come out and take care of business. We got bit in the butt I think because we had a great start and got lax. This is a very good basketball team, even better at home, and once we gave them an opportunity to really get rolling, it was tough to stop that machine."
What needs to change for the next game?
"Win…I think we know what needs to be done. We made our adjustments in the second half, but they were already in their rhythm. We need to do a better job with the pick and roll…we didn't do a great job on that."
On Deron Williams
"He's the leader. He does a great job of facilitating, and you have to respect his ability to get to the basket, and his ability to shoot the ball. He played tremendous tonight."
December 8, 2009: Magic-Clippers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Re: Defensive effort in second half
"I think that we were good defensively in the second half once we stopped double-teaming and played them one-on-one. We had five turnovers in the second half instead of the 12 we had in the first half which is what let them stay in the game in my opinion. If you defend, rebound, and take care of the ball you are going to have a chance to win."
Re: Play of center Dwight Howard
"He made free throws and had a very good game tonight. It was a great celebration of his 24th birthday. He had seven blocks and held Kaman to under 40 percent shooting."
Vince Carter
Re: Difference between first and second half
"We had our ups and down in the first half. We had a lot of guys who can get it going for a couple of minutes, a quarter or a half and that is what is great about our team. Dwight was rolling tonight."
December 5, 2009: Magic-Warriors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"We had a real good first quarter, and then we could not stop them. We could not stop them, especially with the matchups they had that we needed to match. It wasn't pretty, we didn't play well and they were undermanned tonight so give them credit as a team as well. We held on long enough to get the win."
"We made some plays and we made some shots and that's what has to happen. We had trouble getting shots and rebounds, and then we were able to when they needed to happen. They made some mistakes that we were able to capitalize on. We got a little lucky and we hung around and stayed in the game until we were able to get the last push that we needed. That team is very dangerous and they can score at will, but they made a few mistakes that we were able to capitalize on."
Vince Carter
"We continued to push when we needed, and we were able to get to the free throw line at the end of the game that preserved the win. We continued to stay aggressive. We hit a few big threes late that put up. They can score a bunch of points on you really quick, and we just continued to try to get rebounds and hit shots in the end. We knew they had a bunch of guys who can score, so we just knew that after they made their run, we would have to make one or two of our own."
December 2, 2009: Magic-Knicks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought we played three really good quarters tonight. Really the middle two quarters, but I thought we played three really good quarters. I'm pretty happy overall. A lot of guys involved, a lot of guys got minutes, different guys. Brandon (Bass) got a lot of minutes; that was good. Good performance, good win and now back out on the road after this long home stand."
On their offense tonight…
"I think tonight was in large part the way we should play. So early in the game they decided not to double-team him (Dwight Howard) and he just went to work. And then as the game went on they came on the double-team every time and we knocked down 3s. So, we didn't shoot the three real well overall but in the third quarter MP (Mickael Pietrus) and Rashard (Lewis) got it going and that's what you hope, to force teams into making decisions and then can take advantage of however they play you. Other than the turnovers I was pretty happy with our offense tonight. But the turnovers have got to come down. And now we go to Golden State, they're the team that forces the most turnovers in the league and we've got to be a little more solid."
On Dwight Howard's involvement in the offense tonight…
"He didn't get a lot of shots but when you add in the 10 free throws and the fact that he didn't play in the fourth quarter, yeah. I know with play calling I'm trying to make more of a conscious effort to get him the ball. I still think we can do a better job with our spacing. I still think he can work at getting the ball in deeper spots where it won't be as easy to double-team him. I still think we can get better but he's been more aggressive, we've gotten him more involved, our players have looked for him more and that's all been good."
On their defense tonight…
"I thought our whole team, the one thing we did a real good job of, at the end of the day their field goal percentage was good because the fourth quarter we sort of shut it down and we didn't really guard in the fourth but until then we had guarded pretty well. I think our whole team was really dialed in on their pick and roll game tonight. The two things they hurt us with were just individual, one-on-one going by us. We didn't guard very well one-on-one and they hurt us on the boards, particularly in the first half. But our pick and roll defense was the best it's ever been against them. I thought we did a very good job rotating over to David Lee on the roll earlier and making that pass little tougher, it's a pass that they've killed us on in the past. So I was pretty happy overall. Now because we were in the paint they got some 3s and knocked them down and hurt us there. But I was happy with the effort our guys made on the pick and roll."
Dwight Howard
(On tonight's inside-out game) "Well you know, that's the way we play. When we play that way, we're at our best, when we play inside-out. It's not always about going into the post but just attacking the basket, kicking it out to the shooters. When we do that, we continue to play well."
"With this Knicks team, their pick-and-roll is their bread-and-butter and we did an excellent job, every body meeting the roll man early, not letting them get the easy passes they usually get. And I think our team is really finally learning each other and the more and more we play together, the more and more we get used to how everybody plays."
"That's the thing. We know that we have a target on our back, everybody's trying to take us down. That's why coming into games, coming into practice, we really just have to go out there and do our jobs the best we can. This team really wants to be great, we practice like it, and that's what really counts, the way you practice. Every day when we get in the gym, we go hard. We do whatever we can to get better. You know we're improving in a lot of different areas and it's going to continue to do if we're to be a great team. And I think this team right here wants nothing but to be the best."
Mickael Pietrus
"I think when we got our defense set, we really go better tonight. And the last 10 games, we'll get a rebound, get some runs, get easy open shots. Tonight we hit the three's and that's what we've been doing."
(On 3rd qtr.) "Tried to get into a better rhythm and try and run the floor."
"Everybody's stayed focus on defense. We've got so many weapons offensively. One night it might not be yours. Defensively, you have to be yours every night."
Rashard Lewis
"It's a good feeling, to get into that rhythm as well as it felt like every time I would catch it, every body's on me to take the shot and that's the kind of rhythm I had. And I was waiting for it to come to me every time in the third quarter, I felt like every shot I was going to take was going to go in."
November 29, 2009: Magic-Knicks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the short time since Orlando's last game:
"That's a first for me…that's the first time I've gotten two wins in 23 ½ hours between the start of one game and till the end of the next."
On the last three wins on the road:
"I thought we worked very hard and the guys played very well, all three nights our defense got better as the night went on."
On the 4th Quarter:
"I thought the third quarter we did a really good job, got a good lead. And then Nate [Robinson] was scoring, but we were scoring on the other end, so we were able to hang. They didn't get any stops, we didn't get any stops. We were up ten, we were in pretty good shape."
On playing the same five guys for whole third quarter:
"I just thought we were on a good run with that group, so I didn't want to change it. I liked being up double figures. I thought it was going good. I wanted to give him some rest, so I took him [Dwight Howard] out with 54 seconds to go, that should help him for Wednesday. But I played him the whole way, I'm just trying to get a win. At that point it's not like you have any fresh people, everyone is tired."
Rashard Lewis
On the first half:
"We were a little tired with heavy legs, that's why in the first we didn't play as well as we should have, but every team plays a back-to-back, so we had no excuse."
On Coach Van Gundy leaving in same five guys for whole third quarter:
"I think he left us out there because we kind of got things rolling. We were able to build the lead, seven to eight point lead. He didn't want to disrupt the rhythm of it."
On getting a win:
"At the end of the day, getting a win is most important. Regardless if you hurt, tired, beat up; once you get that win it kind of relieves everything, takes everything away."
On Nate Robinson:
"He kept the team in the game. He started hitting a lot of shots. He hit a lot of tough shots– with hands in his face, and that's how he is. He's a streaky shooter, he scores in bunches and he did that in the fourth quarter."
Dwight Howard
On assistant Orlando Assistant Coach Patrick Ewing:
"I work on my game constantly, the thing that Patrick [Ewing] brings is somebody to mentor me…not just post moves, but situations off the court, but also what happens on the court. Just me trusting my teammates and me just trying to be a better player for my team."
On Orlando Magic expectations:
"We do have a target [on our back] and every team that we play wants to knock us down. We understand that, so we have to come out here every night with our best effort. We came out tonight a little slow, but picked it up in the second half and got a good win."
On tonight's game:
"Nate [Robinson] was on fire – there was nothing we could do. If they had five more minutes, he would have had 50 points and they would have probably won the game. Nate did an excellent job of coming in the game and making some offense for the team. They are tough team, their offense is very good. They move the ball well, shoot the ball well, their pick and roll is one of the toughest we played against all year. That is one thing we have to work on when we play them again, containing the pick and roll."
November 28, 2009: Magic-Bucks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the second half…)
"We turned it around good and then got up 10. From 15 down to 10 up; they (Milwaukee) just kept fighting back. I'm just happy to get out of here with a win. That team plays very, very hard and with unbelievable energy. We're really lucky to come out of there with a win tonight."
(On Dwight Howard and Orlando's defense…)
"He really turned it on in the second half. He played great, you know, 25 (points) and 20 (rebounds). He was tremendous and we need that. Our defense turned it up in the second half. They only hit four threes after going 7 for 8 in the first half. They shot 36 percent in the second half and only went to the line seven times. Our problem tonight was we turned the ball over too much and I give their defense a lot of credit for that."
(On tonight's game…)
"Having 17 turnovers is taking away scoring opportunities and we came into the game something like fifth in the league in turnovers. We've bunched our turnovers together and let people get back in the game."
Vince Carter
(On tonight's game…)
"You know going into the game that teams are going to bring their "A" game. You've got their high energy and Brandon Jennings was playing unbelievable basketball, but, for us, it was just sustain and weather the storm and find a way to win especially in the second half. I think we did a great job of that."
(On tonight's game…)
"We're very patient and we didn't panic. I can honestly say I've been on teams before where we've panicked and just turned the ball over. If we're down nine or down 12, we're trying to figure out how to get a 10-point play to get back in the game. Instead of just taking it one possession at a time and sticking to your game plan and do what you need to do. The poise of this team and the energy we brought in the second half, I'm just glad we were able to figure it out."
Rashard Lewis
(On playing better in the second half…)
"It all starts at the defensive end. They weren't getting as many easy shots as they were in the first half. We made the pick-and-roll a little bit tougher for them and they weren't getting as many second chance points."
November 26, 2009: Magic-Hawks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"We were like two different teams tonight. In the first half, our starting lineup looked like they didn't even want to play, but our back ups kept us in the game. When our put the starters back in the game, they went through six minutes of sleep walking, and I had to ask them at the half, 'Does anybody actually want to play'? I knew if we wanted it bad enough, we would get thing back together."
"Our defense played pretty good in the second half tonight. That's five straight games we've played pretty good on defense. Dwight (Howard) was absolutely phenomenal in the second half. He was challenging every shot at the rim. He was working hard on the offensive end as well."
Dwight Howard
"I wasn't happy with the way I played in the first half, but I came out in the second half and trusted my teammates. The last couple of games I haven't been aggressive enough. Tonight I just kept asking for the ball, and we played inside out and it was successful for us tonight. It doesn't matter if we're down 20, we continue to fight. I think we're a deep team. Anthony Johnson hasn't played that much until tonight. Tonight he almost played the entire second half, and he played well tonight. This team is not worried about who plays the most minutes, just about winning."
Vince Carter
"I was unhappy with our effort in the first half. Dwight came out in the second and made and impression on the game. When he's in attack mode, we're a different team. Our focus was better in the second half. We were limiting them to one shot, took care of the boards, and the ball. We were a different team in the second half."
November 25, 2009: Magic-Heat Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought we did a good job fighting to get back in the lead in that game, and Vince hit a huge shot and then we got a miss from Wade and nobody rebounds the ball, no block out, no real focus. One rebound right there ends the game. Then obviously we miss the free throws, but that unfortunately will happen. Then we get good defense again on Wade and another guy is untouched to the basket to tip the ball in, so when you don't get a body on either rebounder at the end in a hard-fought game that like you probably deserve to lose. I think the three key things there if you look at in the game is we had 15 turnovers to their eight. We got a nice lead and what let them back in was turnovers. We get outrebounded by seven. They score 17 second-chance points, obviously the last four are second-chance points. And then they make seven more free throws than we do even though we shoot one more free throw than they do. We had eight different guys go to the line and the only guy who doesn't miss a free throw is Ryan at 1-for-1. The turnovers, free throws and then not rebounding the ball – they were better than us in all of those areas and for that reason, they win the game and deserve to."
On the offensive flow of the game…
"I think J-Will was terrific, I thought Ryan had a nice run. Offensively we are not right now getting good enough play out of the guys we really look to – Vince, Rashard and Dwight. I have confidence that they will come along, but that is probably the biggest problem right now. We couldn't makes any twos tonight. We shot threes well, we couldn't make any twos. In the first half, we were 6-for-23 from two. It was just a tough night."
On if the attention paid to Dwyane Wade contributed to the lack of rebounding down the stretch…
"That's what happened on the last two plays as much as anything. Everybody is staring at him and the shot goes up. But Beasley, I think everybody was coming away and he just got behind everyone. The one before, there was no reason we didn't get that rebound. There is just no reason. Quite honestly, I think we were up three, a tip-in and we're still up one. Just not enough sense of urgency on that play. It's too bad, because I thought we defended pretty well most of the night, defended hard, worked hard. We held them to a good percentage. Our offense has been struggling and it struggled again, but mainly because of their defense. We just didn't get it done."
Dwight Howard
"It's over with now. There's nothing we can do about it. We can't get the last 14 seconds back. We just have to go out there tomorrow and play better basketball. I think we did a good job of fighting to back into the game. We just have to make sure we get the defensive rebound."
"It's been tough, I'm getting a little frustrated. I'm going to continue to work, work extremely hard in practice and I know that my hard work will pay off soon. I can see it right now. But I think something is brewing and hopefully whatever it is comes out right when we need it. But for right now, I just need to keep my cool, keep my head on both ends of the floor. Sooner or later it's going to come."
"Tonight, they got a lot of offensive rebounds, especially late in the game. The last four points that they had were offensive rebounds. We just got to continue to do a better job of boxing out."
Vince Carter
(On highs and lows of game)
"You never know, that's why I was able to get over being excited about it. I was happy I made it after I just shot a jump shot six feet closer and it went right over the rim so maybe I had to step back a little farther to make a shot tonight. I was fortunate in order to give us an opportunity to win the game. Satisfaction of making it would have made me happy once the game was over and it actually meant something."
"They are a great defensive team, they make it tough. You just need to be patient, just move the ball around and we got back into the game; gave ourselves a chance to win the game. Got a nice lead and gave up two easy lay-ups at the end of the game that we can't afford. That can't happen if you want to be a championship team. Because all games in the end are going to be like that so we have to learn how to win the game."
(On Jason Williams)
"He shot the ball well. He did take the game, pushed the ball, made plays, knocked down open shots. I feel bad for him because he played that well, he kept us in the game; he kept us close throughout the game. So I wanted him to make those because he deserves to be the man of the hour because he was phenomenal tonight."
Mickael Pietrus
"I didn't see the last play, but it is what it is. I love my money, I love my family, and I love playing basketball. So I don't want to say anything.
November 22, 2009: Magic-Raptors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the play of Jason Williams and JJ Redick…
I thought our guards played extremely well. I think J Will (Williams) went the whole weekend and didn't have a turnover. Two games on the road against good teams and doesn't turn the ball over, that's outstanding basketball. But the big thing is I think our team, we still didn't make shots today, but I think we're really battling hard defensively. I think that has really improved over the last two games. We went into Boston, they were number one in the league in field goal percentage and we held them in the low thirties. We come in today and this team is averaging 107 a game and give them 28 in the first quarter, and then still end up holding them below 100. That to me is what I like. I see us fighting harder and making a better effort defensively.
On Vince Carter stepping up late….
I thought he played real good late. He was driving the ball to the basket, he was trying to get to the free throw line. Both games on the road we put the ball in his hands late and I think he's making pretty solid plays. He'll be the guy that will probably have the ball in those situations, not necessarily to take the shot all the time but to make the plays.
On the lineup that started the fourth quarter…
. I thought the way we played when we had that lineup at the start of the fourth quarter with Jason Williams, JJ (Redick), Pietrus (Mickael), Ryan Anderson and Marcin Gortat, that's not exactly the lineup that everybody writes about when they are writing about the Orlando Magic. That's on the road against a good team and those guys did a great job extending the lead. [They] took the lead to double figures, you can't ask for more than that. I think it's a great job by our bench to have Rashard (Lewis), Vince and Dwight (Howard) all on the bench at the same time, Jameer (Nelson) is out. That really I think says a lot about the other guys on our team and our depth, and our character so I was really happy with that.
J.J. Redick
Thoughts on your game…
I didn't play much Friday night in Boston because of matchups and I knew today I was going to get an opportunity. I knew I was going to get to run and I just got out and wanted to play aggressive.
Thoughts on the success of the lineup in the fourth quarter without Dwight Howard, Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis…
I think that our bench is deep. We missed Vince (Carter) and Rashard (Lewis) for several games early in the year. We've played with that lineup before and we've been successful. So I wasn't surprised at all to see us make that run in the fourth. I don't think there was a drop off, it wasn't like we looked around and said holy crap we don't have an All-Star on the floor. We just went out and played like that group had been successful before.
Was that the pivotal point where your group extended the lead?
I think so. They got off to that early lead in the second quarter and there was a point in the game if we didn't lock in defensively we might have got blown out. We locked in and got back in the game. The other pivotal point was the beginning of the fourth.
Vince Carter
I don't know why they are booing me to be honest with you, but it is all good. I enjoy playing in that atmosphere and I enjoy coming back here and playing and just being part of this. It was a misconception of the entire thing. This is where it all started.
Did you know the boos where coming?
It is not a guessing game. If it is going to happen it is going to happen. I still come to play every day and do what I have to do. It's fun.
What changed for you in the second half?
The first half was a rough one. I was trying to be aggressive and get to the paint, just make plays and make the referees decide what is what. I think I was just a little overly aggressive, just playing a little too fast. I was just trying to get there but not really playing under control. Second half when I changed my shoes I was okay. They were a little too blue. My shoes in the first half were all blue and I changed them back to the black ones, the old faithful that I wore in Boston.
November 20, 2009: Magic-Celtics Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Re: Gritty game: "We played a great first quarter. We shot the ball well we moved the ball well. Played a really good first quarter, but after that we really struggled. Getting good shots shots and making shots. They were very physical. We really struggled. They made a big run at us in the second quarter. We answered with a very good third quarter and they brought it back to a tie. And we closed it out well. But we showed a lot of toughness and resolve tonight. So did they. Neither team shot the ball well. It was a hard faught game. Not a smooth offensive game. And we were fortunate to come out on top. I liked the way our guys fought in that game.
Re: Went to Vince: "Not exploiting, I said that when we got Vince. Against great defenses down tthe stretch it is sometimes hard to free people up, you gotta have a guy, a Paul Pierce, a Vince Carter, a Dwayne Wade, Lebron James. Someone who can get a shot against a good defense. Vince can get off a pretty good quality shot all the time an at least you will have a chance even if the defense is good.
Re: "Defense in last two minutes: I thought we fought really hard. When they got back I the game we had very bad break downs on pick and roll coverage defensively. They still had a lot of shots they could make. There aren't going to be too many games Rasheed goes 0-8 he had some very good looks out there from 3 and didn't knock them down. You have to be realistic, it was a heard fought game, but you got to have some breaks too. You need them to miss some shots they would normally make.
Re: Dwight: "I thought he was great tonight. I didn't probably go to him enough. To be honest first half we had it rolling, there was no reason to slow it down and go to the post in the first quarter. And then when we got in the second half. We had so many turnovers trying to get the ball in the post. It wasn't that I didn't think he could get the job done, we couldn't get the ball intot he post without turning it over. So I went away from it. And I think it shows a lot that he stayed with it and continued to get on the boards and play good defense and everything else.
Re: Win on the road. "I think that is the first one of those we had. I think we showed real good competitive toughness. They really hung in there tonight. Those kinds of wins make me happier then the ones where you're knocking the ball in there and everything is going smoothly. Because as I told the team every team in this league I s capable of getting it going and having a great night, and anyone can win on those nights. I think what sets apart the better teams is that they can win when they aren't having their best night. And I think both teams tonight were struggling offensively, but both teams fought in the end of the game. And we were just fortunate we made a couple more shots than they did.
Rashard Lewis
Re: When things aren't dropping but still able to win: "Coach is always telling us that when things aren't dropping on the offensive end, we gotta play defense. And we did a really good job on the defensive end tonight. The defense kept us in the game. We were able to make some defensive stops at the end. They are one of the best defensive teams in the league and we know we are going to have to come out and play defense.
Re: Big loss to clevelend: "This is a big game for us, a conference booster. But at the same time Cleveland came in on our court and took total control of the game from the start, I thought our guys didn't play well on the defensive end or the offensive end. You can't do both. You got to at least go out there and play some defense. We didn't do that against CLE.
Re: Vince: "He is the guy we went to pretty much the whole game. Went to him on pick and rolls. We thought he had a mismatch on the post. He came up big with some big shots.
Re: Wide open conference: "Yeah, it shows you the eastern conference is better. It is still early in the season. Teams are still continuing to get better. We are still getting better. It is a tough conference.
Vince Carter
Re: Big guy makes the shot at anytime… reason brought you here: "Yeah I guess so. I mean I don't put any pressure on myself, I am just thankful that I was able to come to a great team and that the early point of the season they have the confidence in me. Whether it is putting it in the basket or trying to find the right guys. I am just glad I was able t o deliver.
Re: 29 shots: "No. I didn't really realize. I think just in the course of the game. The plays kept coming back to back to back. In this kind of basketball game you don't want to let down. It would have been great to make 29 shots, make some of the layups I missed. I missed like 4 of them. All that matters is getting the win. We knew it was going to be a heard fought game regardless. We knew they were going to make a run, they play well here. So it is can we sustain and perserview. Espeiclaly in the fourth quarter.
November 18, 2009: Magic-Thunder Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the team's performance:
"That was a good game to see right there. I thought we came with a lot of energy right from the get-go and sustained it pretty darn well for three quarters. We had a brief low really early in the third but we played three quarters with very, very good energy at both ends of the court so really happy with that. I thought Vince really went on the attack tonight and was very aggressive offensively. I thought MP's defense on Durant was outstanding. I thought our team defense helping was a lot better. I thought Rashard got going and he got on the boards he did a lot of things tonight. We had a lot of guys play well and a lot guys play with real good energy. That's the No. 1 thing and that's what I told them that's what we're looking for. Some nights the ball may not go in as well, but we just need a consistent energy. That was a good step and now we need to make sure we can sustain that do that consistently."
On ball movement:
"Our ball movement was good. I think the energy and ball movement go hand-in-hand. If we're playing at a pace where we're a little harder to guard, I mean when we're walking up and down the floor and not moving our bodies, you're not going to get space on the floor and you're not going to make good plays. I thought our energy was a lot better tonight and I think that accounted for it."
On Mickael Pietrus' performance:
"I think the biggest thing with MP defensively is he's playing much more disciplined than say a year ago. He's not leaving his feet on shot fakes as much, he's not going for steals reaching and giving guys lanes to the basket. He's staying in front of people, he's staying down and he's making people make tough shots. He's working very, very hard, which he's always worked hard defensively, he's just been a lot more disciplined this year. I thought in the whole game, he really set a good tone on Durant early and gave him nothing easy. He ran up and down the floor very well. He's an outstanding open 3-point shooter, particularly from the corner. We don't think he shoots enough of them quite honestly, there's times he passes it up. We're really happy with the way he played."
On the team's energy throughout the game:
"I just thought there were a lot of those kinds of plays tonight where guys set the tone. Dwight had a big block early on Westbrook going to the basket, Vince had the save. We were in on the boards. I was real happy with everything Vince did at both ends of the floor but I don't want to single out one guy (for) the energy, I thought as a team we brought a great energy to the game tonight and the challenge for us will be to make that consistent. You're going to have good nights and bad but the energy and effort should be consistent and that will be our challenge."
Jason Williams
"I just get out and ran; hope guys will run out there with me."
"I think we played pretty good team defense. We rebounded the ball pretty good and got out on the break."
"Teams aren't able to load up on Dwight when we're running and getting out on the break as opposed to slowing down to half-court. They're geared towards Dwight."
(On 0 turnovers for pt. guards in 1ast half)
"Just making the smart decisions and making the right passes."
Rashard Lewis
(On just missing triple-double)
"I didn't even notice until I got the bench and the guys told me that I needed one assist. And I was like, 'Seriously?' I've never had a triple-double in my life, in my career. So that would have been good to get it. But more importantly we got the win."
"I knew that we were winning by a lot and then when they cut it down to 20, he looked at us and told us, 'Start getting loose 'cuz if it gets too close, he's going to put us back in.' I mean if I had gone back in, I would have gone for it. But at the same time, I felt like some of the guys on bench need to get some minutes."
"I felt better than I did the first game. Still a little tired, legs still felt a little heavy but I felt overall I felt a lot better."
Ryan Anderson
"Today, really in the first half, we shut their guys down. We did a good job, we went through their schemes in walk-through and I think we did a job pulling it off during the game."
"It's really important for us to get out and play defense like we did tonight. We just had a great effort tonight."
November 16, 2009: Magic-Bobcats Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On their defense tonight…
"Well the first half was terrible. The first half was 63 percent, 52 points, 28 points in the paint. But the second half we held them to 40 percent and 39 points and defended pretty well. So, it improved in the second half and that's what turned the game around and got a win."
On what is bothering him… "There is nothing really bothering me. I mean it was good win to get I just, I guess I'm just waiting to see us play well."
On the play of their bench players tonight…
"I thought Ryan (Anderson) and Brandon (Bass) in particular gave us a really good lift. I thought that when we went up double figures was when they were in the game and I thought those two guys gave us a really good lift tonight and played very, very well, played very well together out on the court. I thought those two young guys were very good tonight."
On lack of shot attempts by Vince Carter tonight…
"Well, you know what I didn't go to him much. He's shooting the ball well, I would like to go to him more, but I want him to attack and make plays. And he really hasn't been doing that for whatever reason. I mean its just been jump shots. So, we can get jump shots but I want to get them from the inside out. And so, I thought Jameer might attack a little bit more so I didn't really go to Vince a lot, so that's why he didn't get too many shots, that was me more than anything. But I wanted to put more pressure on the basket."
On the play of Rashard Lewis tonight…
"Well, he actually had his good moments I thought playing with the second unit big guys, playing the three-spot and getting down in the post. Which has been a good thing for him in other games where he has struggled, you know, is to get down in the post and go to work. And he did a good job down there and had a nice little run down there and that was good. He had a drive from the top of the key. He did some good things. I know that he can play a lot better than he did tonight, so it's positive to have him back and get a win."
Vince Carter
(On his last basket)
"He (Van Gundy) ran a play for me just to make a play and the clock was down and I was just trying to take my time. I've never been afraid to take the big shot or take a shot of any kind. Just took my time and there weren't many places to go. So once I got my feet set, I was still kind of off-balance. Got it up and tried to take a normal shot."
(On his 2 shots attempts in 2nd half)
"It's in the flow of the game. There was a lot going on. Rashard was getting a lot of good looks because of the teams showing extremely hard, trying to get Dwight, and duck-ins off the pick-and-roll with me. So he put the ball in my hands, it's just the other opportunities were there."
Rashard Lewis
"Actually I felt fine condition-wise. My legs did obviously, got a little tired; they felt heavy, felt like there wasn't any lift in my jump shots. It'll come with the rhythm, the speed of the game. I was happy with the minutes I got tonight to try and get back into the rhythm."
"We've got a lot of new guys on this team and we'll gel eventually. The most important thing is getting wins and we're 8-3 and as long as we get a 'W,' we should start playing well soon."
(On his 3rd qtr.)
"I think just catching up with the rhythm of the game and taking my time and not rushing my shots. And they were shorter shots for me. But early in the game, I felt like I was kind of rushing the 3-point ball and didn't have any legs into it so I was shooting kind of flat."
Ryan Anderson
(On defensive changes for the 2nd half)
"We went over stats. We really didn't change much. We just needed to own up and really just guard your man. We really didn't do that in the first half. So we did a great job of rotating in the next half."
November 13, 2009: Magic-Nets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"Well it was nice to play a team that was more depleted than we were. And, I liked what we did defensively; I thought Dwight (Howard) in particular was very, very good at the defensive end. Brook Lopez is a very good player and didn't look like it tonight I think in large part because of Dwight's defensive effort, plus he blocked five shots and then Matt (Barnes) did a great job on the defensive glass for us, so I thought it was a better defensive effort overall and it was particularly with those two guys. Offensively, obviously we're still struggling, I thought we did some good things getting the ball to Dwight in the paint deep, in the first half, but we're just not shooting the ball well at all right now and because of that people are able to pack the paint on Dwight. And, until we get back to shooting the ball it's going to be hard to get room in there. So offensively we weren't as good as we should be but I like the effort defensively particularly in the second half. I don't care who you're playing in this league, to hold them to 30 points is good."
On if everyone will be healthy and ready to play on Monday…
"Well we'll see. Matt (Barnes) has a finger thing, so we'll see if he's still there too. He got a pretty good injury on that finger tonight so we'll see what happens. I don't know who will be there on Monday. This is the way this season's gone so far I'm not going to try and guess so, we're going to practice tomorrow and see who's there we'll practice whoever can practice. Same thing on Sunday and then we'll play on Monday with whoever's available. But yeah, at some point I'd like to start playing where we can feel like we're moving forward, playing the way we're going to have to play in the long run."
On the energy of Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson tonight…
"Well I thought tonight Dwight was excellent. I thought he was excellent, and you know Jameer (Nelson) was OK, he was OK, but I thought Dwight was really into it. Blocking shots, really playing Lopez tough, I thought that was good and I thought he did a good job on the offensive end of the floor too so I thought it was a good night. Had we been able to make some free throws and things I think that we could've maybe opened it up a little earlier. I also thought we got real good energy, J-Will (Jason Williams) had a nice little run there where I thought he really, really helped us. I thought our bench did a good job and really helped us. Marcin (Gortat) he had a couple real nice defensive plays to sort of ignite us in transition. So, I thought there were some good things tonight in terms of effort."
On the play of Matt Barnes tonight…
"I thought he was very active. I thought he and Dwight at the defensive end sort of keyed everything. I thought his rebounding more than anything was important but he had some good cuts and good drives on the offensive end. You know, five assists, getting the ball down into Dwight in the post. He did, he did a lot of little things, actually not even little, they're big, big things when you're rebounding and passing like that, that really, really helped us tonight."
November 11, 2009: Magic-Cavaliers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"We got obviously badly outplayed, hopefully that will end up being a good game for us and we will start to learn something. The main thing to learn out of it is, and JJ (Redick) said it in the locker room, he was the first one to speak up in the locker room and he was absolutely right, we've got to be honest with ourselves, we're not very good right now. Forget all the excuses and everything else, to a man, and as a group, and as a coaching staff – I mean, no question, I didn't have anything tonight either, we're just not very good. And that could be a very good starting point if we're honest enough and we quit with all the excuses and we quit with thinking that it's just going to come as you go – then maybe we'll start making some improvement because it was just broken record again tonight. No defense, no rebounding, not a whole lot of effort and we just don't defend and we don't play hard enough. That's where it all starts; there's a lot of other things, but until you're going to try and guard and until you play hard enough, as hard as the teams you play against, you're going be in trouble, and that's where we are right now. I think it's hard for guys in there to admit that. I didn't get any argument when we talked about it in there. They I think understand, but it's one thing to understand and another to do something about it so we'll see what happens from here. We got absolutely, totally outplayed, and I said this a while ago, I said it when our record was pretty good last week, and I talk so much everybody just writes it off to ranting and raving, but I said we're not nearly as good as Boston, Cleveland and Miami. We're not in the same league with those teams right now. There's not one of the those teams that if we started now, thankfully we don't, we have 73 games, but if we played a playoff series right now there's not one of those teams that we could be competitive against right now in a playoff series. So, we've got to start there and start understanding why we win when we do and get to that. That's what it's going to come down."
On if he's surprised by the team's lack of effort…
"Surprised? I'm not now, not anymore because every night I pretty much see a lack of effort. I don't mean a total lack of effort, you have to be somewhat realistic, it's not like guys are out there not trying at all, but look, over time now and it hasn't been real long, it's been nine games, defensive numbers don't lie. I mean, we won last year and we started training camp talking about why we won. We won because of our defense. People get wrapped up in our shooting and everything else; we won because of our defense. This group right now, my opinion, thinks that we win with our offense and so we don't play any defense. Our defensive numbers are one of the worst defensive teams in the league right now and we're not going to win a lot of games doing that. So, if that doesn't change we're not going to be very good. If it does change, then we have a chance to be good. But, it's not about Rashard (Lewis) being hurt, it's not about Ryan (Anderson) being hurt. Maybe we score a few more points, but I don't think that's going to make a significant difference defensively. It's got to start to me, with Jameer (Nelson) and Dwight (Howard). I mean, Dwight is having trouble having double-figure rebounding games right now. I mean, the guy averaged 14 a game last year. Go check the numbers the last five or six games, he's not rebounding, he's blocked one shot in the last three games. Jameer now has had, look, people have big nights, but it's Russell Westbrook, (Raymond) Felton and Mo Williams. It's got to start with those guys, and that's not to put it all on them, but I've told them that too so it's nothing I'm saying behind their back, it's two returning guys, captains, guys that know your system, guys that are supposed to be leaders, it's got to start with them. It's not all them, but it's got to start with them. But it's got to be everybody, and I don't know, I just don't see it right now."
On how they can begin to address the problems on defense…
"For me and what we do, it has to be a continued emphasis and something we work on every single day. We haven't, and it's starting to hurt us a little bit at that end; also, we haven't worked on any offense in a long time. We're in a stretch that has hurt us a little bit in that we're not practicing enough but that's my part; I ultimately, it's my responsibility, particularly at the defensive end. I think that, and I've always thought and this is just a personal thing, that if your team is not playing hard enough and not defending then that's an indictment of you as a coach. And, that's the way I look at it right now, I'm not getting the job done. My team is not guarding and so it starts with me, and it's a lot of work in practice but then there has to be something there, some competitiveness and some fire and some desire to stop and everything else."
J. J. Redick
On what was said in the locker room…
"I think I just said something that needed to be said. I think everybody here is frustrated with the way we've played the last few games. Our effort hasn't been good. I think we can be really good but right now we're not very good. I think we have to be realistic and come Friday with a worker's mentality."
"That's definitely a fair assessment, our defense hasn't been good. Our defense is something we hung our hat on last year and that's the reason we made it as far as we did. We were in the top 10 or 12 in the league in every statistical category. It wasn't our offense last year that got us into the Finals."
"We're a different team. We're missing some guys, and we got some new guys. Games aren't played on paper so we've got to figure things out. We got to put everybody into the system and really we've got to start getting better."
Jameer Nelson
"I'm not into judging with what's going on. But I know that we have to have more defensive focus. Every body sees it, it's not a secret. We've got to buckle down defensively and get tougher."
"I know a lot of things fall on me and Dwight. We accept the challenge and we need to step it up. It's not just one or two individuals; it's everybody, to a man."
Vince Carter
(On Rashard's return)
"It gives us another player, another body, another guy who can shoot the ball, another great team defender. Getting a full roster back is really going to upgrade us."
(On J. J.'s remarks)
"Yeah, he's right. We're not playing great basketball right now. For us to win and to be as good as we want it, we have to want it and we have to go get it."
(On what it starts with)
"Each individual, commitment. Continue to build something. So whenever we decide as a unit that enough is enough and it's time to be one of the elite teams, you'll see it. Vocal or not, it's understood."
November 10, 2009: Magic-Bobcats Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On Vince Carter playing tonight)
"He didn't go through the walk-through with us and I got the word this afternoon that it was official he was not playing. I was doing the boards (before the game) and Vince came in and said he was going to give it a shot. I was totally surprised. He made the decision, not me. He had a good run taking the lead up from four to 11 in the fourth quarter."
(On Brandon Bass)
He played a really good first quarter. I think that was key getting us off to a good start. They were trying to load up on Dwight (Howard) so it gave him open shots up by the free-throw line. He played a great first quarter."
(On playing Marcin Gortat and Dwight Howard together)
"The pros of them both being on the floor is protecting the basket. At that point your interior offense and defense should be great. Marcin has a pretty good idea on how to play off Dwight."
Magic guard Vince Carter
(On coming off the bench being his decision)
"I wasn't in shootaround. I didn't want to disrupt what was going on, especially since I wasn't out there."
(On the team's potential)
"If we want to be the team that people are talking about and perceive us to be, we have to go out there and prove it. It's not just going to happen."
Magic center Dwight Howard
(On the team's potential)
"I think we have the right team to win the championship. It's on us to go out there every night and give the maximum effort to get a championship."
(On whether going to the Finals last season will help this season)
"I think if we get a chance to get back (to the Finals), we'll be more experienced and have a better outcome."
Magic guard J.J. Redick
(On the team's playoff chances)
"It's too early to tell. We've got to get healthy. We've got to get everybody back and incorporate Rashard (Lewis), an all-star, back into the lineup. It's a long season."
November 8, 2009: Magic-Thunder Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On tonight's game:
"We are more predicated on shooting, we have no defensive toughness and right now we aren't a very good team. The Thunder are much better than us right now. They would have beat us if we had everybody. They play much harder than we do. They would of have beat us here or in our place. We are just not as tough as they are right now. We are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and it showed tonight. We are a white collar team right now and those teams won't win on the road."
On thunder defense:
"They play very hard defensively. They play with great intensity and that is the way I would like to see our team play."
Improvement of the Thunder:
"Like I said before the game, their roster is better and their defense has pick up. Teams that play harder have a better chance to win and they are playing a lot harder on the defensive end. I think they have a good roster and it fits together very well. They have a great nucleus of Durant, Green Westbrook and Sefolosha. They have toughness off the bench in Thomas and Collision that want to do the dirty work. Ollie and Harden also fit in nicely. They have toughness to go with there great players and we have to find that toughness."
Jameer Nelson:
On the loss and struggling on defense: "It is a tough loss but it is early in the season. We have to shift our attention from the offense to the defense. We have to focus more and hustle on the defensive end. We can't use struggling on offense as an excuse."
On if injuries are a factor in the team's play: "There's no question it's a factor, but we can't use that as an excuse. We have to play with who we have and keep hustling. We will get better, it is still early in the season."
Matt Barnes:
On the loss:
"Any time you give up over 100 points there is something wrong. It is tough playing without three of the guys that are major contributors. But that gives people opportunities to step up and play. Tonight was one of those nights we didn't get it done."
On if the team is more concerned about offense or defense: "It has got to be defense, giving up 56 percent field goals. They play well at home and the crowd got behind them and got the momentum and made a run. Early in the third they kind of put us away. It is early in the season and we have a lot to work on defensively. I think this is still a very talented team and we are going to do really well."
November 6, 2009: Magic-Pistons Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"Happy to get a win, we had very few people. Ryan went down with the injury, then we had three guys with four fouls by the end of the third quarter so we're a little thin right now to say the least. Especially when we're in foul trouble, but the foul trouble is out of hand. We're not playing smart enough, we didn't play enough defense, and I thought we had too many minutes where we were just hanging on to win a regular season game, we weren't really making a big push to be great. What saved us is that I thought Dwight made great plays against the double team and got us some good shots, hit it out on the cut a couple of times. We made some plays there and hung on but we still have a long ways to go. Defensively, I'd like see us make a more consistent effort and we're just not doing it, or we can't do it, I don't know we'll find out."
Depth of Bench:
"Well we're not deep when you don't have any people. You can say you're deep but we ended the game with eight guys, that's not very deep. We will have AJ back on Sunday, Vince is a maybe, we don't know about Ryan, I don't know what we'll have. That's not the issue, we have no control over that. We can play better and defend better with eight guys, we can, that's the issue to me. I have no control over guys getting hurt. We do have control over the foul trouble, we have to work on that, we have a lot to work on. Right now my biggest question is whether or not we're serious about being a great team, right now we look pretty content to cruise along and do enough to hang on to win an early, regular season game and I'm not happy with that."
Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes Performance:
"Big shots, I thought big shots and a huge offensive rebound from Matt that let to Brandon's baseline shot and then Matt hit a big shot, he had some cuts, he had free throws. I thought we did a really good job, because we couldn't guard them at all so we needed to make plays on the offensive end and we did."
Physical Nature of the Game:
"We're not good in the physical game. We need to get a lot tougher, we need to get a lot tougher."
Ryan Anderson Injury Update:
"We'll know more in the morning. He's got a sprain, a sprained ankle. He didn't break anything or anything like that, he's got a sprain and we'll find out."
Gameplay After the First Quarter:
"We didn't play well, I thought our bench came in and did not play well and when our starters came back in the second quarter they did not play well you know again, I felt pretty content to try to hang on and win a regular season game."
Jameer Nelson
On their play tonight…
"We've got to be better defensively, that's the main thing. Coach keeps saying that's the main thing, we've got to get better defensively."
On dealing with injuries to the roster…
"There's no excuse for anything, we don't make excuses at all. We put five guys out there at a time and we expect those five guys to do their job. Obviously we know what happened tonight, they scored easy. We've got to take more pride in our defense, one-on-one and as a team. We won the game, and it was a good win, it's a win. It went in the w-column but at the same time we know what we've got to work on things to get better, defensively. I know we won the game, I know we have things to work on. I'm not content, but it's a win."
Brandon Bass
On losing their depth…
"Everybody's just got to step up. Rashard (Lewis) was out and Ryan (Anderson) stepped up. So the next person just has to step up and I think we'll be all right."
On fitting in with the team and his role…
"I think everything is coming along, at its own pace, but it's going to come around. I definitely got to work on defense and our defensive coverages and how we want to play different things. I've got to get better with that. And bring more energy into the game when I get in. It's reads and being active and playing with energy and playing hard."
J.J. Redick
On their tendency as a team to get into foul trouble…
"That's a weakness. Guys have been in foul trouble every game pretty much, we put the other team on the line too much and our offense doesn't work when we're walking the ball up the floor after free throws. It just doesn't work that good, it's tough to get into a flow offensively if we're fouling every time down the floor."
On how starting has helped him gain an offensive rhythm…
"I think, with the exception of tonight, it's been better being in a rhythm and again I was saying earlier I don't feel like I have to be anybody else I just have to be me. I'm not replacing Vince (Carter) or trying to be like Vince, Vince is one of the best players in the league. So, I'm just trying to make the offense work, be a ball mover and take shots that are there."
November 4, 2009: Magic-Suns Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought that was a very good bounce back for us after a game we were all very unhappy with last night. I thought that maybe it's the first time in these five games where I thought we played well at both ends of the floor. They still ended up with 100 points, but based on who we were playing and what we had to play against, I thought we did a very good job defensively. Much better than we have all year, and offensively, other than the one stretch in each the second and third quarters where we were shooting the ball too quickly and not moving the ball I thought, but probably for 42 or 44 of the 48 minutes we moved the ball well offensively. I thought we got some good efforts from guys who played very poorly last night – Jameer, Dwight didn't really get to play much last night, I thought those guys bounced back and played very well. Great effort out of Matt tonight again. Ryan was tremendous – you know, one of the things with a young player you sort of always wonder is, he had his first real bad night, at least for us, last night, and I said before the game I was curious to see how he would respond after last night, and not only shooting the ball the way he did but seven offensive rebounds, I think his response was pretty good for a 21-year-old guy coming off of missing 10 3's last night. That was a good sign – a lot of good signs tonight, our best overall effort, very happy with it."
On if he is worried about ever getting his whole team together again…
"The only thing you ever really worry about is you would like to obviously be developing some continuity and sort of a rotation and guys getting used to playing with each other, and we're just not able to do that. And that's a little bit of a setback, but there's nothing you can do about it, so there's no sense worrying about it. The same thing with Rashard's suspension that we've said all along is that as much as you don't like these things to happen, there always is a silver lining and the silver lining is a lot of other guys are getting a lot of minutes, and that has got to help them down the road. But you would like to start, we would really like to start getting our lineups and rotations together, but what are we going to do? We haven't been able to."
On the Magic's defense…
"I thought our defense was pretty good. The problem with Phoenix is they create so many problems, particularly in their pick-and-roll game with Nash and Stoudemire, and then they put shooting around them that; you can be playing pretty good defense and looking pretty bad at times. It's a little bit tough to judge – they made some plays on us, we certainly made some mistakes, but the thing with Phoenix is they make you pay for virtually every mistake you make. But I thought we played them, and their pick-and-rolls in particular, better than we've played anybody's pick-and-rolls all year. I thought it was our best defensive game. I thought we were more committed and made more good defensive plays, so I thought it was a good step forward."
Dwight Howard
(On his foul trouble)
"Yeah, I was a little frustrated but I kept on playing. That's all I can do is keep playing."
(On getting 3rd technical)
"No, it's not a concern. I mean, I get a tech, I can't do nothing about it. It's going for a good cause."
"We had a very bad game in Detroit and we bounced back. After the game, we were in the locker room talking about what we needed to do to get back on track and everybody made a concentrated effort on coming back so I think we did a good job."
Ryan Anderson
"You just got to bounce back. I think that's what makes the NBA what it is. I mean you might have an off shooting night, but the great thing is that you have the next day. You have the next day to come back and build your confidence back up. My teammates maintained confidence in me and they didn't lose anything in me even though I shot the ball terribly the last game. They're still passing it to me and I played my game tonight. It was fun, fun when you play like that."
"Night in and night out, I can't really control if my shot's going to go in or not. Last night, it felt great, it just wasn't falling. Like I said, everyone's going to have nights like that. Maybe not that drastic but everybody's going to have good nights and bad nights. So I just try and focus on next game and tomorrow, which was the game tonight. I think the NBA's a lot of highs and lows, highs and lows. I'm glad to redeem myself someway and glad we got the win most of all."
Mickeal Pietrus
"I got myself ready. I got myself ready like usual and we finally got a win and that's what's important tonight."
"Actually I came into the gym this morning for two hours and tried to learn my game. I think that it's about team. We bounced back and after we lost last night and found a way to fight through it and beat the Suns."
November 3, 2009: Magic-Pistons Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the Magic)
"There were only two guys that played decently and they were Jason Williams and Matt (Barnes) and I only played Jason 14 minutes. That's bad on my part too, we didn't play together and we forced play after play after play. I don't think we defended badly, other then the fact that we fouled constantly. We just didn't make very good plays, didn't make good decisions, forced plays, didn't shoot well when we did get shots. It was just a very bad night all the way around."
(On their three-pointers)
"We didn't have a lot to do. We only had Dwight (Howard) for 17 minutes, so we couldn't go to the post. Vince (Carter) was really unable to attack. He made some shots, but we were running pick-and-roll for him and he didn't take the ball to the basket a single time. I don't think he felt comfortable on that ankle, and Jameer (Nelson) had a nightmare. He couldn't dribble the ball more than two times without losing it. Our game is the ball has to move. I don't care who's in there and the ball didn't move tonight, I thought we probably took more bad shots tonight than we have in the first three games combined. I think you have to give their defense a lot of credit; a lot of credit."
Orlando Point Guard Jameer Nelson:
(On the game)
"We tried to force things offensively and we didn't play our game as a team, we tried to hit a homerun, we tried to do things individually. We definitely missed Dwight, but we still had our opportunity and we still had our chances. I think if we stayed a little more poised than we did down the stretch, then it could have been a little different."
(Poor 3-Point Shooting)
"Just make solid plays, I came down the stretch and lost the ball a couple times, when you have a guy like Bynum and the way they were getting to the line, you definitely want to minimize your turnovers as much as you can. The thing is we're learning and the good thing is about the NBA that you have another game tomorrow and in this case it's a great thing."
November 1, 2009: Magic-Raptors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Thoughts on game….
If you're a fan that (game) was a lot of fun, there was a lot of points. That was two good offensive teams who can spread the floor out and who have weapons inside that are tough to guard. Both teams were very, very difficult to guard today. I thought our guys did a very good job, and I thought that we were very tired. J.J (Redick) played 45 minutes, Matt (Barnes) played 40 against a team that you are running around on and I thought we were sucking wind a little bit there. But we hung on and got the job done. When they got the lead cut down we made some big plays. I thought that everybody we played played well. All five guys in the starting lineup, had great games. What we said before that game was the tendency tends to be when you are missing people, people try to do too much and we said you have to play your own game. You can't play Vince's (Carter) game or anything else but you have to play your game at a very high level and those guys did… They (Toronto Raptors) played very well. That's the thing. The thing I look at is it's not like they can walk into the locker room and say well we just didn't have it today. They shot the hell out of the ball, their main three guys all played great and we were still able to come out with the road win.
It's a career night tonight for J.J. Redick…
Well it's probably a career night with 45 minutes. He really stepped up for us tonight and played great. We've seen it before, he did it in the playoffs last year, game 6 at Philly. With guys out he stepped in as a starter all throughout the Boston series. I've said it all along he's a guy you can trust and count on. He's not normally going to get 45 minutes but he played great, great basketball. Six rebounds and five assists and he had five rebounds at New Jersey. He's a tough guy who will get in and throw his body around. It's just somebody as a coach you really like and can really trust.
Dwight Howard
How is your shoulder?
It was very painful for me. I just tried to get some ice on it and do what I could. It still hurt throughout the game when I came back, but thank god that it was not anything serious.
What happened with you and Chris Bosh?
It is over with now. We are just trying to pound the ball inside and get to the free throw line. It was the heat of the moment, it is over with and you can't do anything about it now.
Is that the kind of foul you are accustomed to Chris Bosh delivering?
I am accustomed to getting fouled. Does it hurt sometimes, yes. I just try to not retaliate but sometimes it does get frustrating. It is not who it is. I just try my best to not allow it to affect my game.
Ryan Anderson
Big game missing some key pieces…
I don't think that anybody has to step up and fill a Vince (Carter) role and be super aggressive and score because of course our main emphasis is getting it into Dwight (Howard) anyways. Luckily he was healthy tonight so we could get it down to him and feed the offense through him. Everybody did a great job, everybody stuck to their roles and we have so many weapons. We keep going back to what we keep saying, that we have so many guys that can do things. Our bench did a great job, guys stepped up who may have not played as much. Everybody was ready to play today and we came out and played really well together as a unit even without those guys. I think that is a key thing for us because obviously throughout the season people are going to get hurt and we have great guys that can step up and fill in that role.
October 30, 2009: Magic-Nets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the game)
"We had to play with some different lineups tonight. I thought we faced some adversity, we had to grind it out, we did it with our defense, we didn't shoot the ball well. We didn't have Vince, we had Jameer for very little of the first half. I like what we did tonight fighting to get that one out. Our two young foremen I thought did a hell of a job; we got 29 points out of that position tonight, that's outstanding. Dwight was unbelievable, 20 points, 22 rebounds. I really like his maturity, in the past at times we've had issues they would double team him in the second half and he wasn't getting many shots, but at times when he's not getting the ball on the offensive end it has affected his defensive intensity, but tonight not at all. I thought he really took the game over defensively in the second half.
Ryan Anderson
(On the Magic as a team and organization)
"We have a team full of unselfish guys, but we still put the ball in the hoop. It is just a great organization to be a part of."
(On being back in New Jersey)
"It was kind of weird. You build a relationship with the fans, your teammates and coming back creates a different feeling. It does feel good to come back and get a win. Its nice to play for a winning organization, not that New Jersey wasn't trying, but we were rebuilding and we were kind of feeling each other out. At this time last year it was a different atmosphere, but it is great to be back and see some old faces and people who supported me."
(On Vince Carter)
"Vince is just a great player…A great leader. We really need him because he has so much experience and he demands so much attention on the court.
Vince Carter
(On being injured during the game)
"It is not disappointing. We still won. It is never disappointing when you win."
(On when he expects to be back from his sprained left ankle)
"I heal like a young guy so I'll be good tomorrow. Hopefully Sunday though. I'm feeling better, I'm walking better."
(On the reception of the crowd coming back to New Jersey and playing against former teammates)
"It is always good to come in and be appreciated. It was good to get back out there. We are trying to accomplish something but we always enjoy playing with guys that you battled with the year before. It was a weird feeling though, I will say that.
Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On if the season was a complete disappointment:
“There are all kinds of good things. Ultimately, we were not successful but that does not mean there were not good things along the way. I think the best thing you can probably say is that our organization has come far enough and we have reached a level that going to Game 6 of the Conference Finals is not a success. I think that’s the best thing you can say about our organization. We are one of a very small group of teams that genuinely has the expectations of trying to win a championship. For those teams, that is the only success. It makes it hard to finish in anything other than disappointment. You have to be No. 1 out of 30; No. 2 won’t do it or anything else. At the same time, I think that is a good thing that our organization has reached that level.”
More Van Gundy Quotes | Video Interview
General Manager Otis Smith
On what kind of process he will go through to improve the team in the offseason:
“I think you are in the process now, I don’t think you’re not in the process. You’re always in the process of trying to get better, so you’re going to adjust certain things but the process really never stops to be real honest with you. You’re always trying to get your team better. With that said, we are always evaluating our roster, always trying to get better, always trying to get a team on the floor that gives us the best opportunity to win a title.”
More Smith Quotes | Video Interview
Dwight Howard:
On the season not finishing the way you wanted:
On how close the team is:
“We were six games away, so that’s pretty close. We were right there with what we had. People may say it was a failure but there are not a lot of teams that get back to the Eastern Conference Finals two years in a row. Not a lot of teams to that. There are a lot of positives that came out of this season. We didn’t get our main goal but we accomplished a lot of things so like I said, there is no need to hang our heads or be mad at the world. We didn’t finish the right way but this season I think we learned a lot about ourselves. I think me and Jameer grew as leaders this year and we are just looking forward to next season.”
More Howard Quotes | Video Interview
Jameer Nelson:
On being fully healthy in the playoffs:
“It means a lot. Any time you can recover from any type of surgery, because all surgeries are serious, it’s tough to get yourself back involved in terms of your heath and your mental focus, everything is just tough. I thought coach (Van Gundy) and Otis and the training staff, they stood by me when I first came back, and maybe it was a little early, but they gave me an opportunity to come back and be myself, and work myself back into the rotation and get myself in shape.”
More Nelson Quotes | Video Interview
Rashard Lewis:
On the different roster from last season:
“We most definitely missed Turk because he is a good friend off the court but he is also a great player. When you go to The Finals with a team, you want to keep that team together but Hedo went to Toronto and we got another good player in Vince Carter. He and Hedo are similar players, but I hope we can keep this team together because I think we have all the right pieces to win the NBA Championship. We have to mature and grow as a team. I think every year we mature and we are going to continue to mature and hopefully we can do all the little things that kept us from that, like turning the ball over 18 times against Boston, from winning that series.”
More Lewis Quotes | Video Interview
Vince Carter:
On this season:
“We didn’t accomplish our goal but all in all it was a very special season where we accomplished a lot and it gives us something to build on. Going into next year, it is not like we are going to be starting over and having to build trust. I think we all understand what needs to be done and what can be done with the people we have. I think it was a very good season. We accomplished a lot and were able to come together as a unit with a lot of new guys and we made a nice run. But, we didn’t accomplish our goal.”
More Carter Quotes | Video Interview
Matt Barnes:
On the mood of the team:
“You’re just kind of saying your goodbyes, I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other throughout the summer. Disappointed – from a numbers standpoint, we had a good season. We made some people happy, but expectations here are to win a championship and we fell short, so personally, and I think I speak for a majority of the team, we’re not happy. We want to be playing in the Finals and going for a ring. It’s something that will eat us up during the summer and I’m sure drive us and hopefully bring us back next year hungry.”
More Barnes Quotes | Video Interview
J.J. Redick
On the importance of keeping team together:
“I think it’s important. One of the things that kind of happens when you don’t win a championship, everybody is quick to say what kind of changes you can make, but this team still has a window. And it has a window to win a championship and the core of our team is pretty young and can still get the job done. Tweaks, I think that’s what needs to be done and there obviously needs to be a great sense of urgency when you get to the Conference Finals.”
More Redick Quotes | Video Interview
May 24, 2010: Magic-Celtics Game 4 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
Q. Can you talk about the desperation and the purpose that you guys played with throughout it seemed like?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't think we played desperate, but I do think we played hard and we fought. I thought in the first half we played well. In the second half, in overtime, 15 turnovers. We didn't play well. But we did keep fighting and fighting and fighting.
That's what it took to get an overtime win. But we held them under 40 percent in the second half. Allen hit some huge shots late in overtime. Other than that, we guarded them pretty well. It's the first time I think in the series we've actually made it tough on them.
Q. Coach, can you talk about Jameer making plays off the high screen‑and‑roll maybe more than he had in the first three games.
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought he was really aggressive. Obviously, you know, at times he got down too deep. He did turn it over a lot. He's got a lot of guts. I was sure the shot that we had in regulation to go up two was going to go. That's the best look he had late. The threes were actually tougher shows. He got a great look I thought with 15, 16 seconds. I thought that was going down.
He's a tough competitive guy. I thought he played with great aggressiveness and fought very, very hard.
Q. Can you assess Dwight's performance tonight?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought Dwight was great. We needed and continue to need ‑‑ we need 15‑plus rebounds from him. Plus he scored. But we need the rebounds every single night to be able to win. Obviously a huge performance from him tonight.
Q. Also just the fire and emotion he showed?
STAN VAN GUNDY: You know, I think our guys, you know, played very hard tonight. So did their guys. I thought we got into the fight. And even when they came back and took the lead, we were down going into the fourth quarter. Our guys ‑‑ as I said today, I think the hardest thing is like when you go behind in a game like this. We didn't go behind by much, thankfully. When you go behind and you're down 3‑0, what you're fighting against is that human nature to just sort of let it go.
Our guys didn't do that. They stayed in the fight. We made some big plays, and did what we had to do to get a very, very tough win.
Q. Stan, obviously you needed one win to keep the thing going. It's a series now. Did you get a sense from your guys that they weren't ready to let it go?
STAN VAN GUNDY: Yeah, I think that's what happened. Again, I've seen it a lot of times. If you don't think you can win the series, a lot of times people say, you can't think about winning the series. You have to win one game. I've never really bought into that. I've never been down 3‑0 as a head coach. I've been 3‑1. Stuff like that. If you don't believe you're going win the series, then it's just too easy to let go. Yeah, you've got to play it one game at a time. But you have to have a belief somewhere that you can win the series. Otherwise there's just not enough to sustain you and to keep you going in a game.
Q. Coach, yesterday you talked about not being able to draw a second defender anywhere offensively. Were you able to get that a little bit more?
STAN VAN GUNDY: A little bit more because Jameer was driving the ball hard and getting down deep. We still have to find a way to cut the turnovers against a very good defense. But we said there's never going to be a time where it's easy to score on these guys. So you're going to have to do it with your defense and rebounding.
I thought our defense in the second half and overtime was what gave us a chance to win tonight.
Q. Stan, we've seen Dwight like this before, where points and rebounds don't matter; it's his will. It seemed to be there all game.
STAN VAN GUNDY: Yeah, I think his will was very, very strong. He told me right before the game, bent over to me on the bench and said, "Look, I may need a rest earlier than usual tonight. I'm going to go as hard as I can and get one." So we did rest him earlier than usual.
Then in the second half at one point in the fourth quarter he said he needed one, and I said no. I said "No. Thanks for going hard, but no."
You know, his will was very, very strong tonight.
Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson
Q. Jameer, explain how you were a lot more effective coming off the high screen‑and‑roll tonight as opposed to the previous three games.
JAMEER NELSON: I was more aggressive and not worried about mistakes. I think the first three games I was worried about swinging the ball and getting everybody involved. But my thing is if I get in the paint and be aggressive, that's how I get everybody involved instead of me maintaining and coming off the screen and just taking one dribble, trying to put the pressure on those guys.
Q. This question is for Dwight about Jameer: A lot of the talk in the series has been about Rajon Rondo and how well he's played and how he's affected the series. You think a lot of people forgot that the guy next to you is a pretty good young point guard as well?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't think they forgot. I just think the first three games he wasn't as aggressive as he needed to be. And tonight he was aggressive. He was attacking the basket. That's what he did in the first two series. We need him to just continue to do that. He was effective tonight attacking and making good passes to whoever was open.
So hopefully he can continue that.
Q. Jameer, I wanted to ask you, what was going through your head at the end of regulation when the Celtics rebounded and didn't call time‑out and went for the win without stopping the clock?
JAMEER NELSON: Just get a stop. At that point you can't play tentative. You have to go and try to get a stop. We did that. Guys who were out there on the perimeter guarding the ball pretty well, they did a great job of guarding the ball. I think they ran a 2‑3 pick‑and‑roll. I just saw a loose ball and I tried to dive on it. I knew time was going to run out. I tried to dive on it and hold it.
Q. Jameer, Dwight, I talked to you guys this morning about being captains and talking to your teammates about not letting them quit. Did you kind of show that with your play tonight that you weren't going to let the team quit?
JAMEER NELSON: Yeah, of course. We've been here longer than anybody. We look at it as our team. A lot of things fall on us. We take pride in what we do in the course of a season. We just wanted to come out tonight and prove to ourselves that it wasn't going to be any letdowns and come out fighting and not coming out to fight to lose. Just come out fighting.
Q. Dwight, Coach mentioned that before the game you came up to him and said you might need a blow early because you're going to go hard. Can you talk about your mindset going in and what your thoughts were before the game.
DWIGHT HOWARD: I just told Coach that I was going to give everything I had. And if I got tired, just give me a sub. I just have to trust the next guy to come in and do the same thing. That's what I told the rest of the guys who were tired. Just trust our teammates. At this point we got to continue to trust each other. And we did that tonight.
Q. This is for either or both of you: It looked right out of the gate like you guys controlled the game in the way you haven't in the prior three. Sort of the game we felt we would see early on. Can you comment on that, right or wrong?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Yeah, I think that's the one thing we talked about the last couple of days. They've won almost every first quarter. By doing that, they ended up getting the lead and they never looked back. Tonight we were very aggressive from the start. I think that's what we have to do. We have to run this team, try to move the ball and not let them get their defense set. Because they're pretty good in the half court.
Once we run the ball, then we're tough. So Jameer did a good job of pushing. Everybody did a good job of running with him. And then on the other end, we tried to get stops.
Q. Dwight, how would you describe the fight in this team?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Well, you know, we know that we were down 3‑0. We didn't want to go home. It starts with me and Jameer. I think tonight me and Jameer showed our leadership by just playing hard. We never stopped losing faith in each other. I just kept telling Jameer, "You have to believe it. You have to believe the next shot is going in."
We did that. It starts with him. We have to be the leaders for this team. It's not about points or anything like that. Just showing everybody that hey, follow us. We'll lead the way.
Q. Jameer, did you call the bank shot? And what was going on with that play? Vince said he was getting ready to rebound the ball.
JAMEER NELSON: I didn't call the bank shot, but it went in. And, you know, like I said, I kind of misjudged where I was at. I was kind of for the first time wide open, and it kind of shocked me. I kind of rushed my shot, but it went in and I'm happy it did. It was a big shot at a crucial point of the game.
Q. Can both of you guys briefly address what it means to be going home with a chance to maybe put a little more pressure on those guys.
JAMEER NELSON: It feels great. We have a long battle in front of us. But like I said before, I mean, it can be done just one game at a time. Just cut down some of the mistakes we're making on the court in the course of the game. Some of those loose balls that we got tonight, get more of them.
Like I said, just take it one game at a time.
Q. Dwight, what was the biggest motivating factor that you took from your Game 3 loss?
DWIGHT HOWARD: That it wasn't over. Even though we knew we were down 0‑3, you have to win four games to win a series. I just kept ‑‑ after we lost the game, I was like man, I feel so bad. And I just kept telling myself don't stop. Don't give up. Just keep fighting. I talked to a couple of people, one of those people was Hakeem Olajuwon. Me and him had a great talk. He just inspired me to keep playing.
So I didn't want to give up, because I just felt like there was a lot of people pulling for us to keep going. That was it.
Q. Dwight, can you just talk about the two big threes Jameer hit in the overtime and how that turned the tide of the game.
DWIGHT HOWARD: I thought his play throughout the game was the reason we got a chance to win. And from then on, it was all about confidence and we trust him. And he has to have confidence in himself. He did tonight. I don't know too many people who hit bank shot threes in overtime. He's one guy that if he believes he can do it, he will. He did a great job tonight.
May 22, 2010: Magic-Celtics Game 3 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
Q. Stan, what was the most disappointing part? Was it the defense that crumbled early?
STAN VAN GUNDY: The most disappointing to me, was that I didn't have our team better ready to play. That was what was disappointing to me, was my job. That was the most disappointing. I mean, yeah ‑‑ it starts with me. It's my job. I'm the coach of this team. It starts with me. I'm not happy with where I had our team tonight, anything about what I did, my plan, any adjustments, anything.
Q. Stan, a lot has been made of their defense, but your inability to get stops, how frustrating is that?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought in the first half everything being in the paint I thought our rotations, we were a step late on everything. I thought they did a good job in exploiting what we were trying to do defensively. That combined with the fact that we were a step late in everything, they just riddled us. And again, I'll take the blame on that too.
Q. The one play where Rondo chased down the loose ball with Jason, just talk about the hustle both ways and what that did for both sides. It seems like a play you can't ‑‑
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought there were several in the first half hustle plays like that that all went their way. They were a step ahead of us on every play. I thought they worked harder than we did. I thought they out-competed us. And I think that play was just ‑‑ one of the plays you could point to was indicative of what was going on.
Q. I guess what conversations did you have with your players about that hustle and effort and things like that? And do you have any sense of ‑‑
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't know about conversations. I mean, it was just something that, you know, we got hit early in the game. You know, we were a step late. They got off to the early lead. I just didn't think that we stayed with the fight very well at all.
I think if I could have maybe, from my standpoint, had us ready, had us with a better plan at either end to get off to a better start, it could have changed things. But then I thought we just sort of went sideways mentally and our effort dropped and everything else.
Q. Everybody says the same thing because they have no one player to focus on, they're more difficult to game‑plan for. Just talk about, you are disappointed in the adjustments and things like that. What kind of problems did they present if you have to adjust in a game ‑‑
STAN VAN GUNDY: They played very well. I don't mean to take anything away from them. I thought they played extremely well. Their ball movement in this series has been outstanding. The unselfishness they have and the number of weapons they have certainly has made them very difficult to guard. It's an outstanding team playing very, very well. But we need to compete harder than we did tonight. And I need to give our guys a better plan than what we had going in.
Dwight Howard
Q. Dwight, the first couple of games were a couple of possessions each basically, seven points, I think, total. What do you think caused such a big gap in this game here tonight?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Just effort. They played a lot harder than us tonight. They went after all the loose balls. They did it from the tip‑off till the end of the game. That's why they won.
Q. Dwight, how shocked are you with this? You know how resilient a team you've been all year long. You bounced back. Are you kind of surprised by this?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I'm not surprised. I just think that right now we got to find ourselves. Last three games we haven't played like Orlando Magic. Seemed like tonight our bodies was here, but our minds wasn't. Our hearts weren't ‑‑ seemed like it wasn't into it.
I don't know what happened. I just think we just got to come out and keep fighting, stay aggressive and, you know, not give up. I won't give up. I want to stay on my teammates and not let them give up either.
Q. Dwight, Matt Barnes said after the game he has not seen the Magic yet in this series. Who are the Magic that we can expect to see in Game 4?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Well, all season long I don't think there's been a game where the other team outplayed us, outhustled us, and just worked harder than us. They did that for the last three games. And that's why they're ahead.
You can't make any excuses about it. We can't point the fingers and say what everybody else needs to do. We just got to come out, you know, as individuals and play harder. The coach has done everything he could. It's not on the coach. It's on the players.
Q. Dwight, what were the Celtics doing offensively, especially early, to click as much as ‑‑
DWIGHT HOWARD: They just moved the ball. There was a lot of possessions where they made six or more passes to get shots. And then on the other end we would come down, make one or two passes and shoot the ball. They're doing all the simple things to win the game. Nobody is out there trying to go one‑on‑one. They're doing it all together. That's why they're up in this series.
We just got to find a way to play basketball and be free. That's it.
Q. Are you facing a different Celtic team than the one you had success with during the regular season? If so, how are they different?
DWIGHT HOWARD: They're just playing the same basketball. I don't think they changed who they've been over the years. They're tough, they play hard, and they've been playing together. Every team goes through stretches where they don't play as well. But those guys, they're veterans, they got a lot of guys who know how to play basketball. They got some good leaders on their team. And you watch them this season, they just went up and down and then they just picked it up at the right moment.
So they've been playing great basketball. We have to find a way to stick together and not hang our heads.
Matt Barnes
Re: Difficult road that Orlando faces, talk about what’s going through your mind. “We don’t want the season to end, bottom line fighting for the season.”
Re: Talk about how the Celtics came out to play. “They kicked our ass from start to finish. They played harder and wanted it. They are what a good team is suppose to do.”
Re: Talk about the foul on KG. “We were both going for the ball.”
Re: What was the Celtics’ offense doing early to grab the lead in the game. “Just moving the ball from side to side, not really caring who had the ball. “
Re: Talk about guarding Pierce. “I played 12 minutes, so I don’t think that I affected him at all, I wasn’t out there.”
Re: What do you think you need to change for Game 4. “Just got to play hard. It’s the bottom line. We just got to play hard. Since Game 1 they have played harder than us. That’s very unlike our team. We if have a chance at doing anything, we just have to play hard.”
Jameer Nelson
Re What were they doing “They played better than us. They just played better.”
Re Give credit where credit is due “I mean we’re not bowing down to anybody, we gotta go out there and play our game. They’re playing well but we’re beating ourselves a lot of times.”
Re Beating yourself, what do you mean “Little things, turnovers. They’re beating us in every category in terms of hustle things.”
Re Clicking early “Made a ton of shots. We didn’t do anything defensively hard enough.”
Re Not playing hard enough “Can’t put any one finger on anything, it’s more than one thing going on.”
Rashard Lewis
Re Clicking early “They played together, they moved the ball around, and side to side; hit the open man and not only that offensive end. They set good screens and back, rip screens. Overall you’ve got to be a team to stop. You gotta play team defense to stop them.”
Re Defensive changes on you “Not necessarily, pretty much they’ve been playing the same defense that they have against me, and against us period. They’re a good defensive team and they came out defensive-minded again tonight.”
Re Soul searching “Not necessarily soul searching, we just know we’re not the type of team that played out there today. Don’t know what happened but, the series’ not over yet, you gotta win four games in the series. Even though we’re in the hole down 3-0, they doesn’t mean we’re gonna hang it up. We’re gonna come ready to play Monday.”
May 18, 2010: Magic-Celtics Game 2 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
Q. Stan, you get the rebound with seven seconds to go. Did you need a time-out before the clock keeps running?
STAN VAN GUNDY: Yes. That was all covered in the time-out. Of course. We were playing, we had six second differential. We were playing for a stop and an immediate time-out.
It would have made a big difference because if you watch the last play, Rashard got open. But because we're inbounding in the back court, Finley was back in the passing lane and we could not make the pass to him.
Q. How do you dig out of this now? Is your bunch stunned?
STAN VAN GUNDY: It's not a matter of digging out of this. It's a matter of going up there and you have to win a game. That part is simple, I don't mean it's easy to do. But you have to go play the next game and win it. That's all. There's no like magic to like you're in a hole 2-0. You have to go win a game.
We played a lot harder tonight, but we don't sustain what works, we won't stay with it, we play times when we're moving the ball, we're getting good shots and then guys want to come off, no passes and shoot the ball. And our shot selection is not good enough against a good defensive team; we are forcing shots. I mean, we'll watch it again tomorrow. Hopefully we'll make the corrections. But, you know, I thought we were a little better. But our shot selection just was terrible, and we didn't play smart enough. You know, I thought we played hard enough. We struggled with Rondo's pick-and-rolls. We obviously struggled with Pierce. But I thought we fought hard. But we didn't play smart enough and we didn't sustain what worked offensively. So...
Q. Stan, can you guys win if Rashard continues to play like he has over the first two games?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't think Rashard has played badly. I just think -- they are staying home on him. It's incumbent on me as far as Rashard. I have to find a way to get him involved. It's not that he's playing badly. He's doing a good job defensively on Garnett. It's not like Garnett has been going off at the other end. That match-up has been -- both guys scored in their last series and both of them are struggling to score right now. So it's going both ways.
Q. How are you going to control the tempo come Saturday?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't really understand that question.
Q. (No microphone).
STAN VAN GUNDY: I thought Dwight was really good. What we've got to get him to do now in Game 3 is put together his rebounding and blocked shots from Game 1 with his offense from Game 2. So offensively he was a lot better tonight. But he wasn't as much of a presence inside defensively. But I thought he played with great poise on the offensive end. And we did a good job getting him the ball. He converted. We just got to get both of those ends put together for Game 3.
Dwight Howard
Q. Dwight, Paul Pierce actually tweeted on his Twitter page, "anybody got a broom?" Your thoughts on that?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Am I supposed to comment on that?
Q. Any comment on that?
DWIGHT HOWARD: No. They only won two games. I mean, they can write what they want. But you know we're going to stay humble and stay focused. Pride comes before a fall, just know that.
Q. What exactly happened there at the end with J.J. and everything?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I think he was just trying to call time-out to one of the refs, but the ref really couldn't see him. He was behind J.J. J.J. was trying to turn and motion to him. I think he couldn't really see J.J.
But Coach says as soon as we got the rebound to call a time-out. So, you know, when you're playing in a big game like this, it's the little things that get you wins. Boston, they did all the little things to get the win tonight.
Q. First time all season you guys have lost consecutive home games. Is it shocking you got better in every situation but couldn't get over that hump?
DWIGHT HOWARD: You know what, it's not shocking. We just have to come back and win the first game up in Boston. That's the only thing on our minds. My thing is putting this game out of our head and just keep telling my teammates to believe. Believe we're going to win. Just because we're down 2-0 doesn't mean the series is over with. We just have to regroup. I think we played a lot harder than we did in the first game. We saw a lot of positives in what we need to do to beat this team. I think it was just some of those cold spells where the ball didn't move, stuck in one person's hand. You know, when we got the lead and when we came back tonight it's because we moved the ball. But we have to continue to do that the whole game.
Q. You obviously had a very strong offensive game tonight. You talked earlier about having more energy and effort. Was it as simple as that, Dwight, or were there other things going on?
DWIGHT HOWARD: It is. It is. I think when I'm playing with a lot of energy, just being myself and having fun, I think I play better. I know this is a very big series, but, you know, that doesn't mean I can't be myself on the floor.
I think the first game I wasn't myself. I missed shots and I got frustrated, kind of took me out the game. If I missed some shots tonight or got some fouls, I just tried to move on.
Q. You guys won there last spring Game 7. You won there twice this season. Is that something you can kind of fall back on? You know you can win there?
DWIGHT HOWARD: That was the regular season; this is the playoffs. We know we can win, but we just have to put it together 48 minutes against a good Boston team. This series is not over. I won't stop believing that. I won't let my teammates stop believing that. We're going to keep fighting. We're going to do it.
Q. What do you say to Rashard? He's not been shooting well in this series. How do you keep him up and into the game?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Just keep playing. The ball will go in the basket for him. We can't dwell on what happened, you know, in these first two games and keep our heads down. You know, we have to keep our heads up and stay focused. So what if Rashard didn't have a good first two games. Just make Game 3 a better game. And after the game, he was very -- he was ready for Game 3. He said a lot of good things in the locker room. He's ready to go. I'm pretty sure he's not worried about this game tonight.
It's a tough loss, you're playing for the Eastern Conference Finals and you go down at home. You know, like I said, I won't stop believing. I won't let my teammates stop believing.
May 16, 2010: Magic-Celtics Game 1 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
Q. Guard Dwight one-on-one and not help off the shooters. How big a factor is that?
STAN VAN GUNDY: Obviously, it helps them a lot. I think that, you know, they pretty much guarded everyone one-on-one. I think we weren't able to score one-on-one. The biggest problem on the offensive end, though, clearly was the turnovers. We said it going in. It was what did Cleveland in in the last series against them; very physical, very tough defensively; 18 turnovers. We're not giving ourselves a chance to win with 18 turnovers. So we have got to be able to handle the ball better against them. We've got to get better ball movement. And we either have to be able to convert better in the paint or we've got to draw help and make passes. One or the other. Because we just weren't -- I thought we got the ball into the paint, both on drives and some paint catches for Dwight, but we were not very efficient.
Q. Stan, it seemed like especially towards the fourth quarter with J.J. and whatnot, there does seem to be some drives available the way their defense is playing. Is that something that ...
STAN VAN GUNDY: We'll have to take a look at that. But we drove the ball a lot in the first half into blocked shots and difficult shots and everything else. I didn't think that it was a lack of our guys attacking. According to this, 42 shots in the paint. That's not taking into account the times we got fouled. So we got the ball into the paint. We weren't real efficient down in there. A lot of the times attacking. Also, which it doesn't show there, that's just shots. We got into the paint and turned the ball over.
I didn't think it was a lack of attacking. I thought it was a lack of being able to either finish or make a play to an open man.
Q. Stan, that first quarter and a half when the offense really struggled, how much of that do you think was rust? And how much --
STAN VAN GUNDY: No, I think that's -- again, the schedule is the schedule. No, I don't think it had anything to do with that. I think it had more to do with their defense. I didn't think we played with either great energy or very good focus on the way we wanted to play the game.
So, no, I'm not going to take that as an excuse. We just didn't play well. But, let me make this clear, a lot of it had to do with their defense. It was really good.
Q. Stan, what was Ray Allen doing out there that allowed him to score? What were you guys not doing against him to make him so effective?
STAN VAN GUNDY: I don't know, Ray Allen can really shoot. And he's always on the move. He and Pierce both had real good nights, as did Rasheed Wallace. Some other guys didn't. I didn't think our defense was real good either, to be quite honest. I think we have to make some adjustments there.
The only thing that really kept us even having any kind of chance and kept it close at all was the rebounding. The offensive rebounding. We got a lot of second chances. I thought particularly in the second half. I thought our guys made an effort to try to stay in the game. But when we got some better offensive opportunities, then we couldn't stop them. We could just never put things together.
Q. Jameer took I think -- obviously took a lot of the scoring load in the first couple of minutes in the second half. Then it just seemed he stopped being as assertive as he was in the first couple of minutes.
STAN VAN GUNDY: I think their defense changed. I think the shots he hit, they were going under on his pick-and-rolls. He pulled up and hit some jumpers. I thought their pick-and-roll defense got better.
Dwight Howard
Q. Dwight, Vince said he wondered if you guys were ready for the intensity, the defensive intensity they played with. Maybe it shocked your system early on and took you a little while to get into it?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't think it shocked us. I just think as a team we were just so anxious to get out there and play. After we started missing a couple of shots, I think we just got out of the flow of the game. When you're playing against a good defensive team like Boston and a good offensive team, you know, you have to take care of the ball. But at the same time you just have to play the game. But we have to get stops. We didn't do that early. We dug ourselves a hole. It was tough to get back from it.
Q. Dwight, did you feel like you guys were rusty from the layoff with that slow first quarter?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't think it was rusty. Like I said, we were anxious -- ready to get out there and go. I think they did a lot of good things on defense. They pressured us. They made us take tough shots. We just got to play. I don't think we moved the ball early like we needed to get them off our bodies. I think that's what we have to do to beat this team. We have to move the ball and play inside-out, and make shots.
Q. Dwight, I just want to ask you about the job that Perkins, Wallace and Davis did in tandem against you. What did each guy do in particular that maybe frustrated you. And as you struggled to get your shot going early, did you sense your frustration level growing?
DWIGHT HOWARD: No, not really. I just think for me I just have to get into a good rhythm. I'm out of rhythm. I played like a robot. It's just me I have to get on rhythm. Find ways to get the ball, and not get into a wrestling match with those guys. I think that's playing to their advantage, trying to wrestle with them and fight for position. Then they can play better defense that way.
So they played great defense tonight. They made it tough for me to score. But, you know, I'm not happy with the way things happened tonight. Now I have to go back and regroup and look at film and really focus on better ways to get position and score.
Q. I was talking to Patrick and he said you have to make some more of those shots. Do you agree with that and how do you feel about that?
DWIGHT HOWARD: We're going to miss shots. I'm going to miss shots. But I think the more I get into a rhythm I'll be better off. I wasn't in a good rhythm tonight. I just have to come back in Game 2 and not try to force anything. But at the same time just still be aggressive.
Q. What's it like they have so many big bodies that they can just foul you, foul you, foul you?
DWIGHT HOWARD: It was like that in the first series against Charlotte. They had a lot of guys and a lot of bodies. I think that's what they're going to try to do is try to frustrate me and get into my head and play their game. So I just have to do my best to stay focused and not get frustrated.
Vince Carter
Q. Vince, can you talk a little about Boston's defense? What kind of problems they present you and how you can kind of solve that riddle there?
VINCE CARTER: They're relentless. They're very aggressive. They work on their strengths. They play well together. We have to be smart, continue to move the ball to the open man to get good shots. They do a great job of contesting, especially when you're in the paint. And it took us a while to figure that out. When we did, we played a lot better.
Q. Vince, what happened there in the beginning? Was it the layoff? Was it jitters?
VINCE CARTER: Not jitters, man. Come on. You have jitters when you go this far, you're not going to win many games. I think they came out ready to play. They jumped on us early -- offensively and defensively. And when you get down on a good team like that, particularly on the defensive end where we weren't getting stops, it's going to be hard.
We fought like heck to get back in the game. Unfortunately, when you're down that many points with about nine minutes to go when they defend like they do, it's going to be tough.
Q. Vince, it's been so long since you guys lost. A month and a half. What was the locker room like? You guys aren't used to that. What was the locker room like and how do you expect you guys to respond to it?
VINCE CARTER: Upbeat. We were just very supportive of each other. We're just glad to see everybody really buckle down and try to get back into the game. At some point in time we knew you can lose. It's going to happen. Our goal was to go out there and first off protect home court and win every game. Why think anything less? It didn't happen. So it's time to bounce back.
I think it was a wake-up call that we really needed, in my opinion. I think it's great to go undefeated. You always want to learn your lessons but still win. It didn't work out that way tonight.
Q. Vince, coming off the long layoff, did you feel like you guys were rusty in that first quarter, quarter-and-a-half?
VINCE CARTER: I don't think we were prepared for the level that they were ready to play. They were ready to go from the jump. And we weren't on their level in the beginning, more than anything.
Q. Vince, that was sort of the same thing I was going to ask you, about the intensity level seemed to be so much higher than the first two playoff series that you guys swept. And also their smothering defense. How much do you attribute the 18 turnovers that you guys had to their defense or to your ball handling?
VINCE CARTER: I wouldn't say it was ball handling. If we were throwing the ball away, we weren't dribbling. More so us not being patient. I think when you have a team like that, that really plays the smothering defense and is very physical at the same time, you have to just be patient. They tend to rush you. That's how they play. I think us just seeing plays open and at the same time guessing for the next man instead of taking our time. I think once we settled down and played our brand of basketball, we played better. But we were coming from 20 points down at the time, if I recall. That's tough.
May 10, 2010: Magic-Hawks Game 4 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“The Hawks came at us very hard tonight. There defense was quicker and better tonight, but we just shot the ball extremely well. It would have been tough for anyone to beat us the way we were shooting. The Hawks kept chipping away, but we made it extremely tough to beat us the way we were playing. To sweep them the way we did, we obviously played well. I thought both teams shot the ball very well. I thought our defensive intensity picked up in the second half. We played very well after that. Our ball movement was very good, and again, we shot the ball very well.”
Vince Carter
“We knew it was a close out game, and we stepped up to the challenge from the beginning of the game and in the second half as well. We withstood their runs and actually made some runs ourselves. We showed patience in moving the ball, even when they started to pressure us a little bit. We were able to slow down and make plays for each other and get the ball to the open man. We tried to deliver the blow early in each quarter and knock them out, because we knew they would be aggressive. Every time we come out we want to play our best basketball. It’s great to see how focused guys are in shootaround and before the game. Everybody’s locked in on what needs to be done, from the beginning of the game to the end.”
May 8, 2010: Magic-Hawks Game 3 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“It looked like our guys were ready to play. We came out early in the second half with a big lead and still played even harder. My only real concern was 23 second chance points. Our guys are not playing overconfident, and it’s good to see how we’re playing. Early in the game we did a good job on the double teams, and got passes out to our shooters, and then we made shots. Overall, it was a great effort. Today I thought our guys did a very good effort reading their defense.”
“I think Joe Johnson is a great player who has had three sub-par games for him. Our guys are doing a really good job trying to guard him. We are double-teaming him on his post ups. Otherwise, he’s getting shots that he would normally make, but they’re not falling for him. Joe’s a great player, and he’s had great games for them in the past. We’re working hard on him, but I don’t think it’s anything in particular that we’re doing.”
Rashard Lewis
“We’ve tried to work on having a killer instinct in the fourth quarter all year. Coach has gotten on us about that in the regular season, and we’ve done a better job of that in the playoffs. When you get a lead, you tend to relax a little bit, but tonight we stayed focused and we took a big lead into the fourth quarter. That gave us a chance to rest our players a little bit. It’s the playoffs, and every possession and every game counts, so you just have to take things one possession at a time.”
“We have so much talent on our team, that somebody has to sacrifice their role. I tell the guys that we have guys on the bench who can start for other teams, and anybody can go out and have the big night scoring that we may need. Vince and Dwight are our main options, so I just try to fill the role that I need to each night.”
May 6, 2010: Magic-Hawks Game 2 Quotes
Dwight Howard
“I’ve got to challenge those shots but I think you to show the other team that you’re not going to come just down the lane but at the same time, you have to be smart. Some of those plays where they were just driving right at me and the only thing I could have done is get a foul. You know, just try to stay away from them.”
(On hitting 13-18 free throws) “It was one game. I have to move forward to the next game and not focus on how I played tonight. Got to get ready for Game 3. I shot every day so I don’t even know what I was thinking about, just once I shot, just move on.”
“We do have a lot of weapons but we do have to do a better job on the defensive end. We gave the lot of confidence with the way we played defense tonight. So next game, we have to make a conscious effort to get the job done on the defensive end. I think we did in the fourth quarter, we have to do for 48 minutes.”
Jameer Nelson
(On end of 3rd qtr. shot) “That was big. He had hit the three in my face and you know, as a competitor, I just wanted to go back at him. But there wasn’t enough time so I had to do it in traffic.”
“I felt that I wasn’t as aggressive as I need to be in the first half. Just had to come and get in gaps and penetrate in their defense for our team for our team to be a little successful.”
(On Vince Carter) “That’s who we need him to be, Vince Carter. Not to put any pressure on the guy, that’s just who he is. He’s a great closer, he’s a great attacker.”
Rashard Lewis
“They were killing us on the offensive rebounds, I think they had 9 offensive rebounds in the first half and we had 11 defensive rebounds. So we said that we have to box out, have to rebound the ball and we have to rotate. The pick-and-roll defense was what we wanted. They were hitting shots, they were getting anything they wanted on the offensive end, we had to pick it up on the defensive end and box them out.”
(On Magic 4th qtr) “I thought the defense; I thought Vince did a good job of controlling the game, distributing the ball, getting guys open shots. But it starts on the defensive end. I think they only scored 15 points in the fourth quarter.”
Mickael Pietrus
(On Vince Carter) “I think he’s been aggressive throughout the season. I think he hit a stretch where he was trying to get involved and I think he’s going to be aggressive for Game 3. He was terrific in the fourth quarter and that’s why we won the game.”
(On 4th qtr) “I think we played great defense, we moved the ball and we were a little sloppy the first three quarters but we came out very aggressive in the third quarter and we were able to move the ball again and we made our 3’s, made a lot of shots, and that’s where we got the lead.”
“We know that our defense wasn’t good tonight. So I think we knew that at halftime, we tried to pick it up in the third quarter, the fourth quarter and we sure did. We made sure that we stayed consistent defensively and try to get a win in Game 3 and Game 4.”
Vince Carter
“I was just trying to make plays; just patience is the most important thing in my mind. You know the first half; they were going to zones on my pick-and-rolls so they were making me give it up. I didn’t want to force anything. Just go as far as possible, move the ball, and those guys started hitting shots. And inevitably, opened up the lanes for me in the second half. Once I saw they were open, I tried to take advantage of it, just move the ball, more than anything and be aggressive. It worked out for me.”
“I consider a closer not only a guy who makes shots but makes plays and makes it easier for his team, and puts pressure on the opponent. That was more so my mentality and has been my mentality, just being patient and that’s who I’ve been for a long time and I didn’t want it to be any different coming here to this wonderful team with a lot of scorers. They trust that when I have the ball, I’ll make the right play what ever that may be.”
May 4, 2010: Magic-Hawks Game 1 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy On how the Magic were not rusty tonight…
“I was a little surprised with that. Especially at the offensive end of the court. I was a little bit surprised that we played the way that we did, especially early in the game but it was good to see.”
On their defense and holding Atlanta to 10 in the second quarter and 11 in the third quarter…
“I thought our defense was OK. But look, it was one of those nights too. Jamal Crawford was 1-for-11, (Mike) Bibby’s 1-for-5 and Joe Johnson’s 4-for-11. And I think when Al Horford’s 1-for-7, I think when we watch film tomorrow, we’ll look at the good shots that they had that just didn’t go down so that we understand that we’ve still got to get better defensively in this series. I think the challenge is to not get carried away with the score. It was just one of those nights where everything snowballed, and it’s one game. So, we have to really get our minds focused on what we need to do in game two and I think our defense in particular can be much better than it was tonight.”
On if tonight was a good game to help Dwight Howard get his mind off the Charlotte series…
“I thought he played with good poise, good patience down in the post. I thought defensively he was a little bit tentative early on but then he started to get involved in the game after the first five or six minutes. Clearly he just dominated the game. When they did come and double, he made good plays, ball movement out of the double teams was pretty good. When they didn’t double, I thought he had success down there scoring and drawing fouls. So, that’s obviously a big part of our game, so it was nice to have him on the floor and playing well.”
On leading the league in point differential and their ability to put teams away…
“Well I think the other thing that happens in a game like this is when we go down nine through 12, we’re still pretty strong. And so, sometimes those things happen. But our guys, I was happy particularly at the start of the third quarter, with a big halftime lead we played well and jumped on it. This isn’t the regular season now and our guys have to understand that you’ve got to play every minute and every possession. You don’t take any chances. You get a Reggie Miller type game against the Knicks, that the movie was on in the regular season and you go, ‘OK, wow.’ That’s only going to happen once every five to 10 years. But if it happens in the playoffs, once is enough. You just can’t afford to take anything for granted, leads, anything. And our guys didn’t tonight coming out to start the second half. Now, the challenge is for them to get their heads right and into game 2.”
On being able to play Dwight Howard for the first 20 minutes with only one foul…
“He was good tonight, there’s no question. I think again, he was poised and pretty relaxed on the offensive end of the floor. There wasn’t any frustration. It was good, he played very, very well.”
On if his team has the mentality to focus on game 2…
“Well we have all year. We’ve been very good of getting from one game to the next game and not getting stuck on our success. But, it’s still something that we will talk about. I told them tomorrow I will have for them virtually every time in NBA playoff history that a team has won a game in a big blowout and lost the series. I mean, you’ve got to let it go. It’s one game, you’re happy to have it, but in the playoffs the margin means absolutely nothing. It does not matter and it should not lead to a false sense of security at all. We’ve got to stay on it every possession, that’s the mindset we need to get into tomorrow when we get together. Despite the score, there’s a lot of things we could do a lot better and we need to make those adjustments.”
On saying they could play better defense…
“Well look, I’m not saying our defense was bad, I was happy with our defense. But yeah, I do think particularly in the first quarter our defense wasn’t great. They missed some good opportunities and our defense will need to be better in game two than it was tonight.”
On if Dwight Howard playing the first 21 minutes of the game was to help make up for lost time…
“No, I was going to get him out. There were a lot of times we have him start the second quarter. I don’t like to have a lot of guys come in at the same time cold off the bench. So, a lot of times I give him the first three minutes which was my plan. And then, that group was just rolling along. They were playing so well. I kept asking my assistant coaches at the timeout, should we give Dwight a rest? And they said no, let it ride. And we did. I finally got him out late in the quarter because I really started to see some fatigue. You know, probably got a little lucky the game went the way it did. I could’ve worn him down a little bit there. That was probably three to four minutes too long in that one stretch.”
On if their biggest strength is their ability to get scoring from so many different players…
“Well I do think we’re pretty balanced you know. And, I think guys have accepted that pretty well. Dwight’s our leading scorer at 18 a game. We don’t have the 20 point guys. We don’t have the guys we’re going to run every play for. Our guys are not guys who are going to get or average a lot of field goal attempts or things like that. So everybody is going to have to come to grips with that, and I think they’ve done a good job of that. And, I do think our balance does help us. Everybody’s comfortable taking shots within our offense. We don’t have to rely on one or two guys.”
Dwight Howard
“Well I don’t think we thought about the Charlotte series after the last game. I think that we have moved on and got ready for the next series. The next couple of days that we had, we didn’t know who we were going to play so Coach did a good job of making sure that we were ready to play tonight. We came in and got some good work in every night and I think that was why were able to get off to a great start.”
“We understand that it’s only one game and in order for us to win this series, we have to dominate every night like we did tonight and remain humble. The Hawks are a great team; they didn’t shoot the ball as well as they wanted to tonight. We understand that and we have to have the same effort. That’s the things we talked about in the fourth quarter, the starters and some guys. If we want to win this series we have to bring this effort that we had tonight, every night. And if we do that, we should win.”
“Tonight, I still played about the same amount of minutes as I did. I just think that we all came out with a lot of energy; we dominated on the defensive end. And for us to win, that’s what we have to do.”
“I didn’t allow anything to throw me off my game tonight. That’s what I have to do for the rest of this series, not allow anything to keep me from playing basketball.”
Rashard Lewis
“We were a little rusty, took us a quarter to get the rust off. I thought the second unit came in the second quarter of coming in and building that lead. And from there, we didn’t look back.”
“We don’t want to walk away, it was a 40-point game, we know that it was one game. We still have to got to be ready for Game 2. And we know that they’re going to come out with a different attitude.”
Vince Carter
“I think to make up for all that, just in case we were rusty, just wanted to come out with the effort and the energy. Just being aggressive and then going from there. The effort you can control. Sometime you come out and relax, maybe just not hitting shots or whatever. But I think we’re focused. I mean that we have goals that we’re trying to accomplish and we’re not trying to let any games slip, particularly at home. And I think every one was in tune with what needed to be done from the jump.”
“Just more so than anything, just doing our job. These guys are focused and in tune with what we’re trying to accomplish and what needs to been done each and every time we’re on the floor. So I think it was a great win for us but we still know what we have work to do.”
“For Dwight, be patient, take your time, let it come to you. Don’t get in a rush; don’t try to prove the world wrong about whatever. Just don’t try to just over do it, let the game come to you. And I think he did a great job of that. I think that we helped him out by hitting shots which kind of made them go away from the double-team a little bit and he was able to go one-on-one. But doing so, under control. And that was the key for him, just being under control.”
Jameer Nelson
“We played the game well tonight. We played defense, pretty much for the whole game took care of the ball, just made the right plays offensively. Don’t be confused by the score. They’re a tough team, they’re going to bring it harder and probably better the next game so we can’t be full of ourselves or overconfident.”
“Just attacked, just to make the right play offensively and try to stay attached to their guard as much as I could defensively. They like to get it going with pull-up jump shots so we tried to attack them before they attack me.”
“We can’t let things slow us down. We’ve been handling adversity all season long and with the lay-off, I’m quite sure it’s in the back of every player’s mind and all the coaches minds and every body else in the world, like how are we going to come out and play. We just wanted to come out with a lot of intensity and play our game.”
April 26, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Game 4 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
(On the series)
“Sometimes you are in a series where the margin does not indicates how difficult the series was. When you write it down in the book it says it’s a sweep, but this was a very difficult series. They made it very tough on us. We struggled to make shots. I thought they had a great defensive game plan for us. Both teams played extremely hard during some difficult situations. I was proud of our intensity and our resolve. I feel like we beat a very good opponent and it was good to finish off the series.”
(On Mickael Pietrus)
“He’s never been afraid of the moment. He is a good three-point shooter, but sometimes he’s erratic at the free-throw line. Tonight he went to the line and made them all.”
(On the Bobcats)
“They are good defensively, very physical and tough to move and cut. They made shots tonight. Tyrus Thomas was unbelievable. He really gave them a good lift. The bench was very good. The main thing is that they shot the ball better than we did in the whole thing. We made some threes, but that’s because they defend the paint so well. We were able to make 13 threes. Our guys fought really hard. I’m not saying that we fought harder than they did, but we were up to the challenge against the intensity in this building. They didn’t lose very many games here this year and we won in here four times.”
Dwight Howard
(On the team)
“We’ve accomplished a lot this season and to see the maturity of our team from game to game and from the season to the playoffs is very good. Hopefully, we can continue to get better and stay up.”
(On the Bobcats)
“We have tons of respect for Charlotte – not just because of what they did in the playoffs, but what they accomplished during the regular season. We have a lot of respect for them. We knew it was going to be a fight going into the series.”
Jameer Nelson
(On the series)
“I think we got a little better each game, especially in the second half. I think we made some adjustments every time we stepped on the court in the second half and we played more of our game.”
(On preparing for the second round)
“We have to get our game right as a team. We don’t know who we are playing against, so we can’t really focus on anybody. I think we have to get our offensive game going. We struggled a little bit with the physical nature of the game that (the Bobcats) brought to us this series.”
April 24, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Game 3 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
(On the intensity in the series)
“The three games in this series, and today even more so, are as hard fought games as I’ve ever sat on the sideline for. Whoever is on the floor at the time are fighting hard on both sides of the ball. The intensity in this series is incredible. There is nothing easy to be had out there.”
(On Marcin Gortat)
“For a series like this he is great. Dwight Howard is barely playing over half a game and if you don’t have a quality back-up like Gortat, clearly you are going to get more of a drop-off. It’s not a drastic drop-off (with Gortat). Raymond Felton made the free throw to put them up one when Howard fouled out. Marcin comes into the game, down one in a playoff game, going down the stretch and we are able to get the win. A lot of guys played well down the stretch so it’s not just him, but it’s a testament to his value to us.”
(On the Bobcats defense) “The Bobcats are playing great defensively. They are coming after Dwight hard. On Vince, Stephen Jackson is working his tail off. We said going into this series, this is a great defensive team we are playing against. It’s not like our guys are getting easy plays. Everything is being contested; every dribble, every pass, every shot. It’s not easy out there. This is a great defensive team who is well coached.”
(On Game Four) “This is a very good team and we have to be ready to play. It is not going to be easy, we have to outplay them. We respect the team that we are playing. We don’t have any lack of respect for the Charlotte Bobcats and we know are going to have to play a lot harder if we want to get the win and close out the series.”
Dwight Howard
(On today’s game)
“One thing that we did as a team tonight is that we never gave up. We knew that this was Charlotte’s first home playoff game. We knew that it was going to be tight and they were going to come out with a lot of energy. We just wanted to weather the storm and keep at it. We knew it was going to be a tough game but (Jameer Nelson) led us tonight and he did an excellent job of shooting the ball, passing the ball, and playing defense.”
(On what the team has learned from its previous playoff experiences)
“We’ve learned how to keep our composure – especially playing on the road like we did tonight. We were playing against a team that plays with a lot of energy. They are tough to beat in this building. We kept believing tonight and that is what got us a win.”
Jameer Nelson
(On the team’s bench play)
“We’ve been saying all year that we are pretty deep in terms of personnel. The guys that we have coming off the bench do a great job for us and it has been consistent all year. When Dwight (Howard) is not in the game, we definitely have to toughen up, get stops, and get rebounds.”
(On what the team has learned from its previous playoff experiences) “Dwight (Howard) and I have played in a lot of playoff games so far in our careers, so we knew that we were going to come into a hostile environment today. We know how to keep our composure now. Our previous experiences have set us up for situations like this.”
April 21, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Game 2 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“A very hard fought win. Much tougher game maybe than what the final score indicated. That team plays hard and well and never gives in. And I don’t think our team gave in either. Very, very hard played game. I think, and I know he was doing it for the sake of his team, you know, motivational thing, but you know Larry (Brown) made the comment that us taking a day off after the last game was an indication of the lack of respect we have for them. Actually what it is, is an indication of how tough both game one and game two were, very, very hard. And quite honestly our guys need some physical rest after the games, they do. These are very hard played games, it’s because of how they play and how hard fought the games are. And we’re bringing them in tomorrow but we’re not going to do a whole lot with them tomorrow either and that’s far from a lack of respect for them. It’s trying to get our bodies right to go back to battle again on Saturday because these guys play extremely hard.”
On if it’s a luxury he can get scoring from so many different players…
“Certainly it helps. And I thought Dwight (Howard) got some good offense going in the third quarter. I mean, it’s just so frustrating because you know, his first four fouls, and I’m not saying they’re not fouls I haven’t looked at the tape, but there’s certainly nothing blatant. There’s nothing where he’s, it’s obvious to everybody that it was a foul. I just don’t see the other great players in this league on the bench all the time with foul trouble, especially on marginal calls. I just don’t. But, you’re sitting there on all of those and you’re going, ‘wow, really that’s a foul?’ And he’s sitting down he’s played 28 minutes in each game. Clearly, our defense especially is at a whole other level. So we’ve got to try to find a way to get him on the court 38, 39 minutes because particularly on the road in Charlotte. It will be tough for us to survive him playing 28 minutes. ”
On what Charlotte did defensively to limit Jameer Nelson tonight…
“Well Jameer doesn’t average 32 Rick. He doesn’t get that every night. So what he did tonight was pretty much right on his average. I thought he played fine. We didn’t get out in, he didn’t get as many opportunities in transition, on the pick-and-rolls and stuff. We ended up going to Vince (Carter) more at times. I thought he played well though.”
On what Dwight Howard and Vince Carter did differently tonight to get their offense going…
“Well, the key is Dwight was on the floor. When he was on the floor we played pretty well. That’s a pretty good pick-and-roll combination. Vince is making solid plays. Probably should have given him a little blow in the second half, but you know, so that he wouldn’t have fatigued. But he was going well, making plays, wanted to keep him on the floor.”
On getting Dwight Howard into an offensive rhythm at the beginning of the third quarter…
“We got him the ball, once or twice on pick-and-rolls, but at that stretch they weren’t double-teaming him in the post. So, he got opportunities. They double-teamed him a lot early, they double-teamed him a lot in game one. We can get him the ball and made a conscious effort tonight to get him the ball. If you look at 10 field goal attempts and 12 free throw attempts in 28 minutes with all the double teams and stuff, we clearly you know, made and attempt to get him a ball but we can’t control their defense. If they’re going to double team, he’s going to have to pass the ball. We were a little better today, but I’m still not thrilled at the way we played out of the double teams, it’s been something we’ve been good at. We’ve got to be better at it going into Charlotte. We’ll continue to work at it.”
Dwight Howard
“In order to beat this team, you have to do two things, not turn the ball over and not allow them to get points in the paint. Three things; get to the free throw line. Those are the areas that we want to continue to work on, and I think the first two games we’ve done a pretty job. We have to continue to do that.”
“It’s tough. I mean you watch the game, you see what’s going on out there. For me, I understand that I’m playing for something bigger than myself and just can’t allow that to frustrate me or let it frustrate my teammates.”
“I just like the fact that we’re staying home. At the same time, we’re pushing each other every day in practice to get better. And it shows in the game. J. J.’s been pushing Vince everyday and they’re pushing each other. And both of those of those guys are playing great basketball.”
Vince Carter
“I just came ready to play. Nothing changed nothing I did different, I just let the game come to me and I wasn’t in a rush. Just make plays and when time permits, just be aggressive. I want to be aggressive but I wasn’t going to force anything. Coach got made at me a couple times, I had a couple open shots that he felt that I passed up but I was trying to make the extra pass. In the second half, I tried to be a little bit more aggressive and get closer to the basket and put the ball in the hole if possible.”
“I feel great first and foremost. We’re healthy going into it. Trying to stay healthy but right now our mindset is to get the next one. Game three is the most important game right now. We know the level of intensity is going to go up another notch, especially from them just being the first playoff game at home. So it’s going to be crazy in there. And I think we’re going to have to weather the storm. They’re going to give us a big punch early and most important is to weather the storm and pull it out in the end.”
“We have a lot of guys doing a lot of things. So it’s important for us to remain consistent. I think with a team like this who is stingy on the defensive end. You don’t want to force things. If he puts the ball in our hands and wants us to make plays. But just be smart and I think we’re aware of that. Fortunately we have a lot of weapons so I think we’re getting it from a lot of guys. And that’s great to have, that’s a luxury.”
Matt Barnes
“I love that, that’s what the playoffs are all about. Hopefully the refs will start letting Dwight be a little physical and stop calling such tic-tac fouls on him. You know, give him a chance to play. As far as the physicality comes, we welcome that now.”
“No respect. Absolutely, Dwight gets no respect, from the refs, from the league as far as not being mentioned as the MVP. It’s crazy to see what they do to him every single play and then he puts his arm up and they call a foul. So it’s tough but I think we did a good job of playing through that. Marc’s stepped up, Rashard played as good as usual and we kind of rallied around Dwight, kept his spirits up.”
Rashard Lewis
“I think everybody is going to have a different role every game. Like the first game, Jameer Nelson played great for us. Guarding him on the pick-and-roll, they kind of stayed with Dwight so they had a little bit more of an adjustment from the pick-and-roll. It’s from game to game, it will be different people and they’ll change their defense around.”
April 18, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Game 1 Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
On having to work around Dwight Howard tonight and how it affected their offense…
“Yeah, we really, yeah other than Jameer (Nelson) in the first half and Rashard (Lewis) we really struggled offensively. Second half we only shot 30 percent, they pretty much played the way we expected. Very, very physical defensively and then drive the ball, post the ball, attack the paint, attack the paint, attack the paint, attack the glass. I mean, that’s how they play. I think it’s good that it became real clear to our guys today and we still got the win. You know, one of the things I said to them afterward and I said to you going in, is in the last couple of weeks we really haven’t played a real tough defensive team, everything was pretty easy offensively. So, we’ve got to adjust to a much more intense, much more physical defense. And I think it’s good that we got out with the win and experienced their defense and the way they’re playing. And I think from a coaching standpoint I think it’s really breaking down the film and going back to the drawing board. We’ve got to find some other things offensively based on how they play us and the adjustments they made in the second half defensively that I thought were good for them. I think it was a good day from that standpoint, that we got a real good effort out of them and they really got to experience the way they’re going to play and still got out of here with a win, and knowing that we need to be a lot better on Wednesday.”
On what element of the second half comeback by the Bobcats they would like to focus on next game…
“Well I think at the defensive end it was just all going to the basket and getting to the free throw line, which is how they play. Just drive the ball, draw contact, get to the free throw line or get to the rim. That was their game. Obviously a big part of that in the second half that affected us was Dwight playing less than half of the half. In the first half it was a little tougher for them to get to the rim with him in there. But late in the game, or in the second half it was tough because he was on the bench, so that was a big part of it. But we’ve got to do a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint.”
On if Jameer Nelson is a barometer for the team when he is attacking the basket like he did tonight…
“Well he was very good in the first half and then I think in the second half they were much more aggressive getting their big guy out on his pick-and-roll. That’ll leave other things open, but that we did not do a good job of in the second half, we didn’t do a good job when they came out and either showed hard on his pick-and-rolls or trapped him a little bit. We did not do a good job on our ball movement and taking advantage of that.”
On if he is OK with Vince Carter’s shot selection…
“I think two things. I think it was one of those days in terms of shooting the ball. I think most of those shots if Vince gets them again he’ll make but I still would like to see him attacking more. I didn’t think he was really in a mindset to attack today. But, they did give him air space. He’s got great confidence in that jump shot for good reason, he’s been shooting the ball very well, he had a very, very bad day today shooting it. We didn’t do a good job, I sort of went away from Dwight because we weren’t executing out of the double teams. So, I think we’ve got some things we can do better offensively to get, I think Vince will play better, I think we can be better in our post-up game and go to Dwight more. We’ll work on those things in practice on Tuesday and get back at it.”
On what changed when Dwight Howard got his second personal foul at the end of the first half…
“Well, again, he picked up the one sort of in retaliation, and that’s all they’re trying to do. Look, their big guys are going to hit him every chance they get and if he gets one foul retaliating they’ve done their job. He can’t get any of those. He’s just going to have to understand that no matter how many times they hit him, he can’t hit back. We need him on the floor. He gave one away, but the rest of them, look if that ball is going to come at the rim that many times it’s going to make it tough on him. That’s why I’m saying we’ve got to do a better job on the ball defensively and we’ve got to do a better job of our initial line of help. Dwight will be back there to block but they can’t be coming at him 25 or 30 times a game. It’s just going to be tough to avoid fouls if that’s the situation. So, I thought he was great defensively, other than the one fouling unnecessarily, I just think the ball was coming at him too many times.”
On Dwight Howard blocking nine shots tonight…
“He was great defensively, I mean, but we’ve got to get him more involved on the offensive end of the court too. He’s our leading scorer, our two leading scorers, one got plenty of shots and didn’t make them and the other guy we just didn’t get him involved. And we know what they’re going to do, it’s pretty clear. When he gets the ball in the post they’re going to double-team, if he gets it deep and gets a good spot they’re going to hammer him. So we know what’s coming. But with that said, we’ve got to get him the ball and he’s got to make plays out of the double-teams, which I think he can do. I think our other guys have got to be a little better with their spacing and then he’s got to make free throws.”
On what it means to the team when Jameer Nelson is playing well and if the playoffs mean more to him because of the Finals last year…
“I don’t think the playoffs mean more to him because of that. I just think he wants to win like everyone else. I don’t think the playoffs mean more to him than anybody else or more to him than anybody else. Our guys want to win, I just, as coaches, we’ve got to find a way, I’ve got to find a way offensively to give him a better idea of how to attack that defense. And defensively, we’ve got to find a way to keep them from being at the rim the entire time.”
Jameer Nelson
“When I’m in attack-mode, we’re pretty good offensively. I just try to come out big and set the tone. Whether it’s shoot the ball like I did in the first half or just find open guys. It just so happen that they weren’t helping at all with Dwight and kind of left me open a lot of the time in the first quarter and second quarter.”
“We know that we’re going to have to handle a little adversity from time to time, pretty much every game. That’s why we’re one of the good teams. We can handle the things that are going to come our way. We have other guys to step up for us. We have Dwight and Vince; they have a lot of faith in the guys that come of the bench. A lot of trust in them.”
“I think it’s just great just to play in the playoffs. The Finals, I wasn’t myself but I’m not making any excuses, I was out there so I should have helped my team out a little bit better. But it’s great, great to be out there fighting with those guys and not sitting over there in a suit just cheering them on as much as I did last year.”
Dwight Howard
“I was frustrated. But defensively I just tried to help my team out. It’s going to tough for me on the offensive end they way they were playing, double-teaming and swarming and not letting me catch, so I just tried to do a good job on the defensive end, blocking shots, just being there for my teammates. And I told them, don’t foul them, send them to me and that’s what they did.”
“I think that we have guys that can come in and score and play defense. We understand that there are going to be nights where the main guys are not going to have good shooting nights. Other guys have to step up and score. And tonight, the guys that came off the bench did an excellent job of keeping us in the game but also just playing defense. You look at the score tonight and it was very low. It was a defensive game. Both teams played pretty good defense. As a team, we just go to continue to play defense.”
“The one thing I knew coming into the series that they were going to double-team a lot and they did a good job of keeping it out of my hands. So I just have to continue to work, not get as frustrated you know when I don’t get the ball or things might not go my way. But I have to trust my teammates; Jameer stepped up tonight and played great. And we kept feeding him the ball. You know I want to be able to change games on the defensive end and that’s what wins. We all played defense tonight. I kept telling the guys all night, you got to play defense, you go to step up on the defensive end. Our offense is going to come. And when we don’t worry offense and focus in on the defensive end, I think we’re a pretty good team.”
Ryan Anderson
“I was talking to Jason Williams before the game and he was saying that if you don’t get chills, there’s something wrong with you. Just the crowd is at a different level, every possession counts, so it’s extra important to stick to the game plan. Every shot, the whole team is excited about it.”
Rashard Lewis
“I think stop getting into push and shove matches with some of the guys when he’s posting up. They give him some cheap fouls and he gets frustrated. The refs are going to make the call or not make the call, just go down the court and be ready for the next play. I think the small cheap fouls is what gets him in trouble a lot. If he can learn how to play through that and not get frustrated, he should be on the court a lot more.”
(Difference in Magic 2nd half) “I don’t think we mentally relaxed, I think we got in a little foul trouble with Vince Carter and Dwight Howard being on the bench. But they made a run and they’re a good team and a well coached team and they started playing better defense in the second half and able to get back into the game.”
“You most definitely have to be more careful when they started getting into a rhythm on the offensive end and started making basket and getting stops. That’s when you’ve got to execute on the offensive end, move the ball around, and on the defensive end, you’ve got to talk, got to play together, and you‘ve got to get stops, especially when Dwight’s not in the game, somebody else has to rebound for him.”
Mickael Pietrus
“I think in the third quarter we didn’t make shots. And in the fourth quarter, we really found our stride and made big 3’s. That’s what we really need form our team. I think that the second game we have to do a better job offensively.”
“It was physical. I mean the NBA is not going to give you the trophy and say its all yours, guys. No, it’s going to be physical from the get-go. So that’s what we need, that’s why you enjoy getting that trophy at the end of the season. I think that every one that we’re going to go through is going to harder and harder and harder from experience and we have to learn from it and we’re ready to take that challenge.”
April 12, 2010: Magic-Pacers Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“We won. We wanted to get off to a really good start in the game, particularly on the offensive part of the game. I thought the first six minutes of the third quarter was the best defensive effort of the season. I liked our defensive effort.
(On controlling the second seed in the playoffs) We have to win Wednesday. It’s in our hands. The good thing is that we’ve been able to do this and not play our guys a lot of minutes. Your goal is to win a championship. You try to put yourselves in the best position to do that.
(On Orlando’s focus) Our guys’ focus tonight was great. I was a little worried in the locker room before the game. We seemed tired. I was surprised by our energy early in the game.”
Dwight Howard
“(On the strong start in the game) That’s what we wanted to come out and do—come out and have a good start. We wanted to come out and start being aggressive and put the hammer down early. I think we did that.
(On his playing minutes) It doesn’t bother me. The main thing is just getting ready for the playoffs. We’ve been doing an excellent job the last couple games of just focusing on the small things to make us better for the playoffs.
(On the Magic defense in the third quarter) It was very big. We came out aggressive on the defensive end, got stops when we needed and scored. Going into the playoffs we have to do that.”
Matt Barnes
“(On the strong first quarter) We know that they are a tough team here at home and that they have been playing very well here of late. We struggled early in the season when we came here and they beat us. They are a very talented, scoring team that can shoot the ball and present a lot of match up problems. So we were very conscious of coming out strong in the first quarter.
(On their incentive to keep playing hard) I know we don’t like to look ahead, but if we were fortunate to win the Eastern Conference we definitely want to have home court advantage in The Finals. We have one game left. We just need to stay strong, play like we did tonight and we control our own destiny with our last home game Wednesday.”
April 11, 2010: Magic-Cavaliers Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
(On what was achieved today): “We got a win, but nothing else. It was just a bad basketball game from our standpoint. But we won, so I’m not going to complain. What else do I take from it? Nothing.”
(On game being close despite LeBron James sitting out): “No, no, I don’t care about that. That happens all the time in the NBA because, quite honestly, we would have played the game – I don’t know if we would have won – but we would have played the game much better and much more focused had he played. (Assistant coach) Patrick Ewing and I were talking right before the game, I mean the air went out of our locker room when our guys found out he wasn’t playing. I thought our guys got up this morning at our walk-through at the hotel and were really into playing. Then, when those guys weren’t playing, we had a lot of guys who didn’t want to play either. We wanted to play against their team and we really weren’t interested in playing against the other guys unfortunately.”
Jameer Nelson
(On the Magic today): “We fought through. We had a little bit of adversity that we had to fight through with them not matching our guys and preparing a certain way. No matter who was out there, we just had to keep fighting and play the game we know how to play. We went out there to work on certain things and accomplish our goal, which was to win the game and we did so.”
(On the Magic’s recent success): “We’re in a good spot in terms of our seeding. We’re playing pretty good basketball right now. But, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We still have two games to finish the season out with and we want to close it out the right way.”
Vince Carter
(On playing Cavs minus James and Shaquille O’Neal): “It’s tough, but at the same time, it’s something we needed to do. We’re trying to win every game, trying to win out, because they all mean something to us in the end. It was a slow first half and we know they’re (Cavs) notorious for coming out and trying to win the game in the first half as far as putting teams away. It was a good job for our team for just staying focused and fighting our way back.”
(On the Cavs in the playoffs as a possible opponent): “First and foremost, we have to win the first couple (series) and to be honest with you, I just hate looking that far ahead. I think this is a very special team that is very capable. And, that will be a great matchup, I’ll say that. But, anything can happen. For everybody who thinks we should be there, they can possibly fall. I don’t want to wish that on us.”
(On the Magic being ready for the playoffs): “I think we’re ready to go. We didn’t put this team together for nothing. If we’re not ready now, then we’ll never be ready. It’s approaching (playoffs). I personally didn’t play well tonight, so I just want to finish it (regular season) strong and we’re trying to accomplish a goal and win out. And, I think that’s a great building block going into the playoffs, it’s just the mentality needs to be established.”
Mickael Pietrus
(On the Cavs changes from last season to this year for the playoffs): “If you want to win a championship, in the playoffs, you have to go through the best and they are the best in the NBA. We are trying to get to that level. You have to realize that Antawn Jamison gives them a great lift. He’s great player, an All-Star, so this year it’s going to be an even tougher matchup for us. But, our team is made to win a championship, so I think we are going to really try to compete against them if we meet them in the East Finals.”
April 7, 2010: Magic-Wizards Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“I thought the second half we played really well. Sort of on cruise control, not with a lot of energy and intensity in the first half, much better in the second half. We couldn’t stop them, which is a concern to see 50 percent down there again (on the box score). You know, three times in the last five games, that concerns me. But, we played well in the second half.”
On if it’s still the defense that’s upsetting him…
“I would’ve hoped I would’ve seen better numbers tonight, but…”
On if the depth of their bench has helped them over the course of the long season…
“Yeah, I think so. It definitely helps. I mean, if you go down our 12 man roster, every one of those guys has played major roles in multiple wins. It’s not like one game or something, all 12 of those guys have played major roles in big wins and certainly multiple wins. I don’t know how many teams can say that.”
On his view of the remaining games after locking up the No. 2 seed and the Southeast Division…
“I just want to keep getting better. We’ve only got one practice left, it’s on Saturday, in the regular season but we’ve got a walkthrough Friday morning and we’ll have one the following Wednesday so we’ve got three more opportunities in the regular season. I’d still like to see us make some improvement, I’d like to see us do a little better job on the defensive end of the floor in the last four games. We’re just going to keep working on trying to shore up areas where we need to get better.”
On Mike Brown’s quote that their final regular season games are just high-level practices…
“Well they have home court wrapped up all the way through the playoffs so he’s right. That’s exactly what they are for them, they don’t need another win, he’s got 61 wins. It’s a nice situation to be in, I’ve never been there.”
On if he can’t change their position in the playoffs either…
“Well we can change our position relative to the Lakers. I mean, Cleveland, they’ve got the whole thing wrapped up so, it’s really incredible. I don’t remember times where somebody, maybe there has been, but I don’t remember times where somebody, with a week-and-a-half to go has got home court wrapped up all the way through (the playoffs). That’s phenomenal.”
On what specifically they aren’t doing well defensively…
“Well we did a good job keeping the ball out of the paint. We couldn’t guard their wing players tonight. If you look at (Nick) Young, (Mike) Miller, Cartier Martin they’re 19-for-30 from the floor. They’re all really good players, I don’t think we necessarily gave them much easy stuff, but it was just jump shots over the top and everything else. I don’t think it’s a lack of effort but it’s concerning to me, I’m not mad at anybody, it’s just concerning to me that we can’t limit those good perimeter players better than that. We did do a very good job on (Andray) Blatche, I thought our big guys, all of the them, did a good job. Rashard (Lewis), Ryan (Anderson) Dwight (Howard) Marcin (Gortat), I thought they did a good job of locking in on him, made the night tough on him.”
Dwight Howard
(On catching Lakers) “Well Stan has talked about it a lot. For us, we just want to continue to get better and just focus on the small things that will take us to the next level. So that’s the only thing that we’re focused on right now. I think that we’re doing a good job.”
“Going into the playoffs, we just want to continue to do the right things, especially on the floor and in practice. Working on the small things, being aggressive on the defensive end, talking. That’s what is going to set us apart come playoff time.”
“Matt (Barnes) and I talked before he got here. One thing that I told him was that when you come to this team, we’re going to need you to be kind of like the, I guess the, you know I’m the enforcer, but you know there are some things I really can’t do being the enforcer. Matt can get away with a lot of different things. So we talked about setting the standard with our team and people around the league that we’re not going to be pushed around.”
Jason Williams
(On the second unit bringing energy) “That’s our job, not saying that the first unit doesn’t know they’re job, but we’ve got to come in and bring energy, move the ball, and take open shots.”
(On scoring 6 pts. in 2 seconds) “They slid under on a high pick-and-roll on the first three and just got lucky on the second. I was just trying to throw it up before the buzzer went off.”
(on comparing w/ Heat team he was on that won NBA title) “One through 15, this is the most talented team I’ve played on, the deepest team. So we’ll see how it goes in the playoffs.”
Vince Carter
(On remaining games) “They’re still important. If we happen to play in the Finals, it’ll mean a lot, so the mentality is to win them all, regardless. It’s a practice game or not, we’re trying to win them all. It’s not about what every body else is doing. Just to continue to step on the floor, it’s business. It’s the playoff mentality, even now.”
April 4, 2010: Magic-Grizzlies Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“I thought the offense in the first half was good and I thought we played well in the last 18 minutes of the game. Particularly in the fourth quarter, I thought we played with a lot of fight and with a lot of poise and composure in the fourth, which obviously we didn’t have earlier. We didn’t have a whole lot of fight until everything went down and then we got a little bit of fight. And then we got our composure back and played well. The biggest problem tonight obviously is we put them on the line 38 times. But other than that, they shot 40 percent, we’ve just got to quit fouling, we’re just bailing people out. We’ve got to be a lot more disciplined in terms of that. They’re a very good offensive team. They really attack the basket and I thought we could’ve handled it better. Offensively, I thought particularly down the stretch in the fourth, we executed about as well as we could.”
On what happened in the third quarter with Matt Barnes…
“Matt thought he got fouled on the play, so Matt started to, he was going to get a technical, he started to run over to the official and complain and (Hasheem) Thabeet pushed him and then Matt sort of lost it. And then everybody was involved. And that was it. At least the benches didn’t empty, no punches were thrown, I don’t see suspensions coming or anything like that, so that’s good. When they said he was ejected, he left. So that was all positive in a way. And after that I thought for the next couple of minutes we were still a little out of sorts, upset, pissed off, whatever you want to call it. But then I thought we gathered ourselves pretty well and played well down the stretch of the game.”
On if he puts any stock into beating each team in the league at least once this year…
“Well we put that on the board before the game. The season is long and the days are long. I’m at work by 6:30 a.m. and the game’s at 6:00 p.m. I’ve got to have something to do all day. So yeah, I look at some of that stuff. So yeah, it’s a nice little thing, Dallas has a chance to do it in Portland on Wednesday night and that’s it. If they don’t do it then we’re the only team that’s beat every other team. I like that. I like going through the league and I think there’s something to be said for having gone out on the court and proving that you literally, I mean everybody thinks that they can beat everybody in this league and they’ll talk about it, we’ve literally done it. We’ve beaten everybody in this league. Not easy to do, 20 – 10 against the West. Yeah, I can put some stock in that. Does it mean anything going forward? No. But still, you play 82 games, and we all understand, everybody on our team understands, everybody in our organization understands that we’re at the point where we get judged on the playoffs. But we’ve been at this since October, you’ve got to take some pride and some satisfaction in the accomplishments along the way. When you get one more win, we win the division. You’ve got to take some pride in that and whether its media, fans or whatever, you can poo-poo that all you want, but it’s a long season and those accomplishments mean a lot. They certainly mean a lot to me and yeah, I think being the only team in the league to beat everybody, that’s a nice accomplishment.”
Matt Barnes
(On the altercation) “They called an offensive foul. I was going to debate the foul and (Hasheem) Thabeet pushed me. I let my temper get out of control. I pushed him and that was the wrong thing to do. I apologized to my teammates for letting my temper get out of control. I am glad we got the win.”
“I apologized for my temper. It had a chance to really cause damage and I never want to put my team in a situation where I am going to hurt them by my reaction. I apologized to the guys and told them that it’s not going to happen again. These guys know that I play with my emotions on my sleeve. I was just heated and I didn’t react in the proper way.”
“This team has become a family. A lot of people talk about the Orlando Magic as not being tough, but we are a tough team. We are a family and we are not going to let anyone come in here and push us around.”
Vince Carter
“We are just playing to win. That’s it. We are going to compete. Our mentality is the playoff way and we are just going to finish the season.”
(On the Magic being the only NBA team to have a win against every other team) “It is a great stat. I think that is an accomplishment to our team that we are able to compete with everybody in the league. We want to be able to do that because you never know who you are going to see down the road.”
(On his breakaway dunk) “Every now and then I will give you something to think about and enjoy. I can’t promise when you are going to see it again. It is always fun to do and for people to say ‘Oh, he can still do that’. I can still do that stuff. It’s just the after effect sometimes. Tonight I’m going to be like why did I do that?”
Rashard Lewis
“I thought our defense was a little slow and a step behind tonight. They got a lot of layups and a lot of points in the paint. That was the whole ballgame.”
(On the altercation) “It was something that happened in the heat of the moment. Matt (Barnes) jumped up to talk to the ref and (Hasheem) Thabeet pushed him. Of course, when someone comes up and pushes you, you are going to retaliate and push back. Unfortunately he (Matt) got ejected and the other guy didn’t.”
(If the push gave the game life) “It most definitely gave the game life. Both teams started playing a little bit harder. Everyone was a little upset and a little mad. We played with a little frustration. We didn’t play well for the first minute or two coming out of the altercation but overall we were able to pick it up and get back rolling.”
April 2, 2010: Magic-Spurs Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
(opening statement)
“Tonight we couldn’t control their pick-and-roll at all as we just did not do a good job on it at any point as it was frustrating. They went to the rim, the rim, the rim as we did not do a good job there. Ginobili obviously killed us in that stretch there as they went to Duncan as he also made some big hoops. Offensively, we were decent as we kept ourselves in the game and gave ourselves a chance there until the last five minutes or so. We just couldn’t stop them and certainly not for enough sustained time to get back in the game. The 62 points in the paint, they simply played extremely well as I wasn’t happy with our defense but in reality they played extremely well at a very high energy level.”
(on Dwight Howard’s struggling performance tonight)
“He struggled at the line, I mean, he has nights like that. Dwight was upset as that was frustrating in that regard, but we had an idiot behind the bench that we should’ve just ignored but every arena’s has them. It was a frustrating night as our guys ended up getting into it with the guy.”
(on Tim Duncan getting quick fouls in the first quarter) “It could’ve affected the game but he only played four and a half minutes in the first half but Dwight only played seven and a half. We didn’t get a whole lot of advantage out of that. ”
(on the “Hack-a-Howard” method of the Spurs) “You’re going to do anything you can to win a game. Mike is looking at the way we shoot threes and the way we spread it out and our quick comeback and the whole thing as he’s not going to take that chance. I thought it was a solid strategy. ”
Dwight Howard
(on this game against the Spurs tonight versus their last match-up)
“They’re fighting for something much more bigger than this game. We understood that as they came out tonight and played good on both end. We as a team have to come back Sunday and get a win.”
(on if tonight felt like a playoff intensity game)
“Not really. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to play as like I said, we just have to come back Sunday and have a better game on both ends of the floor as I’m pretty sure we’ll bounce back strong. We never let one game affect the rest of the season as we know we didn’t play our best tonight.”
Jameer Nelson
(on Ginobili’s performance tonight)
“I think who played on him played him tough and hard but it was just one of those nights where he was doing everything and making a lot of shots. He’s a tough guard, regardless of what night it is, but tonight he really had it going on.”
(on how the team handled the unfriendly crowd with playoffs approaching)
“To be honest with you, I think since All-Star break we’ve had the best record in the league so I’m not concerned at all. I’m not trying to be mean but I’m just being honest as you win games and lose games. Guys get hot on you but he had it going tonight as they went to him 85 percent of the time as he’s a great player. If you’re going to get a lot of touches you’re going to get a lot of shots.”
April 1, 2010: Magic-Mavericks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On what is says about the Magic to win this game after Dallas had a back-to-back) “Both teams struggled to score in the first half. The score, both shooting in the 30s, then we shot 60% in the second half, and yet the back-to-back helps you. It certainly helps you. They missed some shots they would normally make, didn’t have legs, things like that. With that said, they were 11-7 on the second night of back-to-backs and had won five in a row. They had been playing well on those nights, so it was still great to get a win. We definitely had a little bit of an advantage with that, but you want to take advantage of it. I think our defense was pretty solid all night other than some dumb fouls, then we hit a stretch of a couple of turnovers. We gave them a little bit of a – I wouldn’t say back in it because it never got below double figures, but they had Dirk’s shot that could have cut it to seven, a good open look from three. We made some mistakes but other than that I thought we played well. Dwight is tremendous. Five blocks, 20 rebounds, it just makes it tough inside on people. I thought he was great as usual. Vince got on a nice roll, and obviously Pietrus had a huge night. And then I thought Jameer, in the third quarter, really got us going. We had some guys step up on both ends of the floor.”
(On the contested shots) “I thought in the first half we took some very difficult shots, and then I thought on times on drives in the second half. I don’t mind when we’re going to the rim strong on big guy. I don’t like it when we are shooting runners over seven footers, I think that’s a bad shot. I thought in the first half we took too many shots with no passes. I thought our ball movement was better in the second half. We played more drive and kick and I think that’s why our percentage went up as much as it did.”
Orlando Point Guard Jameer Nelson
(About the team shooting better in the second half…) – “That’s part of the game. You’re going to miss shots. You’re going to make shots. And that’s everybody. And if you’re missing shots, that doesn’t mean you’ve got to stop shooting and stop being aggressive. I know I’m a good shooter and I know the shots are going to go down.”
(The coach talked about the responsibility of the team getting good shots…) - “The thing is, he puts us in situations to be successful and to make plays for ourselves, and for each other. I think we’ve just got to control the game and be aggressive, like I said.”
(Talk about Pietrus’ performance…) – “He was great. He just totally would shoot shots that he got. He’s a great three-point shooter when he takes them. Everybody on the team can shoot, so it’s not – like I said – you miss a couple shots there’s no reason to stop shooting. You’ve got to shoot the ball if you’re going to make it.”
(Talk about coming here and beating Dallas on their home court and what it means…) – “Well, we know how good we are. We’re not cocky or overconfident or anything, but we know we can beat anybody when we play our game. We played great defensively, and pushed the ball, and got good shots when we needed to.”
Orlando Forward Mickael Pietrus
(Talk about how you shot – were you looking for the three ball tonight?) – “No, I try to mix my game. I try to go to the basket first and shoot free throws, and the rest of my game is going to come. And I was able to get open shots and I made them and that’s all it was.”
(Talk about shutting Dallas down for a few minutes at a time tonight…) – “That’s how we’ve been winning games all season, with our defense. I think when we can trust our defense the offense is going to come. So I think that every game we start it has to be defensively. And the rest of the game – we have a lot of shooters, we have [Dwight], so anything can happen [if we play defense].”
March 28, 2010: Magic-Nuggets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
“I’m really happy and proud of our guys. I thought that our fight and competitiveness was tremendous – that’s a very tough team to play against. I thought our guys fought the entire day, got down 10 in the third, really got off to a bad start in the third quarter, fought our way back in it, started to really make some shots. We had some guys play very well obviously and we had everybody play real hard, and then down the stretch we got stops, we got rebounds and we made really good, solid plays. I think that was one of our best wins of the year; with Vince going down early, Pietrus out, we were really shorthanded on the perimeter. I was really proud of our guys.”
On if the team needs tests like this late in the season against elite teams…
“Well we need them, I don’t necessarily like them. I would rather win by 30 and relax. But yeah, you need them. You need to play in these types of game, and this team is (a) very physical team, very big team, can really score in a lot of ways, tough to play against. You’re always getting banged and everything else. I thought our guys kept their composure very, very well and really made good plays down the stretch. I mean, in the first half, I didn’t think we played very well, we didn’t shoot very well, we had the lead because we only turned the ball over three times and only nine for the game. I think that if we get that understanding of how important it is to take care of the ball and what that can do to keep you in the game, that’s key because if you look, at halftime, you’re looking at the shooting numbers and you’re saying, how in the heck are you ahead, let alone even in the game, and then you look down and you got three turnovers; it’ll give you a chance.”
On JJ Redick’s performance…
“I thought the key to JJ’s performance was that rest I gave him at the beginning of the game, that 1:35, so he could be fresh. He was tremendous, and that was the most we have had anybody play this year, and look, he played great, but I think of you’re somebody out there watching, what you have to know and we see everyday and appreciate, he is one of the best, if not the best, conditioned guys in this league. He works his butt off year-round to be in great shape. He really gets no more than usually 24-25 minutes – you need him for 46 and he’s able to do it. He’s conditioned himself extremely well. Obviously played very well. I mean, seven rebounds for him is incredible, eight assists to go with the shooting. And then Ryan had another great game. He was actually a lot better today even than he was the other night. I thought he got involved in the battle down there on the boards also. I thought Matt and Rashard worked really hard defensively and then Dwight was Dwight, I thought. He was getting banged around down there, it was frustrating, held his composure, got some really big rebounds and I think changed a lot of shots. Everybody that played contributed to that one.”
Dwight Howard
“Early in the season, we knew it would take time for us to become the team that we wanted to become. As of late, we’re just gelling. We’re playing hard and we’re practicing. Every body just wants to win.”
“It’s very big, you know. It sends a message. The last time we played these guys, we didn’t play so well and wanted to show them that we wanted to give our best effort. Just wanted to keep this thing rolling. And I think we’ve been doing an excellent job the last couple games of being aggressive on both ends, really trying to focus in on the defense. Guys like J. J. and Ryan, and Matt really stepped up. Matt had a very tough match-up tonight. He kept his head up; he did an excellent job on Carmelo Anthony. But really tonight’s story is J. J. Redick. And also Ryan Anderson, those guys really played big. On the defensive end, J. J. had a tough match-up on JR Smith but he held his own. On the offensive end he made buckets, passed the ball well. He played a lot of minutes. He played like 45 minutes; this is a career high for him, for his whole entire life.”
“I think we all understand that every body who steps on the floor has to play big. When Vince went down, J. J. played big for us. That’s what it takes, a team full of guys who want to get the job done. We all have one common goal. We want to win a championship. We all think about nothing else but winning, winning a championship. That’s what it’s going to take.”
J. J. Redick
“Obviously you can’t predict injuries; you just have to be ready in situations like that. We were down two guys really because M. P. was hurt too. I just said to Stan that I’m in good enough shape to do that and if we were on a back-to-back, I probably might be in trouble tomorrow but likely have a couple days off.”
“It was a big win for us. Especially at home and also with the way we played them back in January. We got our butts kicked pretty good up in Denver, that was a stretch in which we weren’t playing particularly well. So, to get a win now when we are playing good and when they were on their game, they shot 52%, it’s definitely a big win.”
“We are very deep, we have guys that can play multiple positions, I’m not one of them, but we do have guys that can play multiple positions and that helps as well.”
Ryan Anderson
“Shot is feeling pretty good. I mean I’ve been working a ton on it. Shooting a lot, getting a lot of reps up so it’s good that it’s translating into the game. But Dwight gets everybody open so it helps to have a guy like him.”
March 26, 2010: Magic-Wolves Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
“I thought the second half we made a much better effort defensively. I thought we could’ve really put it away earlier if we could’ve taken care of the ball. I thougth Dwight (Howard) was tremendous on both ends of the floor. And I thought Vince (Carter) had a real solid game. And, I thought our bench was very, very good tonight. And that’s why we let them finish the game out. I thougth that they did a good job late third quarter early fourth quarter getting us a margin and played extremely well, so there were some very good things tonight. First half, not much sense of urgency defensively. But second half much better defense. Now we’ll start to take care of the ball that’d be another big help for us.”
On if playing Ryan Anderson was a hunch, or he chose to do it because of match-ups…
“No, not a hunch. I was sort of kicking myself the other night after the Atlanta game because he’s had good practices lately. He’s played well against Atlanta all year and because of his ability to spread the floor – both those teams Atlanta and then tonight, he had a big game up there last time. They want to give their four-man, they want to get two bigs on Dwight, so your four man is wide open when they can spread the floor. So, that’s why we went with him. I didn’t know how he’d look quite honestly because he hadn’t played in so long. I think it’s a real credit to him that he played as well as he did. He didn’t shoot the ball very well, but nine rebounds and very active, I thougth played pretty good defense. I just thought he helped us. A lot.”
On putting Dwight Howard back in the game late…
“Well, it got back down to 13 again you know, and they got a couple offensive rebounds, I just don’t mess around with games. I try not to. I’m not one to take a lot of chances. To me, that’s when you don’t screw around. When you’ve got a game you make sure you get it. I don’t want to be giving one away.”
On the possibility that Dwight Howard will be the first player in history to lead the league in rebounds and blocked shots for more than one season… “It’s a tremendous thing. And he’s probably got to block three or four more shots in the last nine games and he might have to average two or three rebounds a game to lead the league in rebounds. It’s really unbeliveable, I looked the other day and I said to Brendan (Malone) well if ‘Dwight doesn’t get a rebound tonight and if Zach Randolph can get 101, then he’ll tie him for the lead. I mean, he’s so far out in front of everybody, you know it’s not like he’s barely ahead. I don’t know he’s 50 blocks and 100 and some rebounds ahead. He’s the dominate guy in the league in those two areas. He went in tonight leading the league in fieldgoal percentage, certainly didn’t hurt himself there. He’s got a chance, that ones close, but he’s got a chance to lead the league in three catergories, it’s just… he’s having a phenomenal year.”
Dwight Howard
“I think they get overlooked. But I’m just happy that we are playing a lot better than we did in the beginning of the season. We are really jelling. That’s the main thing going into the playoffs. I think we are doing all the right things to get better.”
“Tonight they had a lot of bigs. Darko is a seven footer, Al is a seven footer. For us to be successful I need to be dominant on the boards.
“I just want to win a championship. All the individual accomplishments are great but winning a championship is something we are all looking forward to.”
March 24, 2010: Magic-Hawks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
“This was a tough finish. I thought our guys did a good job getting us back in the game. The Hawks outplayed us for a good portion of the game. Our rebounding and defense kept us in the game. Vince hit a great shot to tie the game up, and then he played great defense on Joe (Johnson) on the other end. Unfortunately we forgot to box out on the weak side, and Josh (Smith) was able to make a great play. We became spectators and didn’t block out, and this is the second loss we’ve had like this this season.”
“On a night where the Hawks defense was good, so was ours. But we just didn’t make the plays down the stretch to get in front of them. They got up on us, and stayed up during the second half, and that made it tough. We knew they were going to be ready to play tonight. They win 80% of their games at home, and it was very evident that they came prepared to play tonight.”
Jameer Nelson
“This was a tough loss for us. It’s definitely not one person’s fault. Vince hit a big shot to get us tied up, but Josh got open and was able to make a big play at the end and get a big win for his team. Dwight (Howard) went to help on the other side, so that gave Josh space. The Hawks were obviously motivated to get a win tonight. We’ve beaten them all year, so I’m sure they wanted to win tonight. That’s a good team in the other locker room, so you have to give them credit for coming out and being ready to play tonight. They’re one of the toughest teams to beat at home.”
Vince Carter
“I was glad I was able to make that shot to tie the game up. We had to come from a big deficit to even get the game to that point. On the other end, I was so busy guarding Joe, that I didn’t see Josh get open. We were so busy trying to force Joe one way, it somehow freed up another player. It happened to be Josh, and he made a great play. We went up on them early in the first half, but they made a great comeback and held us off for most of the game. You have to give them credit for coming to play. Because they’re such a talented team it’s hard to come from behind and beat them at home.”
March 22, 2010: Magic-76ers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Opening statement…
“We did a good job closing it out. I don’t think we rebounded very well in the first half. We didn’t do a very good job stopping penetration the entire game. But on the offensive end we did a good job of getting good shots and we made a lot of three-pointers. That was really the difference in the game.”
On the team’s rebounding tonight…
“It was a problem for most of the game. The only time we kept them off of the offensive glass is when they made the adjustments, but they just let them score on the first shot. We didn’t do a good job putting bodies on them. If you are going to let (Samuel) Dalembert move and roam free then you are going to have trouble.”
On winning 50 games for the third year in a row…
“This year there will be quite a few teams. You will get seven or eight team each year to do it, so you are in the top quarter of the league. I think it is the mark in the league of a very good team, 60 being the mark of a great team. Fifty is a great mark and I don’t know how much it means or doesn’t mean to Vince (Carter), but it is a good mark for a team.”
Jameer Nelson
On the way the Magic closed out the game tonight…
“We have been doing a better job of closing team out as of late, despite the Miami game when we were up by 10 and we let them back into overtime. We hit some big shots down the stretch and won the game.
On Vince Carter getting his first 50-win season…
“I am happy for him. A guy like himself that many people criticize all the time and say a lot of negative things about has proven himself to everybody as of late and has been playing great for us lately.”
Dwight Howard
On winning 50 games for the third straight season…
“It is a great honor. It is showing we are improving every year. To win 50 games in the NBA is tough for anybody. People don’t realize how hard it is to win every single night. We have been persistent for the last three years and have been putting in the effort to become an elite team.”
March 18, 2010: Magic-Heat Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
On the Game
“That was a great basketball game. [Mario] Chalmers hit a couple of huge threes for the [Miami Heat]. I thought our guys played extremely well. Coming out of a game last night, there was a much better fight in us. I was really happy with our guys. Vince made great passes. Dwight [Howard]’s offensive rebound around four guys and his pass out to Rashard [Lewis] for a three was great. I was proud of our guys but we were very fortunate to win.”
On Dwight Howard’s Technical
“He slammed the ball down. But it had happened about six times in the game. There was no complaint to an official. Players do it when they get frustrated.”
On Vince Carter
“He played huge minutes tonight. He was great. He has gotten stronger. He is just in better shape. He has worked very hard.”
“He seems to be enjoying playing in big games.”
March 17, 2010: Magic-Spurs Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy
“I mean obviously we had a nice little advantage catching them on the second night of a back-to-back when we’d had a couple days off. We’ve been in that situation on the other side of it before so that no doubt helped us. I thought we played very well though, other than the end of the second quarter when we let them back in, but then in the third quarter we played well. They had some makeable shots that they didn’t knock down, we knocked down some shots and that was pretty much the difference. But, we played pretty consistently throughout. They looked a little bit tired and that was pretty much the story.”
On Vince Carter’s play tonight and if he’s been good enough at getting in the lane…
“He was fantastic. I thought both in the first quarter and then in the third quarter he was terrific. Plus, eight assists, you know with one turnover, you can’t ask for much more than that. He’s obviously playing at a very high level right now and when he plays like that we’re obviously pretty good.”
On Dwight Howard’s defense on Tim Duncan…
“Well I thought his defense was good, plus I thought he played well offensively. I thought he did a good job playing out of the double teams. He created a lot of shots for us. Even though he only had a couple of assists, a lot of times it was his pass out and one or two more passes, good ball movement, to a wide open shot. But it was him playing out of the double teams. They doubled him all night. What I really liked was that he didn’t get frustrated with the fact that he wasn’t getting shots, he didn’t force things. He was content to make the right play. And, played very well at the defensive end of the floor. I thought he was a huge factor in the game, even though his numbers were modest.”
On what they were doing defensively to frustrate Tim Duncan…
“Well, you know what, look, I mean, I thought Dwight played good defense. And Marcin (Gortat) the little bit he was on him. But, there are nights like that for every player too. Bottom line, when you have a great player like Tim Duncan is, you can play the exact same defense tomorrow night and he can go eight or nine for-10. So, you have to be realistic. I liked our defense on him. I thought we did a good job. And, at the same time he can make a lot of the shots he was taking and what you try to do is not make things easy and then you live with the result. But he’s a great, great player and thankfully he had a bad night tonight.”
Jameer Nelson
“We can’t be satisfied just getting to the play-offs at this point, with what we went through last year. To have a taste of the championship, you want to win it. It’s what we’re playing for. We’re not one of those teams that are happy all year and let’s celebrate just because we made the play-offs. We’re one the teams that wants to win it, to have a legit chance, you know.”
“You have to move the ball from one side to another, especially against a good defensive team. We’re hard to guard. We have guys that can put the ball on the floor, we got guys that can post that you have to worry about, and guys at the 3 (point) line you have to worry about. So we’re hard to guard when we move the ball.”
Vince Carter
“I think it’s a step in the right direction. You know we let one go last game on our back-to-back against Charlotte. We can get back into our winning ways. Play the right way. I think defensively we did a great job as a unit. We would move the ball offensively and make plays for each other, more than anything.”
“It’s not about who makes the most points, it’s just who has the open shot gets the ball and when you’re open, take the shot. So whether you’re open or not, you have to take the shot and I think we’ve doe a great job of exploiting different situations throughout the course of the game. We knew Dwight probably wouldn’t have a big night scoring but it was important for us to give him the ball to draw those double teams. Once he passed the ball out of the double teams, moved the ball to the open guy.”
“I was just taking what was there. I hit a few which made my defender have to get up on me and I just continued to attack and find open guys. So had a few things working for me.”
(On holding Duncan to one of the lowest scoring % of career) “He’s definitely a focal point, of course in Ginobili; we just wanted to make it tough for him, more than anything.”
Rashard Lewis
“Just keep shooting the ball. I didn’t worry about it at all. To me, the most important thing at the end of the day is to win ball games. Just like tonight, made a high percentage but didn’t get very many an overall I thought we played great as a team. We thought we played good defense, started off playing good defensively and built a lead. We stayed playing defense throughout the night and I thought overall we played good.”
March 14, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy: “We weren’t very good at anything today, we didn’t rebound, we didn’t take care of the ball, we didn’t shoot well, we didn’t defend, we just weren’t very good at anything.”
On if their problems started early on the defensive end…
“Yeah, that starting unit, that’s two games in a row now that they just haven’t brought any defensive mentality to start the game. So, obviously something they have to correct.”
On what he can do to get Rashard Lewis out of his shooting slump…
“Yeah, I don’t know. We went through it with Vince (Carter) in January and now Rashard, you know is just not playing well at all right now. You know, it’s not just the shooting, I mean, he’s not rebounding the ball, he’s just not playing with much energy. I don’t know.”
On if Rashard is sacrificing for the team and passing up shots he should be taking…
“It’s not a matter of that. He’s not making the shots he’s taking. He’s turning the ball over, he’s just not playing well. It’s not a matter of anything else, he’s just not playing well. And, you know, I have confidence he’ll bounce back but right now he’s just not playing well.”
On how different the Charlotte Bobcats look now versus when they faced them earlier…
“We’ve basically played them with that group other than (Gerald) Wallace didn’t play, so they were different. But, they’re not much different.”
On the performance of Mickael Pietrus tonight…
“I thought MP played well, I thought MP on the offensive end I thought MP and Vince and Dwight (Howard) all played well. But it was pretty much a three man show, nobody else could get anything else going. So it’s just not enough.”
On his thoughts on possibly facing this team in the first round of the playoffs…
“I don’t have any thoughts right now about the first round of the playoffs.”
On if the moving screen calls in the game tonight disrupted their rhythm…
“I don’t know about that. We didn’t play well. Look, we didn’t play well. We didn’t play with much energy. We didn’t have enough guys play well individually. We just didn’t play well. It was a bad night. Hopefully we’ll get back on it, we’ve been playing very well lately and hopefully we’ll be right back to that on Wednesday. We just weren’t very good tonight.”
Mickael Pietrus
“I don’t know if it’s tired legs or not. Everybody has two back-to-backs. We were trying to keep our winning streak tonight. I think we’ve been playing pretty good; we have one of the best records in the NBA since the All-Star break. We’re really going to try to pick up a winning streak because it’s going to be very important for us before the play-offs.”
“I just wanted to play my game. They called my name and my shot was hot so I wanted to continue to focus to aggressive on both ends of the floor and help my team. So hopefully we’ll come back strong on Wednesday.”
(On Charlotte) “They are fighting for a play-off spot; they came out ready and hungry. That’s a very hungry team and they came out and made a lot of shots. They played extremely well. That’s one of those teams that fighting for the play-offs. We have to be ready for that.”
Vince Carter
“It’s just what it is, I don’t know. We should have won that game.”
“I hate to make excuses. We showed up to play the game, we gave ourselves a chance and they can score. They can defend well, they get into passing lanes. They just caught us tonight.”
(On Rashard) “I tell him to keep playing. I’d never tell him to stop shooting the ball. He’s a proven player that has done a lot for us, hit big shots. So I’m not worried about him. With him being on the court, they’re still going to have to cover him. They still going to run out there and cover him because of what he’s done over his career and this year. I think we’ll be fine, he’ll be fine.”
J. J. Redick
“Our defense wasn’t very good at times, our offense was even worse. You can’t really win when that happens.”
Jameer Nelson
“They did a good job; they played with a lot of energy. You have to give those guys credit in the locker room:”
(On Stephen Jackson) “He’s playing well. He’s definitely stepped up their level of play as a team. It’s just the intensity that he brings offensively and defensively. He’s emotions; everything is a positive for that team over there.”
March 13, 2010: Magic-Wizards Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
On the game:
“I thought the guys off the bench in the second quarter, along with Dwight, really turned the game around. I thought they did a tremendous job. Our starters got off to a much better start in the third quarter. That, to me, that 18 or 20 minutes was the key stretch where we played good basketball.”
On bench play:
“Our bench guys were really, really good tonight – all of them. I thought they gave us a huge lift. Our starters were not very good early. It was enough to get the win against a team that had a lot working against them tonight.”
On Andray Blatche:
“Blatche is very, very good because he can get that shot off over the top any time he wants. He can score in the post. He can put the ball on the floor. He’s a tough matchup. We were prepared to put Dwight on him down the stretch if we needed to. I thought we worked harder on him in the second half but he’s a force down there.”
Dwight Howard
On bench play:
“That’s what got us going. Guys came in with defense, we hit shots, and we were able to run and be effective in transition. That’s the way we got back in the game and ended up winning.”
On scoring 28 points tonight:
“I trusted my teammates. They found me in good spots and I was able to score. I was able to draw the double team and kick it to guys who were knocking down shots. I think we did a good job of playing side out.”
On current eight-game win streak:
“I think we are just starting to gel right now. Early in the season we all knew that it was going to be a roller coaster ride for us. We all understand that we have to learn how to play with each other and I think now we’re learning. We play well together and we are going to continue to get better. We’re growing as a team. It’s tough when you have five or six new guys on the team. You’re trying to learn their game and also continue to play the way we did last year.”
Vince Carter
On the game:
“We just tried to come out, play our game, play to win, and get better. We’re playing for a lot this year so we’re trying to get ourselves on track. We knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy and try to win the game.”
On bench play:
“Our second unit was phenomenal tonight. They gave us an energy we didn’t have in the first eight or nine minutes and got us back in it.”
J.J. Redick
On bench play:
“I think the bench has been pretty consistent all year. During the first quarter tonight Mickael Pietrus looked at me and said something to everybody that we have to pick things up for the starters. We didn’t come out with a whole lot of energy, especially on the defensive end and that’s really been our staple for the last two months.”
On the Wizards:
“I think they played hard. Those guys are still playing hard. Andray Blatche is playing at an extremely high level. He’s obviously really benefitted from the trades that they made. He’s a very talented player.”
On the third quarter:
“The third quarter was great. We talked about that at halftime about coming out and not having another let up. We played a lot better the last three quarters.”
March 11, 2010: Magic-Bulls Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
“We got off to a good start, that’s what we should’ve done. They were a little, well they started the game a little undermanned and then obviously when (Derrick) Rose went down, you know went out of the game, they were very undermanned. So, I thought we played a good first quarter, got control of the game, then a great second quarter and we did what we should’ve done.”
On if he’s happy they’re ‘taking care of business’ against teams they should…
“We’ve done a better job of really being ready to play, there’s no question about that. I think our approach to these games has been very, very good. So, yeah, it’s not an easy thing. But we’ve handled it pretty well.”
On Derrick Rose getting knocked down again by Dwight Howard…
“You know, the thing on that play is, looking at it, I don’t even think Dwight fouled him, I think Rose fouled Dwight. He pushed off. But regardless, Derrick goes in there with such unbelievable force that it was the same as the other night. He’s going full speed and he’s hitting basically an immovable object and he lands tough. I feel really bad, I hope he is not hurt badly. I got to know him just a little bit, just barely, but just a little bit at the All-Star game, I think he’s not only a great, great player but a guy with a lot of class. A guy with the kind of attitude you like to see in the league. So, I hope he’s not hurt badly.”
On if the team is finally playing as one unit and they’ve turned the corner…
“There’s no corner to be turned. And I don’t think that’s ever an excuse anyway. You just, you bring in new guys, they’re good players, you learn to play together, but there’s no corners to turn. The season just keeps going and anytime you think, ‘we’re there, we’ve turned the corner,’ or whatever, you’ll find out that you’re not. I mean there’s still 16 games to go. There’s going to be ups and downs and nights where we’ll find out that we’ve got a lot to work on.”
On what the Magic brought to the table tonight…
“I thought they brought good energy. I thought particularly in the second quarter. And then, I thought in the third quarter we were really stumbling and not playing good basketball and I thought that Jason (Williams) really got us going again. I was happy, I’m just happy I think all of our guys are coming into the game with a solid approach, really trying to play consistently from night-to-night. I’m happy with that.”
On their ability to move and pass the ball tonight…
“I think ball movement is a big thing for us and I think that when we’re not playing well is when we get stagnate, stand around, keep the ball on one side of the floor and that’s what we did early in the third quarter. And we don’t play very well like that, that’s not our game.”
Dwight Howard
(On starters getting rest) “It means we’re playing better basketball. Hopefully we can keep it up. We’re doing the right things, we’re coming out and starting games right, closing games. Our defense has really picked up. Hopefully we’ll continue to do that. And also stay humble while doing that.”
“We’re just trying to get better, no matter who we play at this point. We just want to continue to do the things that are going to make us a lot better going into the play-offs. Our goal is to win the championship. We understand that going up to the end of the season to the playoffs, we want to be playing our best basketball. And the way to do that is to be consistent in our energy, effort and defense. I think we’ve been doing that the last seven games.”
(On other bigs getting rebounds) “It’s good to see when guys are coming back and rebounding instead of just relying on me the whole time. I do understand why they get back because our coaches have asked every body to get back on defense. But feels good knowing that when the other bigs come into the game, Marcin, Brandon, Ryan, those guys are rebounding, it makes our team a lot better.”
Vince Carter
“I’ve done this so I know what it’s like, I know what it takes. Its still patience, doing what we have to do to take the necessary steps getting there.”
“Right now we’re trying to play the best possible basketball we can. Hopefully roll it into the playoffs. We’re hitting the floor running, playing at a high level, and each and every night it doesn’t matter the opponent, more so what we need to do o get better.”
(On the season) “I don’t care how the beginning starts, its all about how you finish. I think that all people care about. It’s how you finish. You can go undefeated going into the playoffs up into the All-Star break and have a terrible second half of the season and every body is going remember that. So right now, it’s important for us to continue get better.”
Jameer Nelson
“There’s not so much joking around, it’s a lot more serous and especially now, every body is focusing in on every thing.”
“One thing is that we want to get better every day when we step on the court. Whether it’s practice, shootaround, or in games, we just want to do well.”
March 9, 2010: Magic-Clippers Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
“I liked the way we approached the game coming off a big win the other night. There was no let down especially in the second half. We played well and hard, and we didn’t turn the ball over in the first half. It was just a mature, very solid approach to start the game.”
The thinking behind playing Dwight in the first half, and Marcin in the third…
“(Dwight) didn’t have any foul trouble, and he didn’t look the least bit tired. In the second half he did, probably because I played him the full 24 minutes. But in the first half he didn’t look the least bit tired. I’ve seen him when he’s tired and he just didn’t look tired, and there was just no reason for subbing him. I liked the lead that we had, and I didn’t want to mess around with the game and he was playing well…When he did look tired I gave him a break and thankfully we didn’t have to go back to him. So on the night he didn’t play too many minutes, everyone’s at 30 or below. It was a pretty good night from that standpoint.”
On usually starting Dwight in second quarter…
“I’ve been starting Dwight whenever he’s not in foul trouble. I’ve been trying to make sure that we hit situations where we’ve got enough scoring on the floor. When he’s out there he can be with the second unit, so I’ve been starting him in the second quarter and then I can bring back two out of the three, say Jameer, Vince and Rashard when I take him out of the game. I’ve been trying to do that. So I started him in the second quarter like I had been, and he was just playing well, and it looked easy. It didn’t look like he was straining a whole lot, he didn’t look tired. To take him out then would have been to take him out just to take him out, not for any reason.”
On if he will play Marcin more towards the end of the season to tune him up for playoffs…
“I don’t think number one that he needs to tune up, he’s good, he’s ready to go, he’s in good shape, he plays well when he plays. I don’t think he needs anything. We’ll play to win games so that’ll be pretty much the sole focus of everything we do. I was prepared to play him tonight at the four, they had been playing (DeAndre) Jordan and (Chris) Kaman together and even if they got a lot of play out of (Drew) Gooden, or (Craig) Smith, they all sort of play like centers so I was prepared to use Marcin there, but we just didn’t need to do it. But there will be times when I play him and Dwight together down the stretch here.”
On what he liked out of Brandon Bass…
“I just thought his energy was good. That’s what we need more than anything is for him to come in and play with great energy, and give us a boost there. We know he can score. I’m a broken record on this, it’s a matter of with he and Ryan, better defensive rotations and rebounding the ball, and giving us that energy.”
On if he’s going to continue bringing Bass off the bench to sub for Lewis…
“Right now Brandon’s played six games and we’ve won six in a row. I’m not going to change it just to change it. I’ve got great confidence in Ryan that if the matchups are such that we go the other way, he’ll do a great job. I can play Marcin there with teams that are bigger, so you know I’ve got pretty good confidence in all those guys.”
Dwight Howard
“Well, I was just happy that we came out in the third quarter and handled business. Usually when we have a big lead coming out of halftime, we play around a little bit and we let teams back in. I think tonight we came out and did an excellent job of putting them away.”
(On starting 2nd qtr.) “Was I surprised about it, yeah? I know that Coach saw that I didn’t have any fouls I was trying to be as aggressive as I can to get to the basket but also find my teammates. Like I’ve said, telling you guys, we’re getting better. Night in and night out, we’re playing better as a team, we’re passing the ball a lot better, we’re shooting the ball a lot better, and we’re playing defense a lot better. So hopefully we can continue that.”
“With the play-offs coming up, we just want to make sure we get ourselves prepared for what’s ahead by challenging ourselves every night to get better. And that’s what we did tonight; coming off a big win against the Lakers, our team could have easily come in tonight and wasn’t focused on the right things. But we came out tonight, we were ready to go from the jump, and we got the win.”
Jameer Nelson
“One of the things is that we take care of the ball, we have good enough offensive players to get good shots, for themselves and for others. So the thing to do is to continue to work on that, value the ball.”
“We‘re looking at ourselves as championship contender team. So we have to start playing like it. I think we’re going a better job of that every night that we step on the court and every day we step in practice, we’re getting better.”
“I think we’re starting to peak a little bit, I think we’re starting to do things like we need to do, like shutting down the paint. One thing we have to do is guard the 3-point line a little better.”
Rashard Lewis
“I thought we did a good job of putting them away and keeping a 20-point lead. Getting a lot of guys in the game, guys coming off the bench because around this time, we’re going need all the guys to get a little more experience because once the play-off come, we’re going to need the whole team.”
“It shows the maturity that this team is getting to. Especially late in the season, we’re trying to put teams away and not only that, keep the lead. Coach is trying to coach 48 minutes of the game, he’s trying to make us play 48 minutes of the game, which is what we should do. It was good to get the rest, especially after a hard fought game against the Lakers. Tonight we were able to put them away and get a little rest and get ready for Thursday.”
March 7, 2010: Magic-Lakers Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
“That was just a battle. That was much more a battle than a basketball game. It was extremely physical, both teams fought extremely hard the entire way. Nothing was ever easy and it was just a game where, you know I didn’t think we played very well to be honest, 20 turnovers is not good. And I keep saying it, but we’ve got to find a way to handle the basketball better. We missed key free throws down the stretch. So, I don’t think that we played very well, but I thought we played very, very, very hard. I thought we really battled, to outrebound them by 11, we gave them 14 offensive rebounds but got 15 of our own. Jameer (Nelson) gets nine rebounds, he’s like my size, I thought our guys fought extremely hard. I thought the competitiveness was outstanding. We obviously need to play the game better. But, I thought we fought very hard. I’m glad we got the win because you know, then you can sort of make that point, it was on a game with 20 turnovers, shooting 41 percent and missing 11 free throws, a lot of things not great, but we get the win because of how hard we played. I’m really happy with that one, loved our competitiveness, I’m very proud of our guys. We’ll just move on and try to get better now.”
On the defensive play of Matt Barnes…
“You know Kobe (Bryant) had a good day, he only shot 40 percent, he had 34 points, he’s a great, great, great player. The whole thing is we didn’t want to give him anything easy. We gave him a couple I thought were too easy. We did send him to the line eight times. The thing with Matt is you know he’s going to battle, he’s going to get up and try. That corner 3 he hit, Matt was right there. He pushed him off, got a little space and rose up and hit that one. That was incredible. The guy’s a great, great player. (Pau) Gasol played great, but we did a good enough of a job on the other guys that we were able to come out with a win.”
On the play of Jameer Nelson and if he did everything right today…
“Well I don’t know about that. He had some key turnovers, he missed a big free throw, and I’m not trying to put him down, but I’m not going with the ‘he did everything right,’ 5-of-14 from the floor, OK. But I thought what he did is he created shots for us. Against a team that it’s very tough for us to get good looks, he was in the paint, drawing people, making plays, hitting some of his own shots. Don’t get me wrong, he was instrumental. There’s no way we win that game without the plays he was making, he was phenomenal. And again, to get nine rebounds in a game like that against the biggest team in the league, and Jameer’s the smallest guy on the floor and he gets nine rebounds. He’s in their fighting the entire time. I think you’ve got to give him a lot of credit there. He fought hard and created a lot of plays, big plays.”
On if getting the consistent effort throughout the game is a by-product of working on it, or the matchup…
“Well it’s this kind of matchup, there’s no question about that. What you want that to become is a habit. That’s just a way you play every time you come on the court. I read their articles coming into this game. And you knew you were going to see a team playing very tough on the defensive end of the floor today because that’s all they talked about. Their defense, they need to turn it up. You knew you were going to see Kobe attacking all day. They’d lost two in a row and the guy is one of the great winners, and great competitors that’s in this league. You knew he was going to go after it. So, you knew you were going to have a tough time today. I thought especially from a competitive, who was going to play harder, standing up to the physical play, all of that, I thought we battled them toe-to-toe, very hard. And, you want to build that into a habit. That’s the way you play all the time. I know that’s what they’re trying to do, that’s what we’re trying to do. You know you’ve got 18 games to go, you can’t screw around anymore. You need to play that hard all the time.”
Dwight Howard
On if this is the most physical game of the year:
“Oh no, every game for us is physical. The Lakers are a big team, with a big lineup. They have big, strong guys that come off the bench so that type of game is what we expected. We just wanted to play our brand of basketball and get the job done.”
On how the win felt since the Lakers stole his dream of a championship:
“It felt great. From the time we stepped into the gym today until right now all we have thought about is dominate. We did that. Matt Barnes and Mickeal Pietrus did an excellent job tonight on Kobe; he didn’t get anything easy today. We tried to help them out as much as possible and we got the win so that is all that matters.”
Vince Carter On the aggressive play against the Lakers:
“I was just trying to take what was there; they put so much emphasis on Dwight that they won’t let him get easy catches. I was trying to be aggressive and not force anything. In a game like this, with two defensive teams going at it, there won’t be a lot of open shots to take.
On the missed free throws at the end of the game:
“That bothered me. After I made twelve in a row in the game, then go to the end of a game and miss one, it bothered me for sure. It would have been different if I had missed free throws all game, but that wasn’t the case. I’m happy with the win but we could have been on the other side of game because of the misses at the free throw line.”
Jameer Nelson
On if this win helps the team get to the level they were at last year:
“Our team’s goal is to win a championship, so no, this game doesn’t win us the trophy. During the next few weeks will determine which level we will be at. It matters how hard we work and how committed we need to be. We need to work as a team, play well together and win some games.”
Matt Barnes
On what he does to keep his cool when the intensity rises up:
“You have to remember that it is a team sport, there are no individuals out there. If I get in trouble or get a technical, than I am hurting the team. Our team helps out each other with the intensity, if one of us gets out of line we hear about it from one or two guys, which has gotten us out of some trouble this year.”
March 5, 2010: Magic-Nets Postgame Quotes
Stan Van Gundy:
“All the time. All year losing the lead is how we play. Give us a lead and we will play poorly at both ends of the floor. I have absolutely no idea how to fix it. We had 11 turnovers. But we got the win.”
Dwight Howard:
(on the game….)
“It was a tough game. It’s a win. There is no need to be sad. We got the job done and that’s all that matters.”
(on the Nets double teams…..)
“The Nets sent a lot of different guys at me to double team. That forced me to make passes out of the double team and find my teammates. I tried to be patient and find the right guys. I’m just happy that we came out on top of this one. “
(on the Nets different defenses….)
“I didn’t know what to expect. I just wanted to be ready. I just wanted to come out and be aggressive and be smart. I didn’t want to pick up and quick fouls. “
Vince Carter:
(on their inability to put teams away …)
“I don’t know. We’re just trying to get wins. Give credit to them. That team plays hard regardless of their record. We played relaxed a little bit but we got the job done. He was a little upset, but we were able to get the win and that’s all that matters.”
(on the Nets staying in the game ….)
“We just tried to play until the end. We won the game. They are going to make a run. Our goal is to put teams away and we didn’t do that.
(on the Nets struggle…)
“It’s unfortunate. Those guys on the team are my friends. I put years in here and these are my true friends here. It’s an unfortunate situation. I feel for them. I still try to keep in touch with them and not abandon them. It’s a great feeling that we still have a mutual respect for each other.”
(on his appreciation of the fans reaction….)
“Of course, any time you leave your former team and the appreciation from the fans and your teammates. It’s always a good feeling.”
(on his thoughts on his last game at the Izod Center….)
“No, I wasn’t really prepared to think about it.”
March 3, 2010: Magic-Warriors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
“That was a team on a back-to-back with eight guys and the game went as it should. There were a few moments there I wasn’t real happy with, but the game went as it should.”
On if the few moments he wasn’t happy with were when they didn’t close out on the 3-point shot…
“Yeah, I mean again, we give up 10 3s, I mean it’s been a problem all year. I don’t know, we’ll keep working at it, we don’t do a good job at the 3-point line at all.”
On imaging what it would be like to only dress eight players every night…
“The number is not a problem to me. Eight, a lot of people only play eight every night. It’s who the eight are that’s important. If the eight are your top eight guys, I don’t think that’s a problem. In some ways that part makes it easier, you know who’s going to play, nobody’s worried about minutes, there’s certainly no complaining, your rotation’s easy. But, it’s a matter of, they’ve been decimated. There’s no Monta Ellis, there’s no Corey Maggette, Kelenna Azubuike went down early, they’re calling guys up from the D League who are doing a good job, (Anthony) Tolliver, (Chris) Hunter, now Reggie Williams, they’re doing a great job with all those guys. But, you’re going to struggle when you’ve got just eight guys and a lot of them are just coming up and getting their first taste of the NBA. They’re working hard and they’re playing well, but you just don’t have enough. It’s not the number people get carried away with that, give me the right eight, you’d be fine.”
On playing Brandon Bass three games in a row…
“It sort of started with a matchup thing, but just to get a different element in the game. We’re struggling from the 3-point line, we had one good game in Philly the other night, but we’ve been really struggling and so just to get a guy who plays the game a little bit differently offensively. But also we have been playing teams that are very quick at the power forward spot and I think Brandon’s got more quickness to be able to handle that. I like both of those guys they’re very different. But, once we saw the matchup thing and talked about it then I wanted to give Brandon some games, not one game then off for another two weeks and see what he could do, I thought he was a lot better tonight than he has been. A lot more active, I thought made some real hustle plays, got on the boards, that’s the element he can bring to us. We know what Ryan (Anderson) can bring, so I think we need to have them both ready heading into the playoffs because depending on what the matchups are, either one of them could be the guy in a playoff series. Ryan’s not going to sit for the last 20 games, I can tell you that. I’m going to do everything I can to have both of them ready to go so that we can make a decision based on who were playing.”
On Dwight Howard not having a foul in tonight’s game…
“That was good and they didn’t really have anybody to go to in the post offensively. Yeah, it’s great that he didn’t foul, one or two fouls wouldn’t have made any difference to me, it was good that he wasn’t in foul trouble. They played him one-on-one for a good part of the game and it was good for him. He didn’t have people swarming around him until later in the game and he could just play very comfortably and easily.”
Dwight Howard
“It wasn’t a hard game to play. Like I told you guys earlier, our job is to get better going towards the play-offs, we’re playing a lot better basketball on both ends. We’re playing defense, offensively we’re moving the ball, playing inside-out, we’re running, we’re doing all the necessary things to get better. So hopefully it continues and just looking forward to our next game. Game-by-game get better.”
(On having 0 fouls) “That’s a world’s record. I think the guy from Guinness was here tonight, it’s a world record for me. Happy about that.”
“I know Stephen Curry said at halftime that we have to shoot 3’s cuz we’re not going to be able to get to the paint and score. So me and Marcin, the other bigs are in there blocking shots, letting teams know that we’re down there and we’re forcing them to shoot 3’s and jump shots. It makes our defense a lot better so we’re going to continue.”
Vince Carter
“It was easy to keep focus, they still played hard. They took Miami to the wire yesterday and just one turnover they could have easily won that game. If I’m not mistaken, 10 coming back in, they were down 25 points, and were able to win, so this wasn’t a cupcake game.”
(On starters getting rest in 4th qtr.) “I think it’s very important, regardless of the team we’re playing. I think if you do the work and establish a lead, we have to have the mentality to put teams away regardless of what quarter it may be. You’re up 20-something in the second quarter, there’s still a lot of game to be played. Third quarters are very important as the end of the games.”
(On Dwight’s game) “We wanted to establish him. He was in foul trouble the last time we played them and he understood that. Right now, tonight he played a smart basketball game.”
Rashard Lewis
“That’s a team that definitely doesn’t have their best player out there but they’re still capable of scoring a lot of points. If you watched them play Miami last night, they scored 100-plus points and had a chance to win at the end of the game so we didn’t want to take them lightly coming into our building tonight.”
(On starters getting rest in 4th qtr.) “It’s very important around this time of the year. If you can put a team away, put them away early.”
March 1, 2010: Magic-76ers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the win tonight…
“We shot the ball very well and this game came down to shooting and who was going to miss first. I don’t think either team put too much into it defensively to be honest. But, we shot the ball well and scored a lot of points and got a good win.”
On 3-point shooting tonight…
“That is what tonight was about. I thought it was pretty easy for both teams to make shots and it was just a matter of make or miss and we made more than they did.”
On being consistent tonight…
“We played great offensively. Everybody was putting the ball in the basket and the ball movement was good. We kept our turnovers down. But so did they. There wasn’t a lot of resistance on either end in this ball game.”
On Jameer Nelson since the All-Star Break…
“He just looks like he is back to where he was early on last season in terms of having his quickness and having his legs on his shot. I think everything is coming together.”
Jameer Nelson
On the game tonight…
“Offensively, everything is going good for me and the team. We said if we can play defense we can get this game and get it going away. We did a great job coming out in the third quarter getting the lead up to 12, 14, 16 point leads and then keeping our foot on the gas and taking it up to a 20-25 point lead or whatever it was.
On the efficiency of the Magic tonight…
“We got all shooters on this team. We are not a selfish team. The thing is as long as we take care of the ball and get shots, we know we are going to make a lot of them.”
February 28, 2010: Magic-Heat Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the game)
“I was happy with a lot of things tonight, but I think the happiest is that we were pretty consistent throughout the game. It wasn’t a game where we made a run, and then they made a run. We won every quarter. None of them by a lot, no big blowout quarters, we just consistently played pretty well, that was the first thing. I like the fact that we came off a game the other night where probably the biggest reason we lost was not taking care of the ball and only turned it over eight times tonight. And I like the way our bench played, I thought our bench was very, very good. We told Dwight (Howard) in there afterwards that we certainly owed him, he’s been carrying us. He had a frustrating night tonight with calls and everything else and virtually everyone else who played in the game played well and we were able to get a solid win. We needed to get a win, but we needed to step up for him, he’s been doing yeoman’s work and we needed to step up and help him on a night where he was having a tough night.”
On the play of JJ Redick…
“I thought he and Vince (Carter) both played really well. It was hard for me not to put Vince back in. This wasn’t like this was a game where Vince was struggling, he was 7-for-10 from the floor and making good plays and I had every intention of going back to him but then I thought JJ really got going and I was bringing some other guys back in and I don’t like to have everybody out there cold, so I just stuck with him. They both played extremely well, we got 32 points out of that position. We took care of the ball, I thought they were outstanding. I thought Matt (Barnes) and MP (Mickael Pietrus) were solid defensively, neither one of them turned the ball over, which is important to us. MP had one huge rebound down the stretch, so I thought they played well. I thought in the second half Brandon (Bass) gave us a pretty good lift. Marcin (Gortat) was great tonight. Marcin’s been very good when we needed him for bigger minutes and I thought he did a really good job tonight. So again, obviously Rashard (Lewis) played probably his most aggressive offensive game in a long time, he was putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the basket. We’ve had a lot of nights where Dwight has been one of maybe one or two guys who plays well and he’s been carrying us and tonight I thought he had a tough night for a lot of reasons and then we had nine other guys make really solid contributions so it was a good win.”
On when they got up by 12 or 14 if they had a sense of urgency to ‘put them away’…
“Well we certainly played more solidly I thought. I thought we did a better job, the things that beat us the other night, not taking care of the ball and rebounding. We did a great job on the glass down the stretch, we had everybody in trying to rebound the ball, guys really fighting getting off the boards. We got outrebounded in the first half pretty solidly, gave up nine offensive rebounds, only gave up two offensive rebounds in the second half even though they missed a lot of shots. We took care of that problem, we took care of the ball and I think it’s always a good sign when your team has a game where they screwed up and they know why they screwed up and they have a focus on correcting those problems.”
Jameer Nelson
“We’ve been talking about that all season, Dwight’s been preaching that everybody has to step up and tonight he got in foul trouble or couldn’t get it going. But when he was out there, his presence was felt. When he does a great job for us, we can’t let him down.”
‘They obviously went on a run. We withstood that run that they went on and gave them a couple of points without scoring. We learned our lesson there.”
(On limiting Wade in 2nd half) “We had to help more. We can’t leave guys on an island when they’re playing against anybody, let alone an All-Star, a superstar, one of the best players in the league. You got to shut down the paint and make other guys beat you. We did that, we gave up 32, 33 points in the second half. And if you don’t shrink the floor, you may give up 50 because he’s going to get going and keep it going.”
J. J. Redick
“I was able to take advantage of some pick-and-roll opportunities, and turn the corner and get into the paint. I tried to use my shot fake to get guys off the ground and lean into them and I got a couple that way tonight.”
“He (Van Gundy) did say after the game that we owed Dwight a good game, probably owed him like him more than one game. He’s done a pretty good job of leading this team, especially the last six weeks; he’s been pretty darn good.”
Vince Carter
(On limiting Wade in 2nd half) “We just wanted to continue to make it tough, challenge his shots, keep off the free throw line more than anything.”
Marcin Gortat
“I mean, he (Dwight) was carrying us for the last 59 games, 60 games, so definitely glad that I could help. I glad that could help the team off the bench and bring the energy that he’s used to bringing.”
“Of course I’m happy that I played 22, 23 minutes today. Usually I’m ready for 3, 4, 5 minutes a game whether you’re getting them in the first quarter, or beginning of the second quarter. Later when you’re sitting down here, you got to sit here and help your team from the bench. But Dwight had problems today and Coach gave more playing time and I was really happy. I was waiting for this opportunity.”
February 24, 2010: Magic-Rockets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the game)
"We're not very good when we get big leads. I'm not happy by the way we close out games. We played really good the first twenty-eight minutes and then we did a good job closing out the last four minutes of the game. We made almost made zero shots in the second half and got to be a real struggle for us. I thought we made good plays and got good looks at the basket but our defense was not there. We don't defend the 3-point line very well. We give up way too many three's and we don't close out on shooters well."
(On Dwight Howard's play)
"He was incredible! He was so patient inside and made all the right moves. He is so far ahead of anybody in this league in rebounding. He's been great. His game has matured and he is not forcing the ball to the basket."
Vince Carter
(On the game)
"We try and attack early to establish how we want to play the game. We knew they would make a run and we took their hit and kept on playing. If we are going to peak at any time, this is the right time."
Rashard Lewis
(On the game)
"It was nice to come home but it was most important to get the win. Houston is a very scrappy team that plays very hard and we knew they would make a run. We played great defense in the first half and that helped us build the lead. Then Houston started hitting 3's and it made it tough for us because they really spread out the floor."
(On Dwight Howard's play)
"He's been playing great and making his post moves inside. He's really been working on it and it has really been showing in the games. His offensive game has really been coming on."
February 21, 2010: Magic-Cavaliers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I'm sure everybody in there enjoyed watching that one. I mean the best players all played really well. LeBron (James) was great, Shaq (O'Neal) was great, Dwight (Howard) was great, Jameer (Nelson) was tremendous at the end, Rashard (Lewis) hit a big shot. Vince (Carter) was great in the fourth quarter, the best players were all really, really good. Physical, tough, competitive game. We survived a huge run at the beginning of the third quarter and bounced back and got the win it's not about any of the numbers or anything today it was just a hard-fought game and a great win to get. You know on both sides you see a lot of positive things, they had to like what they saw in (Antawn) Jamison today and what he can give them. A lot of good things and just a great basketball game, very happy to win it."
On Vince Carter coming alive in the fourth quarter…
"We probably should've done it earlier, we put him in the post a little bit and I think that got him going. Jameer made some really good passes to him, he finished some plays, but you're exactly right. More than the overall numbers, what we really need him to do is finish in the fourth. I think every one of the really good teams in this league has got to have a finisher. And not only the shots he made in the post, but the one that wrapped it up was a great, great play to Rashard in the corner and wins the game. So Vince was great down the stretch, Jameer hit tough shots, Dwight carried us until everybody else could get going. Those four guys that we really depend on were tremendous. I thought everybody on our team fought hard, we got a lot more out of our bench today. JJ (Redick) and MP (Mickael Pietrus) both made some shots. Just other than the first four or five minutes of the second half, a game to be happy with and proud of."
On the pick-and-roll with Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson…
"We put it in yesterday, that's the first time we've done it. You know pretty simple play, hardly genius stuff, there's like third grade teams that could come up with that stuff, but that's about where my intelligence goes anyway in terms of coaching, but no, we did put it in. Vince has been in those situations before and I think we're looking for ways to get him back in to some of the stuff that has been more comfortable for him and it worked today. Whether it will work on Wednesday or Friday, or next Sunday or next Monday you never know but, it was good for us today."
On the physical nature of game and how that's not the Magic's playing style…
"Yeah, it was a very physical game – very, very physical game. Some games are like that and you fight through it and you know I've said before, people can have whatever views they want of our team and they've had a view for over two-and-a-half years that we're a soft team, and so my response is always go back and look at our record against the teams that are supposed to be too tough for us. Look at our record against Boston, look at our record against Cleveland and go from there. What matters in this league is results. You can have whatever opinion you want and that's fine, but it's about winning and losing in this league. They've beaten us twice and today we win. OK, so they're still up on us on the season."
Dwight Howard
(On rivalry vs. Shaq) "Well, I just want to win basketball games and help our team get better. I think day-after-day and game-after-game we continue to get better as a team. That's the only thing I'm looking forward to getting better going down into the stretch. That's about it."
"I just think that we have to get better, doesn't matter who we play. We played a great team tonight in Cleveland. We came out from of the gate playing great basketball. We got the lead coming out of halftime. And we got a good win, we got a good win."
"Vince has been really picked it up on both ends of the floor. I'm glad he's playing great basketball right now. Hopefully he'll continue to play the way he has been playing and I'm just happy with our team. I'm not satisfied, but I'm happy with our progress. We continue to work every day to get better, and its showing. Guys stepped up tonight, played big, hit some big shots, that's what we need. We need guys every night to step up and play big on both ends of the floor."
Vince Carter
(On being more demonstrative today) "It ignited our team, really. They were just a little more physical than us and throwing us around and everything like that so it was just something to hopefully motivate our team more than anything."
"Play off-style basketball there. Competition at a high level. Two teams going at it. Makes for great basketball."
(On his 4th qtr.) "I was just playing within the flow of the game. Coach put the ball in my hands throughout the course of the game. On pick-and-rolls, they were showing hard, trying to make me get rid of the ball. Kind of worked in our favor because it Dwight going."
Jameer Nelson
(On his 4th qtr.) "I think we play well in the fourth quarter, it wasn't all about me. Even if I make the shots, there are other things I have to contribute, other guys cutting, running the floor well, setting screens, finding you when you're hot. The one thing is that I'm going to shoot the shots no matter how many shots I make or miss. I'm going to shoot the shots that I'm given."
February 17, 2010: Magic-Pistons Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the game tonight…
"I thought, clearly, Dwight was unbelievable, and our second half defense was very, very good. Our guards played well offensively. But really, Dwight and our second half defense I thought were the keys. I thought our first half defense was sadly lacking but we took it up in the second half. We were also minus seven on the boards in the first half and plus eight in the second half. A lot of it comes down in this game, you got to make a great effort and in the first half we did not make a great effort. In the second half we did make a great effort. With Dwight playing like that, if you make an effort, we are going to have a pretty good chance to win."
On Dwight Howard's performance…
"Thirty-three, 17 and seven. One turnover. You can't play a much better basketball game than he played tonight."
On Dwight Howard's playing time…
"I know he is capable of playing the big minutes, he's in great shape. I would like to be able to operate a little bit better than we have been when he's out of the game so we can give him a few more minutes, and that's something we'll try to get together. I don't want to go 27 more games with him having to play 41 minutes every single night because we're not functioning well when he's on the bench. So we'll try to get that a little bit better, but he was phenomenal."
On if he was happy with Vince Carter's shot selection tonight…
"I thought, again, our guards, I thought offensively played very, very well tonight. Made shots, 13 assists and one turnover for our starting guards, shooting the ball well. I thought they were very, very good offensively. I thought the only real negative is our defensive rebounding in the first half, just late on too many things that, by watching in the second half, we clearly knew how to do and were capable of doing. I'm glad we turned it up. I think we have to understand we need to play like that all the time, but it was a good second half."
On if Howard is overlooked as one of the best players in the league…
"As far as the way people look at players, LeBron is sort of up there by himself now the way he's promoted and the way people talk about him. Then I think you have Kobe not far behind and then probably Wade and Carmelo. Then you probably get into the next group that Dwight's in – and that's still a pretty darn good group. Yeah, he should be talked about with anybody in the league, but we've said so many times and it affects so many things, it's a perimeter league. The big guys are never going to get the same recognition that the perimeter guys do. But if he can continue to do what he's doing and his second straight year of leading the league in rebounding and blocked shots, his offense is clearly getting better and he's playing great at the offensive end of the floor; the recognition will come. At some point people can't overlook you any more and he's been playing unbelievable basketball all year but particularly the last month. He's leading his team to a lot of wins. That's ultimately what people will judge him by, and you have to judge him pretty favorably right now."
"I think in the second half, pretty typical for a team like that though. They are real physical and always reaching and slapping, then a guy like Ben Gordon doesn't like it when somebody gets up into him. That's pretty typical, as you know, I don't care where you go, that's pretty typical of bullies. They like all the physical stuff and then they don't like it when people come back at them, and they were very frustrated when we came back at them. J.J. just got into Ben Gordon and it was not something he appreciated. They want to play free and clean and be able to get into everybody else. It doesn't work that way."
Matt Barnes
'It's stuff that we've been working on and talking about is playing tough on the defensive end. And other than Rip having a big game, I think we did a good job tonight."
"They (the Pistons) do fast break but they also grind and they are very physical. This is stuff that we have to prepare for, we've got 27 games left, one at a time and we just have to keep improving."
"They played last night so we knew that they were going to have good legs in the first half at least. And they really put it to us in that second quarter. And I think that at halftime, we made some adjustments and settled in. I think we gave up 36 points in the second half. So it's a constant effort and a steady improvement on the defensive end."
"The game is going to be physical. I like that out team is going to be physical back. Early in the season, teams were trying to out-tough us and punk us and stuff like that but I can slowly see a change in, even J. J. got into it tonight. So that made me smile. You know we're not going to be dirty but we're not going to be pushed around and I think we're definitely making an effort in changing that."
Vince Carter
(On Dwight's seven blocks) "Yeah, I've been there. When he gets rolling on both ends, he's a tough guy. He's tough to defense and he's tough to play against as far as getting into the paint. You worry about beating your man and his timing is unbelievable and it helps us get extra possessions."
(On game's first play) "It was just open. It was one of those ones that I was going to shoot it because I was wide open but there was a lane so I decided to go in. I think it kind of set the tone for us in itself. My goal is to always come out and be aggressive and be effect and it kind of works hand-in-hand."
Rashard Lewis
"Every game important, to get better as we get close to the playoffs. We got to be more consistent and play 48 minutes because you can't play half a game and try to win ball games."
"It's a good sign, to let you know that we're not going to back down. Matt already has it in him, giving it to everybody else. And if J. J. is out there playing physical and playing hard, it's a good sign for us. We have to be a physical team come playoff time."
February 11, 2010: Magic-Cavaliers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the Magic shooting in the fourth quarter):
"We had some great shots. We had Rashard's (Lewis) corner three that would have tied it, we had Jameer (Nelson) with a wide open corner three."
(On keys tonight):
"Obviously, the biggest thing was we couldn't stop them. The second biggest thing, I thought for us, was Dwight (Howard) only getting 30 minutes. In retrospect, I should have just left him in the game in the third quarter and played him straight through. But, we had a little bit of a lead and then it went up when Marcin (Gortat) first went in. But, once they cut the thing back down to about three, I certainly should have brought him (Howard) back in. Probably should have left him in. So, that was a mistake. And, then down the stretch, we ran the one play for Rashard, which I think was a good play, and he missed the corner three and I think that would have tied it back up. After that, I should have gone back to having the ball in Dwight's hands and I didn't. I stayed with pick and rolls, and we didn't get anything out of them. We didn't make good plays, and I think with the score tied, we needed to get some stops, which we didn't get either. From a play-calling standpoint , the ball should have been back in Dwight's hands and it wasn't. So, I'll take the responsibility for that."
(On Hickson and Varejao):
"We gave them a lot of room, focusing on keeping the ball out of Shaq's hands early, trying to keep Dwight out of foul trouble. But, obviously, he got in foul trouble a little bit. They got some openings and I give them credit, they took advantage of it."
(On LeBron James):
"Look, he's the whole deal. I'm not trying to take credit away from anybody else, but he's the whole deal."
Vince Carter
(On the Magic shooting slump in the fourth quarter):
"It's tough when you're not hitting shots. We did a great job, first and foremost, getting back into the game. Our defense really helped offensively, we were getting in transition and trying to get some easy baskets. All of a sudden, they (Cavs) got on a run and started rolling. The rest is history."
(On LeBron James' passing effectiveness):
"You've got to give up something if you want to make it tough for him. We gave him different looks. He's a smart player, he's a great player, but yet a smart player. Those guys feed off of him, but they read him. I'm sure they've seen all types of scenario. For them, just be ready when he has the ball and they do a great job of it."
(On the Magic):
"We're very resilient. We know we can play with anybody in the NBA. It's just we have to finish the job. We worked so hard to get back in the game, and I think it a little bit out of us. This is one of the teams we're going to see down the road, so we have to find a way."
February 10, 2010: Magic-Bulls Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Q: On the first quarter:
A: We played great in the first quarter. They're on a back-to-back and they didn't have Derrick Rose. That helped quite a bit too. I thought our defense for the most part was pretty good. We had some breakdowns, but for the most part our defense was pretty good. Quite honestly without Derrick, they're a little easier to defend . . . (laughs) not a little easier.
Q: On the offense:
A: We had a good first half offensively then shot 38 percent in the second half. In the second half I thought we had some good moments where we just missed shots and other times when we just didn't move the ball very well. It's still up and down but we're playing a lot better. It was great to get off to a good start tonight. I thought Dwight was great, 18 and 14 and he didn't play the entire fourth. A lot of good things but we had a lot going in our favor tonight.
Q: On Matt Barnes:
A: His energy was good but I thought we had all five guys tonight in that first quarter. They all played very well, that's why we got off to such a good start. Everyone was playing well. The ball was moving and we were getting out into transition. The Bulls were missing shots and we were able to get out so that was good.
Jameer Nelson:
Q: On this half of the season:
A: These are big games right now. There's not too many games left and every game counts especially when you're going into someone's arena. We were a good road team last year but we haven't been as good this year. We want to get back to that.
Q: On the first quarter:
A: We were playing defense, we were moving the ball well, getting open shots and kind of had them running around a bit. When they missed shots we pushed it as hard as we could and guys ran.
February 8, 2010: Magic-Hornets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"What about Vince? Anybody got that question tonight? That was incredible. I mean, that was unbelievable. Thirty-four in the second half, 16 in the third, 18 in the fourth, most of them didn't even hit the rim. I mean, there have been better performances, but not a whole lot of them and not one from somebody on my team in a long time. That was absolutely incredible. We had a lot of guys do good things, but quite frankly, tonight they were all in the shadow by that. That was vintage Vince Carter. That was really, I mean, unbelievable. And everybody wanted him to keep going. It wasn't like one of those nights where everybody else was like 'get me the ball,' no no, everybody wanted to get him the ball. Phenomenal, phenomenal second half, we needed it. We did not have much energy tonight. We could not keep up with them. Obviously they just shredded us defensively and we needed it. We needed just a great, great performance to get us a very close win and we got it."
On Vince Carter's overall game:
"He was, look, seven defensive rebounds, he did it all tonight. He was phenomenal…. You know, the guys a great player and he got it going. I guess I was supposed to go into some big psychological thing, I could've taken credit, 'well, you know, I had a talk with him'… No, he was just great, he was great tonight. He has had nights like that in his career, you know, it was fun. That place was rocking in there. The only mistake I made was I should've had J-Will the inbound, so they would've had to foul him and he could've gotten 50, but my mind wasn't really on that. Vince is a really solid inbounds passer, so I had him inbound it, but I should've given him a chance at that."
Dwight Howard
"As a team, a couple of weeks ago after the Boston game, we had a talk. We all told each other that we had to be honest with each other. Out there playing or in the locker room, don't be afraid to tell the next man anything. You know we have to hold each other accountable. When we're not playing well or taking bad shots, we have to be able to tell each other, 'Yo, that was not a good shot at this time.' Little things like that. Me and Vince, we've developed a relationship to where we can tell each other anything. When he's not playing well, I can tell him, 'Yo, you got to pick it up.' without him taking it and being upset. That shows that we're coming together as a team."
(On Vince tonight) "I thought it was Vinsanity tonight. He was unbelievable. The thing is that we kept telling him tonight and since he's been in his so-called 'funk' I would say, or what ever every body else would say, just to be aggressive and attack. When he's aggressive, he's attacking, he's getting to the basket, he's getting opportunities for every body else but he's also scoring. And then when he's doing that, they've got to pick their poison. I was very happy to see Vince come out play the way he did tonight."
Vince Carter
"For me, it's just a blessing all the shots that I made worked within the offense or what not, especially early. Or off of Jameer or J-Will penetrating, me being on the weakside, Dwight pulling so many guys in, and hitting open shots. Second half, I just continued to be aggressive, hitting shots. I had in the first half, a couple of easy lay-ups I missed, they fell for me."
"It's been a while, I'd say last year I had a couple of times had some pretty good nights. I had nice night against the Clippers even though we lost. For me, it's just more so getting the win. After a very sluggish start, they were more aggressive than us, pushing the ball, they were attacking and being the aggressors. We had to do something about it. I decided to try and make my mark, you know, and told Dwight again, step up and be yourself, be who you are. He made it easy for us. He made great screens where they had to make decisions. I started hitting a couple of shots so it's like Dwight or Vince, they didn't want to keep a body on him so I tried to be aggressive and hit shots."
"It's a new month. A new month brings new things. The past is the past and it's going to be that. I can think back to all 11 of my years, I've had rough months. It's just the way it goes. I know the expectations. You work so hard to have an impressive resume and it's expected each and every night and I totally agree with, understand that."
February 5, 2010: Magic-Wizards Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"We deserved, I mean, it was a nice comeback in the fourth, Rashard (Lewis) hit a huge shot, but quite honestly we deserved to lose. The way we came out and played in the fourth quarter, defensively, put nothing into it. You know, a sign of real immaturity and very, very disappointing. And there you go with exactly what I've been talking about when you start to think, oh we've turned the corner, or whatever. There's no corners to turn. You need to keep playing hard. We get out rebounded by 11, and obviously Caron Butler and Randy Foye just took us apart. We had absolutely no answers for either one of them. We tried all three of our bigger wing guys on Butler, he killed them all. We had both point guards on Foye, he hurt them both. Great games by both those guys. But if we had just brought something to the game in the third quarter it was certainly a game we could've won, should've won. But we didn't and so now we move on."
On the lack of help from the Magic bench in the second quarter…
"Well yeah, our bench has been very good and was not in the second quarter tonight at all."
On the shot Caron Butler took at the end of the game…
"One-on-one, pulling up from good distance, but that's his game. That's his game, that's how he plays the game and we were not able to get into him and take away his air space. He was able to create space on virtually every shot right until the end. Great game by him."
On what the officials told him about clock at the end of the game…
"Well they said it took eight-tenths (of a second). Well, it really didn't matter, they started it early, there's no question about that. But Rashard (Lewis) missed the shot anyway so, it didn't have any effect on anything. The only thing is you don't know if the horn going off early sort of affects you on the shot and makes you rush it a little bit. But there's nothing they're going to be able to do about that but one of them started it early."
On their offense in the second half…
I thought we took a ton of bad shots. But, I thought both Jameer (Nelson) in the second half and Vince took tough shots and I think that's why they're shooting is what it was. A lot of tough like, one-legged fade-aways and things like that. But, we also had some good looks, Rashard had some good looks down in the post. We had some good looks we didn't knock in but we did take too many bad shots."
Matt Barnes
(On Butler) "He was hot, but we allowed him to get into that rhythm. We came out pretty flat in the third quarter and him and Foye went on a nice run. And as a team we have to come out with more focus in the second half and do our jobs. And we didn't do a very good job of that."
"If you have a good healthy lead in the first half and you come out and play solid, most teams will fold. We came out flat and they made a run and outscored us by 20-22 in the third and then after that, you know those guys were on fire. We got to do a better job."
(On Wizard's 3rd qtr.) "You know, that was a lack of concentration, lack of effort, focus, its not any one person, it's a team. It takes a team to stop people. But individually I have to do a better job of slowing him down in the third, not let him catch fire going into the fourth."
Jameer Nelson
"It was all of our defense. After they were missing shots, they were hitting shots. We should have imposed more on getting stops rather than missing shots or making shots."
"We have to be more mentally tough. If you call that immaturity or whatever you want, it all goes into the same category."
Vince Carter
"It is flat out unacceptable. We did a great job of getting ourselves back into the game. But unfortunately when you have slippage like that, you're going to lose a buzzer-beater."
"Just learn from it first and foremost, make a valiant effort coming out of the half. Keep your foot on the gas."
Rashard Lewis
"As soon as I grabbed the ball, the horn went off. The horn really went off before I grabbed the ball; I thought they started the clock early. It really didn't throw me off; I just thought they started it early. I wouldn't have had a chance to get the shot off because they started it before I had a chance to get he shot off."
"It's just frustrating to lose the game. The shot doesn't mean anything when you lose the game. Caron Butler hits a tough shot, I thought with good defense on him. He just had it rolling in the second half. Made a tough shot at the end of the game."
(Thoughts on ruling that game was over) "No, because we lost. But there's nothing we can do about it now, just have to move forward and get ready for the Boston Celtics."
February 2, 2010: Magic-Bucks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I was really, really happy with that win. Number one because I have tremendous respect for the Bucks and the way they play. They play so hard and at such an energy level that you're going to have to defend three or four pick-and-rolls in one possession. They really, I said even with two minutes to go I said to Brendan Malone, 'You're going to play these guys, you have to play 48 minutes of the game, they're not going to let up, ever.' If they're not the best coached team in the league they're certainly right there with anybody and they play hard every single night. And so, to go out and defend them the way we did, I thought the last 15 minutes of the first half, our defense was outstanding. Obviously, we got off to a very poor start and their energy was great, they played great. But I thought the last 15 minutes of the first half our defense was great. Then we started the second half three or four minutes not playing well, but then I thought the third quarter our defense was very, very good. I was happy with the effort we made tonight. Obviously, we had pretty balanced scoring, we got double-doubles out of Dwight (Howard) and Vince (Carter). Vince had seven assists, I mean a lot of good things tonight, so pretty happy. Plus, I thought we guarded their free throws very well. Very well, I mean they shot under 50 percent at the line. We've been working on some things and I thought we were outstanding."
On Vince Carter's play tonight…
"Seven assists tonight, 10 rebounds, there's not much to fault there. We left him on the floor for a long, long time tonight, which was good. He hasn't been picking up huge minutes so that'll push his conditioning out a little bit. So, I thought it was all good tonight. I thought he was good, I liked the fact that he put in a lot of minutes tonight. I thought JJ (Redick) was excellent too, as was Matt (Barnes). I thought Matt in the second quarter, I thought his intensity defensively was a big key. I don't really have a fault with anybody who played tonight."
On how big it was for Vince Carter to get off to a good start tonight…
"Well I think it certainly helps, but I do think he can't be, hopefully, beholden to that. You know, sometimes when you're in a slump you have to get off to a good start or you just think, oh, it's going to be another one of those nights. I think that he's got to get away from that. He has to remember who he is. He had one bad month, but this guy has had an unbelievable career. Almost 19,000 points, he's averaged 23 points a game for his career. This is a guy who's had unbelievable success. That's what defines him, not one month. I think he's got to keep that in mind, who he is and what's he's done and go out there and play with great confidence every night. It's a lot easier for me to say probably than for him to do, struggling, because he wants to do well. But he has to remember who he is."
Dwight Howard
"We tried not to let them get it into the paint. And then if they did, me and Marcin would try to be there and block their shots. That's what it's going to take for us to be a great team. We have to protect the interior, not let them get to the basket and score. So we did a good job of that."
Matt Barnes
(On recent defense)
"We needed to pick it up obviously. I know he (Van Gundy) prides his teams on defense and we went through a point when we were struggling, we weren't playing defensive and weren't putting out effort. Now I think we're back on our defense, it's definitely showing."
"We had a lot of fast breaks. It's something that we're trying to get back to doing. At the beginning of the season if you remember, we weren't really running. Now I'm out there running and I think it kind of rubs off on other guys to run to lay-ups instead of running to the free throw line and it just opens up the floor a lot more."
"Vince played great tonight. You know Vince's in a little slump right now but I mean he's been a great player throughout his career. He'll get out of it and I think games like this are going to help him."
Vince Carter
"It's just like we're missing some guys, and of course they're going to try and get Dwight in foul trouble, we're try to get him going bright and early. I just took the initiative to step it up and try and make plays for the team."
(On his first four plays on being drives)
"I just took what was there. They, especially off of Dwight, I think my first basket was a lay-up off a pass from Dwight. After that I was trying to attack, and pick-and-rolls, whatever the situation we were in."
"If teams don't want to take their body off Dwight sometimes, so I try to be as aggressive as possible and take what was there. If the lay-up wasn't there, we had some guys that were open. Especially in the second half, we were starting to get open shots, Rashard started to hit open shots because of me trying to attack early in the first half."
(On being the leading rebounder for most of the game)
"Yeah, I told Dwight that I was going to try and outrebound him so he better look over his shoulder. Just kidding. Most importantly, they attack the glass so it's important for us to help out and try to be as active as possible. Matt does a great job of having a body in there, getting some rebounds, so I just wanted to help out."
January 31, 2010: Magic-Pistons Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the win)
"It's good to get the win, this place is just a house of horrors for us. We were rolling along pretty well early, they did a good job of coming back. Jameer got hurt, Vince (Carter) got in foul trouble, Rashard (Lewis) in foul trouble, then (Mickael) Piertus got hurt, crazy stuff always happens in this building for us. I'm just glad that we are done here for the year and quite frankly I hope that they don't make the playoffs and we get into a position to play them. This just has not been a good place for us and it's good to get the win."
(On Pistons coming back)
"That is how they play, they play very, very hard and we knew that they were going be like that. When you have a team like the Pistons, that beat Boston in here, they are struggling and games like tonight get you going in a season. Game's like tonight are what get you excited more than anything else, plus they were coming off getting blown out by Miami, a very bad performance. It's that NBA mentality that everyone knows that they are going to come very hard and we knew it was coming, we just didn't handle it very well tonight."
Dwight Howard
(On winning in this building)
"It is part of basketball, we knew that they were going to come back and instead of us giving up, we got the win and that is all that we can ask for. When they had a small lead, we felt the whole game that we were still going to win this game. Teams are going to make runs, teams are going to score and teams are going take the lead, but you can never give up on a game whether you are up 20 or down 20."
(On Anthony Johnson's performance)
"He just came in and played good. When Jameer (Nelson) went out with the injury, AJ stepped up and played big. Everybody who gets on the court needs to do a good job, no matter how many minutes you play or points you score and that is what he did tonight."
Anthony Johnson
(On his play)
"It's been awhile since I've been out there but I was ready physically. Physically I was okay. They play slow and deliberate so with fouls and timeouts I was able to keep my wind and be able to make big plays. I'm just happy to help when my number is called and we got a much needed road victory.
(On steal at the end)
"I was guarding Stuckey at the end and I know he wasn't known for his three-point shooting so I was just playing centerfield out there. Ben Gordon, with his ability to hit big shots drew two guys and I was just the next guy to rotate over and I think Rashard (Lewis) tipped the ball, which gave me an extra step as well. It was a good read of the play and fortunately it bounced my way."
January 30, 2010: Magic-Hawks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought other than the first few minutes of the game, obviously, we were pretty good and I thought the second half was probably our most consistent half in a long time. It wasn't like an explosion and a big run all at once, I thought we just played solid defense and made solid plays. We had the one stretch, very short stretch, we turned the ball over twice, they scored five points, a two and a three, and then we got right back on playing well. So I was happy with that. To hold them under 40 percent and outrebound them by nine, a very good offensive team, I thought that was great. Obviously, Dwight (Howard) was incredible, at both ends of the floor, challenging shots, 18 defensive rebounds, scored extremely well. Ryan (Anderson) gave us a big lift. We had a lot of guys play well tonight. So, a pleasing victory."
On Dwight Howard's will throughout the game…
"Yeah, and I thought just his presence and his will like you said. They were very aware of him every time they went to the basket. He was just tremendous. He dominated that game all the way through. So, a tremendous effort from him."
On if they have the Atlanta Hawks 'number'…
"Again, you play four times in an 82 game season, the games are too far apart, you know it's not like a playoff series, I just don't buy it. You know, we came in tonight, they're coming in on a back-to-back. There's just a lot of factors. So no, I don't believe in a team having another team's number. I just believe that we played well tonight. And then we played very well the last time we played them and we played a very good second half the first time we played them. I mean, we have played well against them just like they have played well against Boston. But, I don't think that means anything more than that."
On Vince Carter's play tonight…
"Well I didn't think he was bad tonight. I just thought that, I didn't see anything wrong with anything he did. I mean, he got some rebounds, I was just, second quarter I thought we had a unit that was going well so we stayed there most of the time. And the same thing in the fourth quarter, we had it going, I liked the way everybody was playing so I just stayed with those lineups."
On Ryan Anderson…
"Ryan had his best game probably since at least since he was starting early in the year. I mean big baskets. I think what you see with Ryan is, people look at his shooting, but a lot of those guys stretch the floor for me and that's about all they do. You look at Ryan, he scores driving the ball to the basket, he scores down in the post, he scores on offensive rebounds when they were switching. I mean, the guy's only 21 years old. When people talk about all the real good young players in this league his name never comes up and I think No. 1, people forget how young he is. And he's playing behind a guy like Rashard (Lewis) who was an All-Star last year. But this guy's a very good player with a chance to be outstanding."
Dwight Howard
"I wasn't concerned about any numbers tonight. For me and the rest of team, we just wanted to come out and play very aggressive on both ends. We started out a little slow, the Hawks made a big run. But we settled down, we fought back and I think we did an excellent job of playing inside-out tonight, running the ball. But also on the defensive end you see a difference from the first part of the season 'til now. We're talking more, everybody's rotating earlier and that's a great sign for us."
"I think tonight, we didn't care who we played. We're right now trying to get better as a team. Our effort and energy, we're just trying to pick it up a lot more. Just be very aggressive, like I said, on both ends of the floor. For the most part, we did that."
"I think we've showed glimpses all year. We just have to put together a full game to what we can accomplish as a team. I think we're on our way. We want to continue to work every day in practice to get better, to continue to fight, and push ourselves every day so we can become that team that we want to be."
Rashard Lewis
"Ryan Anderson played great for us tonight. He hit some big shots, got to the basket, hit some big three's, as well as J. J. Redick. Those two guys came off the bench and did a great job for us tonight."
Jameer Nelson
(On Dwight's game tonight)
"What do you want me to say; he's the best big man in the league. I mean, he's still impressive. He had what, 30 and 19, 31 and 19, still impressive to me. I don't see guys putting up 31 and 19 rebounds in the same game, it's either or. Even the stuff that doesn't (show up) on the stat sheet, like the shots he changes and the help that he gives us, we just have to be there for him when he goes to blocks shots. He's playing tremendous right now."
"The thing is that we've got to keep getting better every game. We've got work to do. Time is ticking and we've got to continue to get better."
"Obviously we want to win every game. You want to take something out of every game. I think the games that we've been playing, we've been playing better and even the losses that we had, we take something out of them. We need to be in games like the Memphis game, we need to be in games like the Celtics game. It's a good test for us later."
January 28, 2010: Magic-Celtics Postgame Quotes
Dwight Howard
"It was physical the whole game. But I think we just tried to match their level of game playing tonight and we got a real good win."
"I know with Kendrick, he's a great low-post defender. With him, you can't try to be as physical. He's a big, solid mound of a guy down there. So instead of trying to be physical with him, I can move him and that's what I tried to do in the second half. Watched some tape on him this morning, the way he's been playing, he's been able to try and root me out every time. I just try and bang, bang, bang with him. But I think tonight I just tried to go one way, or go the other way or just is aggressive and it worked."
"It was a big win for us. I think we kind of grew up tonight as a unit. We didn't give up. The crowd was out of it, every body thought we were out of it. We just came back and played."
Rashard Lewis
"They're a good defensive team; they had us on our heels all night long. Dwight stepped it up in the second half. Coach put me at the three and Marcin at the four because they had a big line-up out there. That's when we were able to get some stops, get easy baskets and get it into Dwight. He was able to get into good post moves and get to the free throw line and make some baskets."
(On last play) "The play was drawn up for Vince to come and get the ball. Paul Pierce played pretty good defense on him. Denied and couldn't get the ball into him. J. J. had to pick the dribble up so he couldn't dribble the ball. Just ran up to give him another outlet and got the ball from him and turned the corner with my right hand and took it too the basket. Expected the defense to collapse and I was very surprised that when I got around K. G., I saw the rim because they're usually a great defensive team."
"The past couple games, I feel like I've been a little bit more aggressive. I think instead of sitting out and shooting three's, come into the basket and get a couple of lay-ups every once in a while because the three ball isn't always going to fall. And you have to do something different to get yourself into the game. And I'm trying get a lay-up."
Marcin Gortat
"Being there at the end was such a great feeling. For the first time this season, I got a chance to play such an important game, so crucial minutes. I'm happy to have this opportunity to play as a four man, and the most important thing is that the team won. Hopefully now we'll start building this winning road. I hope we start winning right now."
January 25, 2010: Magic-Grizzlies Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On Zach Randolph)
"I thought it was a huge thing. He was only 9-21 but his rebounding was a huge factor and I think that was the problem. We tried to match up late when it was close and then we actually got beat at the three spot. Rashard (Lewis) had trouble showing on pick-and-rolls and then got beat on the back cut. He made us make some adjustments that didn't work for us."
(On the loss)
"The turnovers are creeping up and it's every game. It's tough because we're putting so much pressure on ourselves at the offensive end and we're not shooting the ball great. Then when you have 18, 19, 20 turnovers every night, it's becoming a real problem. Even down the stretch, Jameer (Nelson) gets in that jump ball; that's huge. We didn't do much right in the second half. I did think our guys fought and hung in and we got a lead, and they came back; it was a good basketball game fighting but they made more plays than we did at both ends of the floor."
(On the Grizzlies)
"I thought we opened the game with tremendous intensity. I thought our intensity was better than theirs and then when they turned around, their intensity was a lot higher than ours was. They just flattened us out and got back in the game then took the lead at the half. I thought that was the stretch of the game that was really, really crucial and we just did not match their intensity at that point.
Rashard Lewis
(On the loss)
"We just shot too many three-point shots. I think that killed us. We have to get good shots every time we come down the floor. I think later in the game, we just shot three's instead of playing our game inside out. Every time we shot and missed, they came back and scored and got back in the game then they got the lead."
"I just try to get in there and rebound and block shots."
"We're just trying to get better. Our guys…we're playing better basketball now so it's going to be a great test for us. All that matters is who wins at the end of the playoffs."
Vince Carter
(On the loss)
"We're just going to have to focus in and bounce back and be ready to go. One of the things about this team is we're capable of bouncing back. We just want to get it back together, plain and simple."
January 23, 2010: Magic-Bobcats Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On tonight's game)
"This was a great game for us to win. We haven't had an overtime game all year. We were just hanging on in the fourth quarter. We weren't really digging in and getting stops. In overtime, that was the best defense we've played all year long. It was our defense that helped us win."
(On the team's defense)
"I thought we were really attacking. Jameer Nelson was defending on pick-and-rolls and so was Rashard Lewis. I thought in the overtime Dwight Howard's defense was unbelievable."
(On the Bobcats)
"They are a very good team. They had won nine in a row here at home, the second best home record in the league, so this is great win for us."
Dwight Howard
(On tonight's game)
"Charlotte made a big run late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter. It was tough, they started hitting shots. D.J. Augustin had an awesome game tonight. I thought our defensive intensity in the second half and overtime got us the win."
(On the team's defense)
"I just try to be aggressive on the defensive end and block a lot of shots to help out my teammates. If they drive, I'll be there. We are playing defense and I am able to block shots."
Rashard Lewis
(On tonight's game)
"We are most definitely going to take a lot of confidence from this victory. All season long, we have been terrible in back-to-back games. We didn't hang it up. We kept pushing and playing hard and we were able to win the game."
(On the overtime period)
"We played great defense in overtime. We didn't in the fourth quarter, and they got back into the game and were able to send it into overtime. We were able to score baskets and we got the win."
January 22, 2010: Magic-Kings Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought our energy and intensity tonight were tremendous. Did not have a very good offensive game but we were able to dominate the game because our defense, particularly in the middle two quarters, was outstanding. To be up 16 at the half and holding them to 25 percent and not have them score for the first five and a half minutes was just tremendous. Liked our energy offensively, I thought that we really tried to run the ball again, which I liked. I thought guys were running, I thought our point guards pushed the ball. Obviously the one thing, just like I said last game, the turnovers are mounting and that's something that as we go forward, you'd hate to see us playing as hard as we are the last couple of games and cost ourselves games by turning it over. So we have to get that under control. I was happy with the whole approach everybody had tonight."
On the play of Vince Carter…
"I thought Vince played really well. We had to take him out at the end of the first half for fouls, and obviously he didn't play in the fourth quarter so he didn't get a lot of minutes. But had we really needed to go to him tonight, his whole disposition and the way he played, defensively he was the best he's been, even when he played Martin he was right with him. I thought that his whole disposition, his energy level, his intensity, I thought offensively he made good decisions, I thought he was really good tonight."
On Dwight Howard's free throw shooting…
"Yeah, fantastic. He made his first 10, 11 of 12. Outstanding. And the other night he wasn't nearly as good but he was pretty good. He's made 27 out of 36. If he could stay in that 70 to 75 percent range, all the defense on him changes."
On how the perimeter guys are making strides on defense…
"I thought from an individual standpoint, I just think the last couple games our disposition has been better to really be right with people and not give them anything easy. And then I think our help was very, very good for most of the game. For the most part, I thought our help was good. Even when guys got by us and into the paint they were forced to take very tough shots."
Jameer Nelson
On tonight's solid performance:
"There wasn't a change in me. I have always been an attacker. I have to stay in attack mode so the other team is guessing at all times."
On tonight's great team defense:
"We were playing hard, helping each other out and talking. We grabbed a lot of their misses and other than the turnovers the game was pretty good for us."
On how much pain he is playing in:
"Pain? No pain. If I need a day off, I need a day off. We are all men out here therefore I can communicate with my coach and tell him I need a day off. That's what I did yesterday. Everyone on this team has nicks and bruises. I don't consider myself injured."
J.J. Redick
On tonight's victory:
"Tonight's game was a breath of fresh air. It has been a tough month with the schedule being on the road. The last two games were ones that we needed to take care of. In both cases we played great in the first half and really clamped down defensively."
On the defense against Sacramento's guards:
"For the most part, we had great help defense. Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin are great scorers and it is difficult to defend them with one guy."
On playing the Bobcats tomorrow night:
"I have been paying attention to what the Bobcats have been doing and they are really tough to play at home. It is going to be a challenge. Offensively, we have to take care of the ball. They are a great defensive team and we have to get great shots every time down the court."
Dwight Howard
On his 11-for-12 free throw shooting tonight:
"I have been practicing and practicing. Today after practice I felt really good. I made 80 out of 100. They can keep fouling me if I can shoot 75 percent. I am just going to keep practicing those shots and hopefully everything can work out."
On the team's performance tonight:
"We have been playing well the last couple games because of our intensity on defense. We are helping each other, which is a key. Everyone is coming together recently and we need to continue to do that when we head to Charlotte and Memphis."
January 20, 2010: Magic-Pacers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"The main thing is we got off to a great start, the guys were really ready to play. They had great energy, great ball movement…I think reflecting that they really wanted to get something done, so that was great. Dwight was obviously tremendous and I thought we did a good job getting him the ball, he did a good job making his free throws and had a big night, and Matt [Barnes] obviously gave us a big lift, particularly on the boards, but I mean he really filled up the stat sheet, a double-double and then six assists, so I thought he played really well. Rashard is starting to really come back to being himself offensively and J-Will had another really, really good outing I thought, and then Ryan and Marcin, though they didn't really get a lot going offensively, I mean they got nine rebounds between them in 17 minutes, so that's a big lift also, so we had some good contributions by some people, and then to out-rebound them by 15 I thought was a big key to the game. The only real negative in the game, and it reflected in letting them get back in it in the fourth quarter was the 21 turnovers, but that's about the only real negative in the game."
On motivation carrying over from the 3rd quarter of the game against the LA Lakers
"A little bit of both, I thought our guys worked really hard to get ready today, and I think they wanted to play well, that we had some good moments offensively in LA, and now the next step in getting to where we want to be is sustain for longer periods of time and not shoot ourselves in the foot with mistakes."
On the getting into the lane, driving and kicking
"Yeah, I thought we were playing the game we wanted to play, inside-out, I thought our guys came with great energy… a much better performance, and I think we were able to do that against L.A. and the key is being able to do it for longer and longer periods of time."
On the team taking on Matt Barnes' personality
"I think his energy is certainly very, very helpful, to go get 16 rebounds. He runs up and down the court, he's in tremendous shape…. I think that he has really given us a big boost, he's putting in big minutes, he's guarding 3s and 4s and some 2s, like in Kobe the other night. One of the things we said when we got him, one of the things Otis liked, one of the things I liked, was his versatility, I think he's showing that… He's a guy that can do a lot of different thing."
On Vince Carter's play
"Look, it's just too much scrutiny on one guy. That's all we come in and talk about every game. 'What did you think of Vince, what did you think of Vince?' We played well."
Dwight Howard:
"In order for us to win, we've got to have hard work and energy every night. Even if we make mistakes because hard work clears all that."
"I told those guys before the game that it wasn't going to be the same game they had against us that last time we played them. I told them at shootaround today and I meant it. So we just came out as a team and defensively, we came out with a lot of energy."
"It felt good to win but I just like the fact that the starters came out with a lot of energy. We ran, played defense, got stops, that's what we have to do for here on out."
(On Matt Barnes) "One thing I like about Matt is just that he just wants to get out there and just bring a lot of energy. He rebounds, he plays defense, he's in-your-face and that's what you've got to have from a guy like Matt Barnes. He doesn't care about putting up numbers or anything, he just wants to get in there and bring the energy and effort that we need."
Matt Barnes
"We got off to a great start and kind of carried it throughout the game. We had a few peaks and valleys but overall, it was good performance. It's just one game but it's a good start and hopefully we can build on this."
(On career high rebounds) "It's just we needed a rebound. Me, Dwight, and everybody else did a great job of chasing the ball down and that stopped them from getting second opportunities."
(On missing triple-double) "Someone told me that I need four assists, but the ball never came my way so I could pass it. But personal stuff is not really important, more important is for us as team to get back on track, to get Dwight going, get Vince going, get Rashard going, and really come with that energy."
"Like I told the guys earlier, I'm new here so obviously I'm not a leader. But I hope unspokenly, by me playing hard would lead by example. You know we're a very talented team; we just need to put forth more effort. And hopefully when we turn that corner and start doing that, and when we do, we're a hell of a team."
"We had to pick it up. We came out with great energy. You know, we've been playing pretty bad lately and we've had no one to blame but ourselves. We can't blame back-to-backs, travel, or any of that kind of stuff because every team does it. We come out with a great focus today, and great energy. And it shows what happens. And hopefully we can take a mental note of this and continue to do it."
January 18, 2010: Magic-Lakers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought we did a good job in the first half fighting back. We got off to a bad start and I thought our guys did a good job fighting back and staying in the game. That was the most resolve we had shown in a long time. I thought we played a great third quarter and then the team did nothing to start the fourth. We made too many mistakes. If you look at the stat sheet there are not an overwhelming number of turnovers but there is a five turnover difference in the second half. The two things were the five turnover difference and our careless plays. We threw away four in-bound passes not looking at the defense and then their bench really outplayed our bench. Our bench has been very good, but just didn't play well today."
On their improvements this season:
"We showed a little bit of improvement for us, we showed spots but that's the problem. We are too streaky and we are not solid enough over the course of the game, right now. But we did play better than we have in a while, which I guess is good. But when you have played better and you have a loss, it's not a very good feeling."
On Dwight Howard:
"They (Lakers) did a good job in the second half and made sure they double-teamed him. I thought he made some good passes out, we got a couple of good shots and they made it until right at the end when they didn't want to come off and give up threes. They came very hard at him in the second half. He got tired into the third quarter because I didn't give him any rest in the first half. But I thought he played very well we just couldn't get him shots in the second half. We got him the ball but we just couldn't give him shots."
On Shannon Brown:
"Shannon Brown just played really really well. We had some defensive breakdowns, but I mean he was hitting pull-up jumpers. I didn't like the shots we gave him going to the basket, but again that was not the difference in the game. Both teams end up with the same number of points in the paint. To me the difference was the fourth quarter run, the turnover difference, unforced errors, and their bench play was outstanding."
Dwight Howard:
On Shannon Brown and his chances in the dunk contest: "I think he's a great, unbelievable dunker. He's awesome above the rim. He's in the category of Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins."
On the Magic going through this current stretch:
"We just got to continue to play. We came out great. We just got to do a better job of figuring out other team's game plans and try to go forward from there. We've been in a tough stretch but we've just got to continue to work. We're going to get over this."
On the Lakers stepping up despite the struggles of Kobe Bryant:
"Any team is capable of doing that. Other guys just stepped up and played with a lot of energy. That's the reason they won."
January 15, 2010: Magic-Blazers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the game
"We couldn't get anything going. For a while we hung in defensively even when we were struggling and again I think frustration sets in and we just lose our resolve defensively. The first half tonight I though was pretty similar to the second half in Denver the other night, it just got away from us."
On Portland
"We just got totally out played. I thought they played tremendously. They played the game about as well as you can play the game. They played with tremendous energy, great unselfishness and ball movement, worked very hard defensively, played a speed and quickness level far exceeding ours. I thought they were tremendous and I told our team afterwards that that was a great team we played tonight. I thought they were fantastic. They competed very hard and worked very very hard defensively…They did a very very good job.
On the team
"When you get beat the way we did, I'm not going to get up here and start on one guy or another guy. There's plenty of blame to go around tonight. We played 10 guys and I coached, so there's enough blame for the 11 of us to handle on a game like tonight. I think trying to single one guy would be #1 pretty difficult tonight."
On Dwight Howard
"They doubled teamed him all night. You can limit post guy's shots. That's not a hard thing to do. When he got good position they just fouled him every time. It's a little deceptive because he had a lot of free throws also and a lot where they fouled him before he could even get a shot up and the ball on the side…Every time he got goo position they fouled him, if he got it off the lane they doubled teamed him. Not an easy thing to do. It's been a game plan we've seen a lot and when you go 3 for 10 or 11 from the line then that's a game plan you're going to continue to see.
J.J. Redick
On the game
"Portland played with so much energy tonight and we didn't match that. We were down 20 at half time; you can't dig yourself a hole like that. On both ends of the floor they just kicked out butts."
Rashard Lewis
On the team
"We're going to get everybody's best shot. We knew that coming into the season. Last year we kind of flew under the radar, this year we're not flying under the radar and teams are going to give us their best."
January 13, 2010: Magic-Nuggets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"Well our turnovers were awful and we couldn't play their post-ups, and that I'll take the blame for. Double teams they scored every time, when we didn't double they scored every time and we just turned the ball over, we couldn't find any offense to run that was any good. We were ineffective down in the post, we couldn't exploit there switches at all. Couldn't beat anybody off of the dribble and get any stops that would allow us to get out in the open court. We clearly got totally dominated in every area of the game in the second half and I'm very disappointed.
(On Dwight Howard)
They're better interior defenders than what we saw last night and it was just a tough night. And in the second half he didn't even get a shot he had four turnovers and got to the free throw line a couple of times. Just a very bad night, I've said it that if we can't get Jameer (Nelson) and Rashard (Lewis) going than we're going to struggle. The guys that were getting scoring from on a nightly basis, our bench guys are doing a good job but we're getting offense out of Matt (Barnes), and Mickael Pietrus, JJ who had a tough night and Ryan (Anderson). It's our key guys, the guys that we look to, I've got to find a way to get them going more offensively than if I don't than we're going to continue to struggle."
Dwight Howard
"They did a good job of mixing it up and trying to have me off balance. (Third quarter) We have to do a good job, a better job of fighting. They started hitting those big shots and got a big run. We just kind of gave up, that's what it looked like and we can't do that if we're talking about winning a championship. So we can't blame it on a back to back or anything like that, everybody in the league plays back-to-back but we do have to come out with a better effort when teams like Denver make their run. We have to do a good job of staying in the game. We cannot keep talking about struggling, we just have to find a way to put the ball in the basket and it doesn't matter who does it. Tonight they out worked us, they got easy points. And we didn't do a good job of playing defense, and that's what got us our last two wins before tonight. So we just have to get back on the defensive end and play better and the offense will come."
Matt Barnes
"No, you can never blame it on a back-to-back. Every team in the league plays back-to-back and we came out flat in the third quarter, they went on a 9-0 run and it was an uphill battle from there. I think they got the lead to almost 30 at one point. We didn't come out ready to play in the third quarter and they took advantage of that. (Personal performance) It was bitter sweet, it's always a team game so overall you're disappointed because you did not win."
January 12, 2010: Magic-Kings Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Team's defense…
"I thought our defense stepped up in the fourth quarter and they missed some shots. They had some good open looks but thankfully not for their better shooters. We had some guys who were below 30 percent and high 20 percent three-point shooters getting the shot. I thought the real key tonight was that we limited their points in the paint. They were No. 2 in the league for points in the paint, averaging 47 points a game and they only got 26 points tonight which had to do a lot with Dwight (Howard). I thought our help defense was good. They hit some shots in the first half, a lot of jump shots but in the second half we were able to keep them on the perimeter. They didn't make as many shots and at the other end we were able to pound it inside. We kept the game at a little bit up tempo, didn't allow them in the open floor as much and we rebounded a lot better in the second half."
Dwight Howard's performance…
"We got him the ball a lot. He had two turnovers early. One was a travel and he had his third turnover early in the third quarter on an offensive foul. He didn't throw bad passes tonight down the stretch. He had five assists, made his free throws, scored his points and didn't turn the ball over. There was no reason not to go to him. I think that when he's that efficient it's easy to keep pounding the ball to him. He did a great job tonight and our other guys did a good job getting him the ball."
Matt Barnes
Team's defense….
"Dwight is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year but we all have to bring it on the defensive end. I think if we do that we can be one of the top teams in the league. I think we just have to consistently bring that defense because we have so many weapons on the offensive."
On the Sacramento Kings…
"They can play. They have a really good young team. Tyreke Evans is going to be a superstar. Spencer (Hawes), Jason (Thompson), (Omri) Casspi, and Kevin (Martin) and Francisco (Garcia) coming back they have a solid court. If they can all stay healthy, I wouldn't be surprised if they make a run for the 8th playoff spot."
Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans playing together…
"Kevin is a very talented player and Tyreke is a very talented player. I think they will make it work. Kevin is not on the ball as much as Tyreke is so hopefully they can coexist. They are both very talented and will be a tough matchup for anybody."
Dwight Howard
Team's defensive effort…
"We just have to continue to fight. The only way that we are going to get better is if we play defensively like we did tonight. I think we came out tonight with a great defensive effort as a team. In the second (half) we were able to hold them to one shot per possession, get rebounds, run and get easy buckets."
Holding the Kings to 10 points in the fourth quarter…
"We did a good job containing the ball, so when guys got beat we were there to help. We didn't let them get more than one shot. I think the biggest thing that they did great in the first half was outrebound us. In the second half we made a great effort of not giving them the easy buckets and second chance points."
January 9, 2010: Magic-Hawks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"That's about as happy as I've been with a regular season win in a long time. It just seemed like, I don't know it seemed like a month or month and a half since we've won a game. Just a long time, that felt good, it felt good just to get a win. But, even better is we played really, really well against a very good team. A good feeling in the locker room a lot of guys played well, virtually everybody we played. It feels good, we've obviously got a long way to go and based on how we've played lately we can't start feeling like, 'OK, it's over we're out of the woods,' we've still got to keep pressing ahead and trying to get better but tonight we just needed to get a win so we can all get a goodnights sleep and get the monkey off our back a little bit."
On if they have to shoot extremely well to win games…
"No, I mean there's no substitute for shooting, you know, I mean you've got to put the ball in the basket but I do think if you just even watch – the 20 fast break points in the first half, we haven't had that in a game in forever. I think our energy tonight up and down the floor was a lot better. And, I think when you're energy is better you tend to get better shots and when you get better shots you tend to make more of them. Now, that doesn't account for all of them, some of its just shooting, but we've been standing around, you know you've been watching, standing around, playing very slow. Tonight, we were up and down the floor, the ball was moving, it was just a lot better night, I think it just goes hand in hand."
On if this is how the team is supposed to play…
"Well I stay away from supposed to, but this is how we'd like to play. I thought we had a pretty good inside-outside balance, we got some good post-up stuff. And then Dwight (Howard) made some plays outside of the post so I thought we had a pretty good balance there. The best thing was I thought it was by far our best game playing in the open floor in transition in a long, long time. I can't really remember the last time I thought that we got up and down the floor pretty well."
On the play of JJ Redick…
"JJ is, well look, I've said it all along, he's just the guy that I think we've come to trust and by we I mean not only the coaches but his teammates. I think if you ask them he's not going to make mistakes, he's a tough guy he's going to compete hard, he's going to try and make the right play, he's an unselfish guy, he's all about winning and he focuses and works every single day and I hold him up as an example to some of the younger guys because I think a lot of times in this league you think, 'I'm not playing right now, I'm never going to play.' Which is exactly how JJ, after my first year JJ was like, 'You guys should trade me, I'm never going to play here,' the whole thing. They think things never change, but he just kept working and getting better. Then obviously last year he started in the Boston series and was still playing significantly through the rest of the Playoffs including the Lakers and now he's playing even more. You keep working at it like he does, and his focus and you keep learning everyday and I think what happens is, he's still not he quickest most athletic guy but as experience comes, he's ahead of the play so he can keep up defensively. You know as a rookie, well I didn't see him as much as a rookie, but as a second year guy, he'd be a half-a-count behind. Well he's not athletic enough to be a half-a-count behind. Now he's not a half-a-count behind, he's right into what he's doing. It's the value of experience, especially for a smart, tough guy who works at it everyday."
Dwight Howard
"It just felt good to get a good win tonight. I was very upset about losing the last four games, all of us were, and we were frustrated and tonight we didn't worry about the offensive end. We started off playing great defense and I think that's what got us a big lead tonight. Our defense, we blocked shots, we were there all the rotations, we did everything like we were supposed to do. On the offensive end, we got some easy buckets and it helped us. Even though we're in this stretch where our offense is not clicking like it was last season, I think the biggest thing is for us to continue to get better on the defensive end and really try not to worry on the offensive end but really just focus on getting stops and everything else will come."
"I just like our effort tonight. We've got to play with the same intensity and effort every single night. We were everywhere, like I was said; we were talking to each other, getting in rotations at the right time. We were just doing everything at the right, doing every thing like we know how to do. So hopefully we can continue it and just fight through all the situations that we've had so far. I think we needed a little wake up call and the thing now is to stay on the right track."
Rashard Lewis
"Any win is good for us. Kind of break out of this slump. Can't one game really turn you around especially going on this road trip playing some good teams, starting in Sacramento."
"It's a confidence builder. We still know we're a good team but we have to go out there and do X's and O's. But still if we don't go out there and play hard, we're not going to win regardless of getting this win tonight. I think we really have to focus in and know that it's going to take a lot of hard work to win ball games."
"It happens to everybody; it happens to the best team in the league, happens to the worst teams in the league. Nobody is perfect, you're going to hit times, little bumps in the road where you're not going to win ballgames, you're not playing well. Good teams bounce back from it. So it' happened to us so still have a long season ahead of us so we can't put our heads down."
"I think we put a little pressure on ourselves, especially on the offensive end. We weren't playing with a rhythm, we weren't playing well and still wasn't playing great defense. I think today we played a little more aggressive. Like Coach said, we played great defense, built a lead early, and kept playing."
January 8, 2010: Magic-Wizards Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the loss:
"It just gets worse. It was terrible. We were fine until the last 10 minutes of the game and then we gave up fast-breaks and second shots. We didn't have one guy on the floor that could make a shot. They got games out of their key players. (Caron) Butler and (Antawn) Jamison were both very good and some other guys. Dwight (Howard) had a good offensive game as Rashard (Lewis) and Jameer (Nelson) were both down. We can't get more than one of our four guys to do anything offensively on a given night. I've tried to change the play calling to where we have a more even shot distribution, which we're getting, but we just have guys struggling. I don't know what the answer is right now."
On J.J. Redick playing for an injured Vince Carter:
"J.J. played hard, he just couldn't make shots. Even that's a little skewed because he hit the one late that didn't matter. He just couldn't make shots. It happens to everybody we just can't get guys to step up, not that the guys aren't trying."
On playing Brandon Bass over Ryan Anderson:
"The quickness is a tough thing for Ryan, but I have to get him back in there because our offense is better. But Brandon had five offense rebounds. I think he played hard and well. I did not really think he was the problem. I didn't think our bench was the problem. I have to somehow get our key guys to play better. They've got to play better. That's how you win games. Our other guys, some guys had a tough night, but we're getting okay play out of those guys. We need consistent play night in and night out of Jameer, Vince, Rashard and Dwight. That's just the way it is and it's up to me to get that and I'm not getting it."
On getting the team going:
"I do not have the answer. Obviously if I did we wouldn't be playing like we are. We've lost four straight to sub-.500 teams. The one thing we've always done is done a good job against the teams below .500 and now we can't do that. We're just in a bad roll right now."
J.J. Redick
On the loss and four-game losing streak:
"We had the lead and they scored eight quick points and after that it seemed like we couldn't get a stop or make a bucket on our end. It is obviously frustrating. Shots not falling is not frustrating what is frustrating is losing these games. Tonight the main thing that hurt us was allowing second chance points."
Rashard Lewis
On the loss and four-game losing streak:
"We just seem to have been losing the last few ball games. It still doesn't mean we aren't one of the elite teams in the East. We just have to continue to play defense. We were up ten points in the fourth quarter and we started missing shots and didn't get back on defense and the Wizards took advantage of that. It is very frustrating when you are not winning games but this is the NBA and it happens, but we still have to bounce back. We just have to come out against Atlanta next game and play a full 48 minutes."
January 6, 2010: Magic-Raptors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I mean obviously another very tough night and I really don't know what else to say, we're just not playing very well. We're not playing very well and for most of the game we're not playing very hard. So, until that changes then it'll probably keep going like this. And then, when it does change, then we'll have a chance to be a good team. We're just not putting enough into it for long enough periods of time, I think that's the fourth time in the last five games that we've had double-figure turnovers in the first half. I mean, we're just not doing what it takes to win games. We didn't play well at either end of the floor tonight, it's just a struggle right now. But, you know eventually we will decide, we will figure out that we're the ones that have to change it. That this isn't happening to us, that it's happening because of us and we'll get it changed. I think right now we're feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit and that's going to have to change."
On if the three J.J. Redick took toward the end of the game was the play he drew up…
"Yep, yep. He was drifting on it, but he got some space. He got some space, we set a good screen. And then there's other options on it if he didn't have the shot, but I don't think I would've wanted him to pass the shot up. He just didn't get quite straight up and down, he was drifting. He's pretty good coming off those, I knew he wasn't having a great night, but nobody really was. I thought about going to Rashard (Lewis), but they're switching everything so you're going to have to get it on the dead run. That's not as much Rashard's forte as maybe JJ's. Plus, I'd worn Rashard out I think, playing him the whole second half. So that's why I went where I went. And, I thought it was – I'm not going to say a great look, but a decent look for where we were, it just didn't go down."
On their lack of effort tonight and recently…
"Well, I think guys it's the frustration that people are feeling and so instead of frustration maybe fueling an anger, to where you want to do something about it, I see us more hanging our heads a little bit. Now, obviously in the fourth quarter that changed around. I've never been a big fan of comebacks that you don't win in. Those kind of things happen in the NBA every night but maybe we can build on it now. We put a lot into the last eight to 10 minutes of that game and the only way that can be of value, because we didn't get a win tonight, is if that sort of propels us to put the same kind of effort into the game on Friday, from the beginning of the game. I know there's plenty of talent in that locker room. I know we have good people. And, I know that it is totally up to us and no one else to get this turned around."
Dwight Howard
"We're a little out of sync as a team; we're struggling to find offense every night. But we're not going to complain, we're not going to do anything but keep fighting. I'm glad that we, not losing, but going through this stretch where we just have to fight each and every night. And every night is not pretty for us. But I think success is right around the corner for us. But we have to continue to just find ways to get better. I think if we continue to get into the gym every day and we practice very hard, as a team we do every thing every day in the gym to get better. It's just we come short in the games. But we're going to continue to fight. Like I told the guys tonight and the other in Indiana is that I know that we're going through this phase. But we just have to remain together. We have to continue to fight and we're going to overcome the situation."
Jameer Nelson
"I think that we're out there thinking a little too much, not sure of ourselves at times. The only thing we can do is continue working at it and get out of this funk that we're in right now. I mean eventually every team is going to go through a little funk, the good teams get out of it on top."
(How to do that)
"Win."
J. J. Redick
(On his last shot)
"We shouldn't have been in that position. We can't keep turning it off and on. The way teams play like Toronto did tonight, where they're shooting the ball, we have to be better from the start."
"I think the main problem is everybody. Stan talked to us before the game about doing things to win, having the concentration and focus be on that. I think that might be part of it. There's obviously some frustration offensively on a lot of guys right now, nobody is really shooting well and I think that affects our whole game."
"It's the third straight game that it's been like this, we're playing a team that's sub .500 record and it's just that I think we expected to come home tonight and things will be easy and Toronto made sure that it wasn't easy, they played great. That's the thing about this league. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night. Everybody's talented and obviously Toronto's playing very, very good basketball right now."
January 5, 2010: Magic-Pacers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
We're just playing terrible. Offensively it's really bad right now. I need to look at everything. We had 20 turnovers and 38 percent shooting, so offensively it's not working at all.
(On early foul trouble)
Dwight's fouls definitely hurt. It precluded us from getting off to a great start. Those were two tough calls to get. That's the way it goes, but that's not enough of an answer. We didn't play well.
(On Roy Hibbert)
He was fantastic. It helped that him a lot that Dwight got into foul trouble and was not able to guard his as aggressively. We double teamed him some but he hit a couple of shots at the end of the shot clock. He works as hard for low post position as anyone in the league
Dwight Howard
(On his problems in the game)
I got into foul trouble and couldn't be as aggressive as I wanted to be on either end. I just have to find a way to stay in the game and not get frustrated.
(On what's the problem with the team)
I just think we're out of sync, everybody. We're not playing the way we know how to play. Expectations are so high for us this year, we're not playing the way we know how to play. We get out there and we're just holding on too tight instead of just playing free.
(On Roy Hibbert)
He was just on fire tonight. He had an unbelievable game and I'm proud to see him mature into the player he is. I'm very happy for him.
Matt Barnes
(On the team)
I think offensively right now the team is in a rut. I don't know if you want to say we hit the wall or what. The last few games we've just been shooting pretty terrible and I think it's carried over into our defense. You just have to stop the bleeding somewhere.
(On what Dwight Howard said to the team after game)
It was just stay focused and stay together. We're going through a rough time right now. So we don't need to branch off into individual people and talking behind people's back. We're a team, we win together and we lose together.
(Is it energy?)
It's a lot of things. Energy is definitely one of them. We just have to come out of the gate stronger in the first and third quarter. That's something we've been trying to work on.
January 2, 2010: Magic-Bulls Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Q: On the game.
A: To me, there's only one factor tonight. They just played a lot harder then us. They played with more energy, more effort, defended harder and went to the boards harder than us all night. It's amazing that we were within shouting distance at the end of this one. No, the back-to-back is not a factor, that is only an excuse. If you have any heart it doesn't factor into it at all. They play hard all night. Our only shots were really making threes. We are having a problem finishing in the paint. However, tonight I don't want to be too negative on our team because that would take away from the Bulls' fine effort tonight.
Q: On their three-point shooting.
A: We will usually hit those and have a good stretch of those shots. However, we've got to be clearer about when to get it inside and get better balance on that inside-outside game. Tonight we didn't get it in deep to Dwight a lot. When we did they fouled him. They just did a good job double-teaming him from the baseline and stripped him. If they didn't do that they fouled him and sent him to the line.
Q: On Derrick Rose.
A: He was just tremendous tonight. It's another thing we need to clean up. It seems every night the point guard is the one hurting us. Rondo and others recently have done that to us as well. To me now, the difference in Derrick Rose's play is that he is healthy. He's feeling better, playing better, and has his legs under him like last year. His improvement then helps everyone on the team. He creates a lot for the other guys. Earlier this season he said he wasn't healthy and wasn't aggressive. Now when I look at the box scores the last six or seven games you can see the change and he's been playing great.
Jameer Nelson:
Q: On Derrick Rose tonight.
A: Attack, attack, attack. He's strong, fast, and was knocking down jump shots tonight. When he's knocking down his jump shots, it makes it tough to guard him.
Q: On his game tonight.
A: I think I was being a little too passive in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter I found my shot a little more. It's hard to measure individual success after a loss.
Ryan Anderson:
Q: On the Bulls.
A: They're a great offensive-rebounding team. That's what they do. Noah's the second offensive rebounder in the league.
Q: On playing back-to-back games.
A: We can't use that as an excuse. We should have come out with a little more energy. Shots just weren't falling for us. Shots we normally make, especially in the third and fourth quarter. We really struggle to make shots. If we're not going to play good defense, we really need to rely on our offense to win games. Tonight, our offense wasn't working for us. It was a tough game for us.
Q: On Taj Gibson.
A: He's a great player. I played against him in college. He's a really talented, long athletic kid. He can really rebound the ball and he really fits in their offense. He's got a great jump shot and he's got great footwork. He's a great fit for them.
January 1, 2010: Magic-Timberwolves Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On Matt Barnes - "He's the only guy on our team who runs first of all. Nobody else will run, everyone else jogs, he runs."
On Dwight Howard playing a lot of minutes - "Dwight's a pretty well-conditioned guy, he got some time off in the first half, so we thought we could play him through it."
On their five new players - "They're all good players. I think it's pretty easy to fit good players in, it's hard to fit bad players in."
On the team - "I still don't think we're playing to the level we can play at, but we're finding ways to win games in the meantime."
Matt Barnes
On second half rebounding - "They hammered us on the boards that first half and I think we kind of pulled even in the second half."
On why he's in the starting lineup - "I bring energy, bring toughness, run the floor and try to guard their best offensive players, and just kind of bring a spark."
On him playing hard - "We've got a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things, so just to be able to go out there and play hard, I think helps our team."
Dwight Howard
On Minnesota's defense - "The way they were playing me they made it tough for me to score. I just tried to find my teammates."
On Minnesota playing well - "It doesn't matter who you play in this league anybody is capable of having a big night, any team is capable of winning. I like the way they play, they really look for each other."
On second half rebounding - "I think we did a better job of going to get balls instead of just standing there and hoping we get the rebound."
December 30, 2009: Magic-Bucks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On tonight's game…
"Obviously a really, really good second half on both ends of the floor and then the only thing we really didn't do tonight, I thought we turned the ball over in the first half, a lot. And, we didn't rebound the ball very well tonight. But other than that I thought we played very well, particularly in the second half."
On his lineup decisions and putting in Matt Barnes for Mickael Pietrus…
"Yeah, well it didn't end up doing us any good. We just haven't had good first halves. We haven't been good in the first quarter and then our second unit hasn't been real good in the second quarter either. We try to tweak it a little bit, hard to tell tonight because of the foul trouble. We didn't really get into a rotation at all in the first half, a lot better in the second half clearly. But I'm concerned with the way we start games, we never jump on anybody. And obviously our second quarters haven't been a lot better, we're always fighting from behind, or you know, at least a little bit behind at halftime so we just try to change that up. I don't think it will do a whole lot to their minutes necessarily I'm just trying to change who they play with a little bit."
On when Vince Carter went down and they then proceeded to go on a big run…
"Well I don't think that had much to do with it, you know I think we were starting to play well until then and it just continued. I don't think that, you know, I didn't notice anybody getting real fired up about that, we were just playing very, very well. Vince was playing well, Dwight (Howard) had a great night offensively, I thought he looked great in the post, he just couldn't get many minutes. We just played very, very well in the second half."
On the play of his point guards tonight…
"Jameer (Nelson) was really, really struggling but he had some things going on with his family, which I didn't find out about until after the game, which is a good time to find out. But, he didn't get any sleep, so he had no energy and that was my main thing with him. I know it'll take some time to get back in the groove but he had no energy, I sort of found out why after the game, but J-Will (Jason Williams) was tremendous, picked him up very, very well, played great and was obviously very instrumental in the second half."
Vince Carter
"I feel pretty good, a little headache. He threw a shoulder at my face, I guess trying to stop me from coming around a screen. Helped my jump shot though. I just laid there for a second, I felt a little dizzy so I wanted to lay there for a second, let everything get back together and then get back up. Next thing you know, everything was lined up correctly. Rim actually looked straight. Thought Coach was going to take me out and that's why I was just sitting there on my knees, I was just trying to gain my composure and I looked at him and he said, 'All right Vince, you're going to take the ball out.' All right, let's keep it going."
"It was just an all-around thing. Definitely on the defensive end I think our pressure, limiting them to one shot. Yeah, they were getting a couple of offensive rebounds, especially in a row. But in general, we created turnovers. First of all, we took care of the ball and we were able to get out in transition and just get lay-ups and open jump shots. Once we got rolling, we just kept going and going, something I'd like to see us do for 48 minutes of course. But this team has been able to persevere through a bad first half and play a phenomenal second half."
Jason Williams
"I always have confidence in it (his shot). It's just sometimes it doesn't go in. But that's my job, trying to make open shots."
"I think in the first half, we didn't play with any energy. It seemed like the same thing when we played up there against those guys in their place. They came out and play with a lot more energy and got a lot of points in the paint in the first half. Second half, I think we held them to ten points in the paint which is big for us."
(On guarding Brandon Jennings)
"It's not a one-on-one match-up. They run a lot of pick-and-rolls and whoever is guarding him has to have a little help on the big man whoever is setting the screen and sometimes you have to hope he misses."
"It's just a game. No matter if I'm starting or coming off the bench, the goal is still ten feet and it's five against five out there so I just have to keep playing my game."
Jameer Nelson
"I've never been through it before. I'm just doing what every body tells me to do that make the decisions. They don't want me to practice everyday or practice as much, and so just, I want to. I ask to, but I just have to listen to them and do the things they tell me to do."
December 25, 2009: Magic-Celtics Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"Well, the second quarter was real bad, a real frustrating evening, again I thought that our guys competed hard. Down the stretch a couple of times we made big mistakes that stood out to me because they were so crucial. But in general our defense was pretty good, we just couldn't get good shots. We did a better job in the second half, I thought we played more of the way we wanted to play in the second half in terms of moving the ball a little better and finding open people. The first half we just continued to force and force and force; it was frustrating, we just would not make the adjustment. You'll notice, they scored 12 more points in the paint on the exact same number of shots in the paint. You know, we were going in and trying to challenge and they were blocking shots, we were throwing up airballs. We just would not draw help and make the pass to the open people. I thought we did a better job of that in the second half. I thought Vince (Carter) played really well in the second half and I thought we created some shots for Rashard (Lewis) drawing help so I thought there were some better things. But we've had a constant, well pretty consistent problem with our offense against them and that is that we just do not sustain good offensive play throughout the game. Now, they're a great defensive team, but there are ways we can get good shots; we know it, but we just won't play that way for long enough stretches. A frustrating day, very frustrating, 18 turnovers, yeah they had 21. Not exactly a pretty NBA basketball game. I thought we battled hard, we had our chances when we got back in the game. But when you dig yourself that big a hole you've got to be perfect at both ends and we just weren't."
On their play in the second quarter of the game…
"Well we played very, very poorly. They played well defensively, you know when I go back to watch that on the film I'm going to see that we played very poorly. Everybody was just trying to go one-on-one and beat their guy, taking contested shots. There were at least five possessions in that quarter with no passes whatsoever. A lot more possessions with one pass and you're just not going to get good shots, the quality of shots we need against a good defensive team like that without the ball moving. And for whatever reason we just didn't do it. We started the second half playing the same way. But finally we got to where we moved the ball a little bit and fought our way back in. We got back in and then they stretched the lead back out, then we got back in again. But like I said, it was to a point where we've got to be perfect, you've got to get stops and scores. We got it to three and we needed one stop and we just haven't been good in those situations either. When we need one stop we haven't gotten it."
Dwight Howard
"Instead of attacking, we shot a lot of jump shots and we can't do that and be successful. When we are hitting (shots), that's fine but we have to have a balance inside-out and also attacking the rim. That is something we have to work on."
(On the team's offensive philosophy) "It is usually inside-out and that is what we have to get back to. I talked with coach (Van Gundy) after the game and we recognized that it doesn't matter who we play, we have to establish an inside presence while also driving to the basket and then getting guys open for threes. We can't just come down and settle for quick shots because once we do that, like we did in the second quarter, that's when Boston was able to get such a big lead on us. They got a cushion because it was just one shot and we were done."
(On the Magic's effort) "We played hard. There is no question about it. You can look at the stats on the defense end and it shows we played hard. There were a couple of areas where we didn't come up with the loose balls but for the most part we did play hard. It's been like that for the last four games. I think offensively is where we've had some struggles but all of that will come with time."
Vince Carter
(On the Celtics defense) "They have a lot of athleticism, they move well and they take up a lot of the paint, so they make it tough. They do a great job and believe in each other on the defensive end. That is always a mark of a good team when you never have to look over your shoulder and I think they do a great job of that."
"We didn't make a lot of shots, we had turnovers and at the same time the Celtics did a great defensive job which made it tough. They put us in a hole and we were able to fight back but we couldn't win it in the end."
Jameer Nelson
(On the game) "We just couldn't get it going offensively for whatever reason. They are a great defensive team and they took us out of a lot of things but we kind of let them. It wasn't like they were doing something that we didn't see before."
"Our game plan was to make them play defense for a couple more seconds than they did. We only made them play defense for one pass. Most of those shots were good looks but that just wasn't our game plan."
December 23, 2009: Magic-Rockets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought again that we played well defensively, particularly in the second half. I think it helped us, no question that they played last night, I don't think there's any doubt about that. But I thought we played very hard defensively in the second half. Dwight (Howard) was phenomenal again, 20 rebounds, four blocks, he's making it awfully tough around the basket for people. When (Carl) Landry was on a good roll, they went to him once, he shut that down and that stopped, so he did a lot of real good things tonight. And again, I thought we finished the game out very well, so some really good things. The turnovers again, not good, and 11 of those are coming from Vince (Carter), Jameer (Nelson) and Dwight and those guys are going to have some turnovers because we put the ball in their hands. Hopefully as Jameer gets back in there more, his will cut down. We got a very good effort out of Ryan (Anderson) off the bench tonight. So, some good things tonight I thought it was a positive night."
On Jameer Nelson's play tonight…
"Well I think he'll get better every game. He was a little tired out there – 29 minutes won't be a lot as the season goes on but right now it is. So, I thought he got a little tired but other than that I think that his quickness is pretty good. He made some shots which is always good, so yeah, he'll keep getting better."
On if Vince Carter is trying to drive and pass more due to his shooting slump…
"Yeah, he is, I think he is. And I've got to think that a guy who's shot as well as he has his whole career, it's got to come back. I know it's frustrating for him right now, he's not making shots that he normally makes but he did make a big one with the shot clock running down. Had a big assist late in the game, got to the free throw line. For the second straight game I think, even though he's struggling shooting the ball, for the second straight game, he's finished the game very, very well for us. With the ball in his hands, he's making plays. I think again, like I said, the other night that's one of the big things we need out of him, that's a big part of his role, as a finisher in the fourth quarter, and he's done that really well.
On Dwight Howard's night offensively…
"He was fine offensively. We didn't do a good job of getting him the ball. I thought there were several times when he was open, but our guys were also open to shoot the ball. That's a tough decision for good shooters, the only way you can shoot it well is to be thinking 'shot' when you're open, and Dwight's down in there with the guy on his back. We've still got to do a little better job of getting him the ball, but I wasn't really upset with the shot selection. He was fine offensively, but defensively he's just been great and on the boards. He's sort of back where he belongs, leading the league in rebounding and blocked shots, that's where we needed him. We made the point that he had backed off that early in the year, and he has stepped it up in a big way now. He is really, really competing defensively and on the glass and it makes it awfully tough on other teams."
Dwight Howard
"I think our defense is really picking up. I think tonight in the second half, they had only 35 points. So that's real good, to hold a team to 35 points in two quarters. You know we did an excellent job on defense, helping, talking, and just moving, we have to continue to do that."
(On Jameer tonight) "Oh, little Mighty Mouse is back! Just happy to see him back on the court, happy just to see him healthy. He has to get back into the flow. I told him tonight just play. Don't worry about mistakes or missing shots or whatever. Just go out there and do what you do. We know that you're not going to be perfect, none of us are. But if you got there and just play, things are going to happen for you. And he did it to tonight. And all we expect from him."
"I know that the only thing's that important is that if I'm blocking shots and rebounding, we're going to win games. I have to do what it takes for our team to win, which is rebound and block shots and do it at a high level. If I can block shots and rebound, everybody else on the team is going to do a better job of defending. It's a matter of trust. I tell the guys, "Hey, I got your back. Continue to play good defense, I'm going to be behind you to erase the mistakes.' And that's what it takes, we have to be able to trust each other, they got to be able to trust me and I'm going to my part to help this team get over the hump on defensive end."
Jameer Nelson
"Like I told you all last game, what ever minutes they give me, I'm going to play them as hard as I can."
"I still passed up a few shots but that's stuff is just going to come. It's just me trying to find my rhythm and not trying to be super-selfish."
(How long to get into rhythm) "I don't know. I felt pretty good today, just didn't feel like myself at times but just fight through it, like everything else."
Vince Carter
"We'll continue to do better, our goal is to try to play as close to a complete game as we can. Defensively, that's where we're trying to make our mark. That creates easy baskets offensively. I mean you hold a team to 35 points in the second half, it created a lot of easy baskets for us in the second half, just kind of put the game out of reach."
December 21, 2009: Magic-Jazz Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"There was a lot of good individual performances today but to me the numbers were holding them to 40 percent (from the field), only 28 points in the paint and you're talking about one of the best field goal percentage teams, and they're in the top two or three in points in the paint. Those are two huge numbers, and then to outrebound them was the third, so again, like the other day I was really happy with our guys and if we continue to play with this kind of focus and intensity then we're going to be in pretty good shape. I was very happy with them, very proud of the way they played."
On the confidence JJ Redick is playing with…
"He is playing with great confidence and for good reason. I mean, success breads confidence and he's playing very, very well. But, on top of the confidence the guy is just so focused. He's on top of everything. He's a guy you can trust defensively, he plays with great energy offensively, he certainly – well I don't know, I don't think he's the fastest guy we've got in the sprint but he runs harder and gets down the floor better than anybody we have. He comes off screens harder, he's just a guy that plays very, very hard all the time. He has great confidence in himself and I know that we have great confidence in him. When it was time to put Vince (Carter) back in tonight it was a little scare, I had to put Vince on (Andrei) Kirilenko, which is giving away a lot of size, but I wanted Vince back in the game and there was no way I was taking JJ out."
On the comments Jason Williams made and his decision not to put Jameer Nelson back in…
"Well, because his (Jameer Nelson's) minutes were supposed to be limited, though they did tell me I could put him back in in the 4th; to be honest, I thought Jameer played pretty well. I thought he showed good quickness, I thought his decisions on when to shoot and when to pass were not real good and that's to be expected and so in a tight game like that I just decided not to put him back in, in the 4th quarter. But, AJ (Anthony Johnson) was there and had a great 4th quarter and competed real hard and I thought made some good plays, so it worked out OK. As far as what he said, you'll have to ask him."
On how the team is playing right now…
"Well we're still struggling, you're not seeing smooth easy play but you're also playing very good teams. I think it's good that we get in these games, because our guys have to know that if you play good teams it's not going to be smooth and easy it's going to be a fight all the time. And our guys are stepping up to the fight, we're engaging in the fight. I like that. We're playing extremely hard. I still think offensively we can play a lot better. Again, a 12 turnover first half tonight is not very good. We've got to be better against the better teams in terms of taking care of the ball. That's an area I would really like to see improved. I'm really happy with the effort and the focus. I thought Dwight (Howard) was tremendous again tonight. You know, five blocked shots, didn't get the double-figure rebounds, his minutes were down, but he's just playing so well. Like I said, you look at five blocked shots and them at 40 percent (from the field) and 28 points in the paint, they go hand-in-hand. It's not easy to get anything in there when he's playing like he was tonight. And a couple of them he had to come a pretty good distance to make the play, those weren't easy blocks."
Dwight Howard
"Well I know that for our team to be successful, I have to protect the basket. So if I'm not getting blocks, just being there, a presence, helps our team win."
"I have to be more aggressive. I have to block shots and I have to do it at a high level and I have to do it every night for our team to win. If I'm not blocking shots, then we're not aggressive on the defensive end. Guys are not wanting to let guys blow by or get to the basket so they foul. So they're sent to the free throw line. And I think we were doing a better job starting last week of not fouling so much, giving guys easy shots but letting them finish in the paint with me and Marcin back there. So I just got to block shots."
'For me, if I'm out there and I'm running and I get a couple blocks early, whenever, and I'm feeling real good and I can go get any shot, that's the way I look at it. I try to alter as many shots as I can, force guys to pass the ball out. It feels good when you hear other teams saying, 'Hey, Dwight's coming, so make the extra pass.' I'm doing my job; it makes everybody else around me better."
J. J. Redick
"Had a conversation with someone today (Coach K) and we just talked about, the thing I realized this year is that it's a continual process. And I think about a guy, not that I'm comparing myself to him by any means to Kobe Bryant. But he's constantly mastering his craft. And I think that's what I've come to understand is that you have to work all the time. And this continual process, there's a lot of things I have to do better, some things that I can work on right now."
"I think I've gotten better at understanding the aggression level that you have to play with, balancing it with taking good shots, making plays, and not forcing things."
"The thing that really hurt us in the first half was the turnovers, obviously. We scored 64 in the second half. So I think the ball was really moving. We were getting out in transition and attacking before their defense got set, that helped."
Jameer Nelson
"I felt fine. I just, no matter what the minutes are that they give me, I have to go out there and play them and play them aggressively. I think for the most part, I did that. Missed some easy shots; actually turned some shots down but then it's because of rhythm."
December 19, 2009: Magic-Blazers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I just thought the whole day, even at halftime I told the guys, we weren't playing well offensively but we were fighting really hard. I thought on the offensive end we were forcing a lot of plays. They're very good defensively too, you look at the numbers they're one of the top three or four defensive teams in the league. They're very long and I didn't think we did anything to move them around. We were too much one on one, we had a lot of turnovers today. But we played really hard. To out-rebound them by 19 and hold them in the thirties I just thought our guys battled pretty much every possession so I was really happy. Even at one point when we were behind I said to Brendon Malone, we're struggling but our guys are playing so hard. So I was really happy with the effort today."
On J.J. Redick and Matt Barnes performance
"J.J. I thought gave us a huge lift. Matt I thought had a very professional performance, to not play in the first half and then come in and play well in the second half. I thought AJ did a good job. I thought J-Will played well too, he got in foul trouble again. AJ was playing well, we had a group on the floor playing well so we just went with them."
On Vince Carter's shooting in game
"I did think he had a couple of shots where he was trying to be aggressive but he was off balance and forcing some shots early on. I thought he made some solid plays at the end. He got to the free throw line in big situations. He made a nice pass to the corner. And like everyone else I thought he played very hard defensively today. I was happy with his effort. I know there's not going to be too many 1-for-14's in him. I think it's always good for Vince, or for anybody, that when you have one of those days that your team gets a win and you can shake it a lot easier and a lot quicker."
On the Fourth Quarter Hustle Plays
"That's what you have to do when your struggling offensively, you got to make plays like that. You got to play defensively. I thought guys stayed on the boards, I thought we really defended hard. I know we need to play better probably a lot of nights, but as a coach I am proud of what they did tonight."
On Today's Hard Fought Win
"I think these are the games you have to be able to win. We won one up in Boston earlier in the year, we won one today. You have to be able at times to just win with your defense and your will. I've said this many times, every team in this league will win when they have those great offensive nights. Some of the teams don't have them as often, but everybody will have them and they'll all win. I think what really separates teams is when you can dig out some wins when you're not having a good night and we didn't have one tonight. It was a hard played game by both teams and our guys fought very hard. You have to be able to win these. I know we didn't play well offensively and we turned it over way too much, but there really are a lot more positives in this game than negatives. To win on those nights is fantastic."
Dwight Howard
"Offensively, I think we struggled. But we made it up on the defensive end. We did our best on Roy, he was unbelievable. We did a good job on Aldridge, you know he had a tough one tonight."
"We've been playing sub-par basketball against teams that are over .500. Coming out with a win tonight really helps us. We really didn't shoot the ball well tonight, we didn't play well on the offensive end, but defensively we locked in and got stops when we needed them."
"I think we did an excellent job of rebounding late in the game. Me, Matt Barnes, MP, Rashard, all of us rebounded the ball. And that's what it's going to for us to win. We all have to gang-rebound and we did that tonight."
J. J. Redick
"Obviously I'm more confident right now than in any time in my career. But I also don't feel as much pressure to make shots. Even nights like tonight when I didn't come into the game saying to myself, 'All right, I need to knock a few shots down.' I just play the game and took the shots that were there."
"I think coming off the game Thursday night, this was really good for us because it wasn't easy. When you lose a game like that, blown-out on the road, you want to come home and you want it to be easy, you want the ball to go in the basket and it wasn't like that. And for us to win tonight, we had to compete very hard and we did that."
Vince Carter
(On starting games slow) "We've been conscious of that; I mean we've been fortunate to be able to dig ourselves out against some teams. But the better teams are going to hold you down in a place you don't want to be so we're very conscious of that and we tried top do a better job of that tonight. And I think we did; so hopefully that's the end of that."
(On rebounds tonight) "Everybody helped Dwight out. I mean he does a great job on the boards but Matt was doing an excellent job and I was just trying get myself back into the picture and just try and get a few loose balls here and there."
December 17, 2009: Magic-Heat Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I hate to say it, but before the game I saw this coming. And I said to my assistants, we just were not a good group in terms of even when we have a bad game we focus on the next game. We weren't focused and we didn't come out ready to play. They were great. We were real bad. When you have that combination you can have a really lopsided game. I take a large amount of responsibility though. This was about four games in a row where we've had pretty substantial alterations to what were doing in our defensive schemes. We had too much confusion on the court. And thus we couldn't play with the intensity we needed to start the game with. I'm not going to take all of the responsibility. This is three out of the last four games that we've gotten off to really bad starts. Each guys got to look at themselves in terms of how they are ready to start the game. I think that our ability to come back a lot has led to a false sense of security. I do think that I had guys thinking too much. They were confused trying to come up with schemes to make it tougher on them. We just weren't playing with any intensity. They were doing what they do, very, very hard and very, very well. [Erik Spoesltra] did a much better job of having his team ready to play tonight than I did. A large part of this was coaching and the other part of it was effort."
"I think the confusion really stopped us from getting off to a better start. That wasn't the only thing that happened, there were a lot of things that happened that had nothing to do with confusion."
"We need to start games with an energy and a focus and we just didn't do that tonight. The reality of the situation is that if you look at the standings right now we are 4-6 against teams that are over .500. The reality is that if you want to talk about being a championship contender that can't be good enough for you."
On Dwight Howard:
"I didn't think he started the game real well. But I thought that as the half went on he was the one guy we had that was competing pretty hard."
On Vince Carter:
"The first two or three plays the ball was in his hands. And he did make a couple of really good passes. He wasn't as aggressive as he could have been. I thought he tried to be more aggressive in the third quarter."
December 16, 2009: Magic-Raptors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought it was a good all around game. A lot of guys played well, played decently at both ends, there's not a lot of bad numbers out there tonight. A good solid win and we move on."
On Dwight's defensive performance:
"He was really coming tonight, I thought that was outstanding. He was great, he was on the glass, blocking shots, very active."
On Jason Williams' performance:
"And he played real well, and he's sick. He finished up early tonight and no matter what happened he wasn't going to be able to go the rest of the way, hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow. Both he and A.J. played very well I thought."
On the Magic's match up to Toronto's Defense:
"There's no question, in the first half, again I didn't think our defense was as good as it could have been. It wasn't bad other than the fouls, once we cut the fouls down. I thought we defended much better in the second half. It is hard when scoring is as easy as it easy to really buckle down defensively."
On Jason Williams aggression in game:
"I thought he was more aggressive tonight and he wasn't even feeling good so it was tough. He just couldn't put in a lot of time. Seven assists, no turnovers, double figure scoring, a good night."
On Hedo Turkoglu's Return to the Amway:
"I thought he got a good reception, I don't know. Once the game starts I don't know what happens. I thought before the game he got a nice reception. Anybody who's booing him in my mind really can't be a Magic fan. I don't understand how you're a Magic fan and you're booing him. He did a great job for this organization for a number of years. We wouldn't have gotten to where we got to last year without him. He deserves nothing but the respect and gratitude of the fans. Plus he's a good guy. This is not a guy who ever caused any problems. I can't imagine how you can be sitting in that arena and boo Hedo Turkoglu. I didn't hear it and I don't understand how anybody could do that."
Dwight Howard
(On his 8 blocks) "I know, I'll try to get better."
"I just feel that we've got to get better defensively and it starts with me. I'm telling guys, let them come in the paint and instead of fouling; just I'll come there and erase the mistakes. I think guys did a good job tonight when they're man tried to drive to the basket, instead of fouling, they allowed me to come block it. It works both ways and we did a good job of it tonight."
(Difference between last year's defense and this year) "Not just letting them get an easy basket or let them come straight to my chest, I think guys did a good job of once they got into the paint area, instead of fouling right away because that's the way we were doing, sending teams to the line, they just stayed with their man. I think that's what we did a lot last year and it worked."
Jason Williams
"Stan talked to me and wanted me to be a little more aggressive. That's what the boss wants and that's what I'll try to do, you know."
(On his play tonight) "I give all the credit to my teammates, they're the ones knocking down shots, they're doing the hard part. My part's the easy part."
"I just got to keep them happy. They all think they're open every time. As long as we win, that's what counts.
Matt Barnes
(On balanced scoring) "We let two get away on the road and we know that we had to come back and defend our home court. And we knew Toronto played last night and if we went at them, maybe we could make them to check-in a little early and I think we did that."
(On Dwight's blocks) "He's a monster. He gives the other players a chance to really get into their opponent. Knowing if we get back, he's has our back. And that's a good security blanket to have back there."
"I've really struggled with my shot all year. Getting that extra work in is starting to come around. But really just trying to attack the defense, knowing that if I keep attacking them, they'll sag off eventually and I'll get some open shots. That's just the mindset I have now.
December 11, 2009: Magic-Suns Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On last possession)
"No, we didn't do a good job. It's always tough when you are on a short clock and all you can get is a three. The rebound in that situation is really the problem. The Miami game we lost because of two rebounds at the end, and we could have had a chance here tonight. We are a good defensive rebounding team, but for the three years I've been here we haven't been able to get rebounds in key situations."
(On coming back from 19 points down)
"You know what, we lost. They made a good effort but you don't get anything for that. It's all about winning and losing. I was happy with their effort and I'm not trying to put a negative spin on it. Our guys fought hard, but the bottom line is if we had laid down and lost by 40 it's the same in the standings."
Rashard Lewis
(On Stoudemire's rebound at the end of the game)
"We just didn't come up with the rebound. Dwight closed in on Dudley to block the shot and no one picked up his man to box him out. Like coach (Van Gundy) said it's been killing us the past three years. When we lose games it has always come down to rebounding the ball"
(On relationship with Coach Van Gundy)
"We have no problem. I think the media crated more of a problem than anything. Stan (Van Gundy) and I are on the right page. I think the people on the outside have made a bigger deal than either him or I did.
(On coming back from 19 down)
"This combined with being up 18 last night and losing makes it frustrating. Coming in tonight and digging ourselves a hole early on came down to not playing defense. We didn't have the right rotations at the right time. We beat ourselves. Phoenix is a good team and they play good at home. If you make mistakes they will beat you.
Dwight Howard
(On only shooting one field goal)
"They did a good job of double teaming me. I had to trust my teammates. Every time I caught the ball they were coming. Coach (Van Gundy) told me that as I go the team goes. They were going to make sure they took me out first and let our other guys beats them. It's a good strategy but I just have to find ways to still be aggressive."
(On coming back from 19 down)
"No matter what, win or lose, we always give a good effort. I think as a team we do a good job of playing through every situation. Me missing free throws and being double teamed; we just have to play through that. We came up just short but there are no moral victories."
December 10, 2009: Magic-Jazz Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the game
"They deserved to win after the first 18 minutes they just played a lot harder, a lot more energy and a lot more focus than we did. They dominated us, we didn't run back, we didn't move on offense. We played with no energy. They played very, very hard. They played very well and we played very poorly and when that happens in this league, particularly on the road, you're going to get beat. We have established a habit it, has been going on for awhile. We jump out well then relax and let everybody back in the game. The difference is Utah is a better team."
On Deron Williams
"He killed us; he is just a great player. He totally outplayed our guards tonight, but that is going to happen at times. Our guards have been very, very good. They have played very well. Tonight was a very bad night for both of them and Deron Williams had a great night."
Vince Carter
On the game
"I'm a sore loser…I'll be the first to tell you that. Regardless if they are a good team or not, I expect us to come out and take care of business. We got bit in the butt I think because we had a great start and got lax. This is a very good basketball team, even better at home, and once we gave them an opportunity to really get rolling, it was tough to stop that machine."
What needs to change for the next game?
"Win…I think we know what needs to be done. We made our adjustments in the second half, but they were already in their rhythm. We need to do a better job with the pick and roll…we didn't do a great job on that."
On Deron Williams
"He's the leader. He does a great job of facilitating, and you have to respect his ability to get to the basket, and his ability to shoot the ball. He played tremendous tonight."
December 8, 2009: Magic-Clippers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Re: Defensive effort in second half
"I think that we were good defensively in the second half once we stopped double-teaming and played them one-on-one. We had five turnovers in the second half instead of the 12 we had in the first half which is what let them stay in the game in my opinion. If you defend, rebound, and take care of the ball you are going to have a chance to win."
Re: Play of center Dwight Howard
"He made free throws and had a very good game tonight. It was a great celebration of his 24th birthday. He had seven blocks and held Kaman to under 40 percent shooting."
Vince Carter
Re: Difference between first and second half
"We had our ups and down in the first half. We had a lot of guys who can get it going for a couple of minutes, a quarter or a half and that is what is great about our team. Dwight was rolling tonight."
December 5, 2009: Magic-Warriors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"We had a real good first quarter, and then we could not stop them. We could not stop them, especially with the matchups they had that we needed to match. It wasn't pretty, we didn't play well and they were undermanned tonight so give them credit as a team as well. We held on long enough to get the win."
"We made some plays and we made some shots and that's what has to happen. We had trouble getting shots and rebounds, and then we were able to when they needed to happen. They made some mistakes that we were able to capitalize on. We got a little lucky and we hung around and stayed in the game until we were able to get the last push that we needed. That team is very dangerous and they can score at will, but they made a few mistakes that we were able to capitalize on."
Vince Carter
"We continued to push when we needed, and we were able to get to the free throw line at the end of the game that preserved the win. We continued to stay aggressive. We hit a few big threes late that put up. They can score a bunch of points on you really quick, and we just continued to try to get rebounds and hit shots in the end. We knew they had a bunch of guys who can score, so we just knew that after they made their run, we would have to make one or two of our own."
December 2, 2009: Magic-Knicks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought we played three really good quarters tonight. Really the middle two quarters, but I thought we played three really good quarters. I'm pretty happy overall. A lot of guys involved, a lot of guys got minutes, different guys. Brandon (Bass) got a lot of minutes; that was good. Good performance, good win and now back out on the road after this long home stand."
On their offense tonight…
"I think tonight was in large part the way we should play. So early in the game they decided not to double-team him (Dwight Howard) and he just went to work. And then as the game went on they came on the double-team every time and we knocked down 3s. So, we didn't shoot the three real well overall but in the third quarter MP (Mickael Pietrus) and Rashard (Lewis) got it going and that's what you hope, to force teams into making decisions and then can take advantage of however they play you. Other than the turnovers I was pretty happy with our offense tonight. But the turnovers have got to come down. And now we go to Golden State, they're the team that forces the most turnovers in the league and we've got to be a little more solid."
On Dwight Howard's involvement in the offense tonight…
"He didn't get a lot of shots but when you add in the 10 free throws and the fact that he didn't play in the fourth quarter, yeah. I know with play calling I'm trying to make more of a conscious effort to get him the ball. I still think we can do a better job with our spacing. I still think he can work at getting the ball in deeper spots where it won't be as easy to double-team him. I still think we can get better but he's been more aggressive, we've gotten him more involved, our players have looked for him more and that's all been good."
On their defense tonight…
"I thought our whole team, the one thing we did a real good job of, at the end of the day their field goal percentage was good because the fourth quarter we sort of shut it down and we didn't really guard in the fourth but until then we had guarded pretty well. I think our whole team was really dialed in on their pick and roll game tonight. The two things they hurt us with were just individual, one-on-one going by us. We didn't guard very well one-on-one and they hurt us on the boards, particularly in the first half. But our pick and roll defense was the best it's ever been against them. I thought we did a very good job rotating over to David Lee on the roll earlier and making that pass little tougher, it's a pass that they've killed us on in the past. So I was pretty happy overall. Now because we were in the paint they got some 3s and knocked them down and hurt us there. But I was happy with the effort our guys made on the pick and roll."
Dwight Howard
(On tonight's inside-out game) "Well you know, that's the way we play. When we play that way, we're at our best, when we play inside-out. It's not always about going into the post but just attacking the basket, kicking it out to the shooters. When we do that, we continue to play well."
"With this Knicks team, their pick-and-roll is their bread-and-butter and we did an excellent job, every body meeting the roll man early, not letting them get the easy passes they usually get. And I think our team is really finally learning each other and the more and more we play together, the more and more we get used to how everybody plays."
"That's the thing. We know that we have a target on our back, everybody's trying to take us down. That's why coming into games, coming into practice, we really just have to go out there and do our jobs the best we can. This team really wants to be great, we practice like it, and that's what really counts, the way you practice. Every day when we get in the gym, we go hard. We do whatever we can to get better. You know we're improving in a lot of different areas and it's going to continue to do if we're to be a great team. And I think this team right here wants nothing but to be the best."
Mickael Pietrus
"I think when we got our defense set, we really go better tonight. And the last 10 games, we'll get a rebound, get some runs, get easy open shots. Tonight we hit the three's and that's what we've been doing."
(On 3rd qtr.) "Tried to get into a better rhythm and try and run the floor."
"Everybody's stayed focus on defense. We've got so many weapons offensively. One night it might not be yours. Defensively, you have to be yours every night."
Rashard Lewis
"It's a good feeling, to get into that rhythm as well as it felt like every time I would catch it, every body's on me to take the shot and that's the kind of rhythm I had. And I was waiting for it to come to me every time in the third quarter, I felt like every shot I was going to take was going to go in."
November 29, 2009: Magic-Knicks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the short time since Orlando's last game:
"That's a first for me…that's the first time I've gotten two wins in 23 ½ hours between the start of one game and till the end of the next."
On the last three wins on the road:
"I thought we worked very hard and the guys played very well, all three nights our defense got better as the night went on."
On the 4th Quarter:
"I thought the third quarter we did a really good job, got a good lead. And then Nate [Robinson] was scoring, but we were scoring on the other end, so we were able to hang. They didn't get any stops, we didn't get any stops. We were up ten, we were in pretty good shape."
On playing the same five guys for whole third quarter:
"I just thought we were on a good run with that group, so I didn't want to change it. I liked being up double figures. I thought it was going good. I wanted to give him some rest, so I took him [Dwight Howard] out with 54 seconds to go, that should help him for Wednesday. But I played him the whole way, I'm just trying to get a win. At that point it's not like you have any fresh people, everyone is tired."
Rashard Lewis
On the first half:
"We were a little tired with heavy legs, that's why in the first we didn't play as well as we should have, but every team plays a back-to-back, so we had no excuse."
On Coach Van Gundy leaving in same five guys for whole third quarter:
"I think he left us out there because we kind of got things rolling. We were able to build the lead, seven to eight point lead. He didn't want to disrupt the rhythm of it."
On getting a win:
"At the end of the day, getting a win is most important. Regardless if you hurt, tired, beat up; once you get that win it kind of relieves everything, takes everything away."
On Nate Robinson:
"He kept the team in the game. He started hitting a lot of shots. He hit a lot of tough shots– with hands in his face, and that's how he is. He's a streaky shooter, he scores in bunches and he did that in the fourth quarter."
Dwight Howard
On assistant Orlando Assistant Coach Patrick Ewing:
"I work on my game constantly, the thing that Patrick [Ewing] brings is somebody to mentor me…not just post moves, but situations off the court, but also what happens on the court. Just me trusting my teammates and me just trying to be a better player for my team."
On Orlando Magic expectations:
"We do have a target [on our back] and every team that we play wants to knock us down. We understand that, so we have to come out here every night with our best effort. We came out tonight a little slow, but picked it up in the second half and got a good win."
On tonight's game:
"Nate [Robinson] was on fire – there was nothing we could do. If they had five more minutes, he would have had 50 points and they would have probably won the game. Nate did an excellent job of coming in the game and making some offense for the team. They are tough team, their offense is very good. They move the ball well, shoot the ball well, their pick and roll is one of the toughest we played against all year. That is one thing we have to work on when we play them again, containing the pick and roll."
November 28, 2009: Magic-Bucks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the second half…)
"We turned it around good and then got up 10. From 15 down to 10 up; they (Milwaukee) just kept fighting back. I'm just happy to get out of here with a win. That team plays very, very hard and with unbelievable energy. We're really lucky to come out of there with a win tonight."
(On Dwight Howard and Orlando's defense…)
"He really turned it on in the second half. He played great, you know, 25 (points) and 20 (rebounds). He was tremendous and we need that. Our defense turned it up in the second half. They only hit four threes after going 7 for 8 in the first half. They shot 36 percent in the second half and only went to the line seven times. Our problem tonight was we turned the ball over too much and I give their defense a lot of credit for that."
(On tonight's game…)
"Having 17 turnovers is taking away scoring opportunities and we came into the game something like fifth in the league in turnovers. We've bunched our turnovers together and let people get back in the game."
Vince Carter
(On tonight's game…)
"You know going into the game that teams are going to bring their "A" game. You've got their high energy and Brandon Jennings was playing unbelievable basketball, but, for us, it was just sustain and weather the storm and find a way to win especially in the second half. I think we did a great job of that."
(On tonight's game…)
"We're very patient and we didn't panic. I can honestly say I've been on teams before where we've panicked and just turned the ball over. If we're down nine or down 12, we're trying to figure out how to get a 10-point play to get back in the game. Instead of just taking it one possession at a time and sticking to your game plan and do what you need to do. The poise of this team and the energy we brought in the second half, I'm just glad we were able to figure it out."
Rashard Lewis
(On playing better in the second half…)
"It all starts at the defensive end. They weren't getting as many easy shots as they were in the first half. We made the pick-and-roll a little bit tougher for them and they weren't getting as many second chance points."
November 26, 2009: Magic-Hawks Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"We were like two different teams tonight. In the first half, our starting lineup looked like they didn't even want to play, but our back ups kept us in the game. When our put the starters back in the game, they went through six minutes of sleep walking, and I had to ask them at the half, 'Does anybody actually want to play'? I knew if we wanted it bad enough, we would get thing back together."
"Our defense played pretty good in the second half tonight. That's five straight games we've played pretty good on defense. Dwight (Howard) was absolutely phenomenal in the second half. He was challenging every shot at the rim. He was working hard on the offensive end as well."
Dwight Howard
"I wasn't happy with the way I played in the first half, but I came out in the second half and trusted my teammates. The last couple of games I haven't been aggressive enough. Tonight I just kept asking for the ball, and we played inside out and it was successful for us tonight. It doesn't matter if we're down 20, we continue to fight. I think we're a deep team. Anthony Johnson hasn't played that much until tonight. Tonight he almost played the entire second half, and he played well tonight. This team is not worried about who plays the most minutes, just about winning."
Vince Carter
"I was unhappy with our effort in the first half. Dwight came out in the second and made and impression on the game. When he's in attack mode, we're a different team. Our focus was better in the second half. We were limiting them to one shot, took care of the boards, and the ball. We were a different team in the second half."
November 25, 2009: Magic-Heat Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought we did a good job fighting to get back in the lead in that game, and Vince hit a huge shot and then we got a miss from Wade and nobody rebounds the ball, no block out, no real focus. One rebound right there ends the game. Then obviously we miss the free throws, but that unfortunately will happen. Then we get good defense again on Wade and another guy is untouched to the basket to tip the ball in, so when you don't get a body on either rebounder at the end in a hard-fought game that like you probably deserve to lose. I think the three key things there if you look at in the game is we had 15 turnovers to their eight. We got a nice lead and what let them back in was turnovers. We get outrebounded by seven. They score 17 second-chance points, obviously the last four are second-chance points. And then they make seven more free throws than we do even though we shoot one more free throw than they do. We had eight different guys go to the line and the only guy who doesn't miss a free throw is Ryan at 1-for-1. The turnovers, free throws and then not rebounding the ball – they were better than us in all of those areas and for that reason, they win the game and deserve to."
On the offensive flow of the game…
"I think J-Will was terrific, I thought Ryan had a nice run. Offensively we are not right now getting good enough play out of the guys we really look to – Vince, Rashard and Dwight. I have confidence that they will come along, but that is probably the biggest problem right now. We couldn't makes any twos tonight. We shot threes well, we couldn't make any twos. In the first half, we were 6-for-23 from two. It was just a tough night."
On if the attention paid to Dwyane Wade contributed to the lack of rebounding down the stretch…
"That's what happened on the last two plays as much as anything. Everybody is staring at him and the shot goes up. But Beasley, I think everybody was coming away and he just got behind everyone. The one before, there was no reason we didn't get that rebound. There is just no reason. Quite honestly, I think we were up three, a tip-in and we're still up one. Just not enough sense of urgency on that play. It's too bad, because I thought we defended pretty well most of the night, defended hard, worked hard. We held them to a good percentage. Our offense has been struggling and it struggled again, but mainly because of their defense. We just didn't get it done."
Dwight Howard
"It's over with now. There's nothing we can do about it. We can't get the last 14 seconds back. We just have to go out there tomorrow and play better basketball. I think we did a good job of fighting to back into the game. We just have to make sure we get the defensive rebound."
"It's been tough, I'm getting a little frustrated. I'm going to continue to work, work extremely hard in practice and I know that my hard work will pay off soon. I can see it right now. But I think something is brewing and hopefully whatever it is comes out right when we need it. But for right now, I just need to keep my cool, keep my head on both ends of the floor. Sooner or later it's going to come."
"Tonight, they got a lot of offensive rebounds, especially late in the game. The last four points that they had were offensive rebounds. We just got to continue to do a better job of boxing out."
Vince Carter
(On highs and lows of game)
"You never know, that's why I was able to get over being excited about it. I was happy I made it after I just shot a jump shot six feet closer and it went right over the rim so maybe I had to step back a little farther to make a shot tonight. I was fortunate in order to give us an opportunity to win the game. Satisfaction of making it would have made me happy once the game was over and it actually meant something."
"They are a great defensive team, they make it tough. You just need to be patient, just move the ball around and we got back into the game; gave ourselves a chance to win the game. Got a nice lead and gave up two easy lay-ups at the end of the game that we can't afford. That can't happen if you want to be a championship team. Because all games in the end are going to be like that so we have to learn how to win the game."
(On Jason Williams)
"He shot the ball well. He did take the game, pushed the ball, made plays, knocked down open shots. I feel bad for him because he played that well, he kept us in the game; he kept us close throughout the game. So I wanted him to make those because he deserves to be the man of the hour because he was phenomenal tonight."
Mickael Pietrus
"I didn't see the last play, but it is what it is. I love my money, I love my family, and I love playing basketball. So I don't want to say anything.
November 22, 2009: Magic-Raptors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the play of Jason Williams and JJ Redick…
I thought our guards played extremely well. I think J Will (Williams) went the whole weekend and didn't have a turnover. Two games on the road against good teams and doesn't turn the ball over, that's outstanding basketball. But the big thing is I think our team, we still didn't make shots today, but I think we're really battling hard defensively. I think that has really improved over the last two games. We went into Boston, they were number one in the league in field goal percentage and we held them in the low thirties. We come in today and this team is averaging 107 a game and give them 28 in the first quarter, and then still end up holding them below 100. That to me is what I like. I see us fighting harder and making a better effort defensively.
On Vince Carter stepping up late….
I thought he played real good late. He was driving the ball to the basket, he was trying to get to the free throw line. Both games on the road we put the ball in his hands late and I think he's making pretty solid plays. He'll be the guy that will probably have the ball in those situations, not necessarily to take the shot all the time but to make the plays.
On the lineup that started the fourth quarter…
. I thought the way we played when we had that lineup at the start of the fourth quarter with Jason Williams, JJ (Redick), Pietrus (Mickael), Ryan Anderson and Marcin Gortat, that's not exactly the lineup that everybody writes about when they are writing about the Orlando Magic. That's on the road against a good team and those guys did a great job extending the lead. [They] took the lead to double figures, you can't ask for more than that. I think it's a great job by our bench to have Rashard (Lewis), Vince and Dwight (Howard) all on the bench at the same time, Jameer (Nelson) is out. That really I think says a lot about the other guys on our team and our depth, and our character so I was really happy with that.
J.J. Redick
Thoughts on your game…
I didn't play much Friday night in Boston because of matchups and I knew today I was going to get an opportunity. I knew I was going to get to run and I just got out and wanted to play aggressive.
Thoughts on the success of the lineup in the fourth quarter without Dwight Howard, Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis…
I think that our bench is deep. We missed Vince (Carter) and Rashard (Lewis) for several games early in the year. We've played with that lineup before and we've been successful. So I wasn't surprised at all to see us make that run in the fourth. I don't think there was a drop off, it wasn't like we looked around and said holy crap we don't have an All-Star on the floor. We just went out and played like that group had been successful before.
Was that the pivotal point where your group extended the lead?
I think so. They got off to that early lead in the second quarter and there was a point in the game if we didn't lock in defensively we might have got blown out. We locked in and got back in the game. The other pivotal point was the beginning of the fourth.
Vince Carter
I don't know why they are booing me to be honest with you, but it is all good. I enjoy playing in that atmosphere and I enjoy coming back here and playing and just being part of this. It was a misconception of the entire thing. This is where it all started.
Did you know the boos where coming?
It is not a guessing game. If it is going to happen it is going to happen. I still come to play every day and do what I have to do. It's fun.
What changed for you in the second half?
The first half was a rough one. I was trying to be aggressive and get to the paint, just make plays and make the referees decide what is what. I think I was just a little overly aggressive, just playing a little too fast. I was just trying to get there but not really playing under control. Second half when I changed my shoes I was okay. They were a little too blue. My shoes in the first half were all blue and I changed them back to the black ones, the old faithful that I wore in Boston.
November 20, 2009: Magic-Celtics Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Re: Gritty game: "We played a great first quarter. We shot the ball well we moved the ball well. Played a really good first quarter, but after that we really struggled. Getting good shots shots and making shots. They were very physical. We really struggled. They made a big run at us in the second quarter. We answered with a very good third quarter and they brought it back to a tie. And we closed it out well. But we showed a lot of toughness and resolve tonight. So did they. Neither team shot the ball well. It was a hard faught game. Not a smooth offensive game. And we were fortunate to come out on top. I liked the way our guys fought in that game.
Re: Went to Vince: "Not exploiting, I said that when we got Vince. Against great defenses down tthe stretch it is sometimes hard to free people up, you gotta have a guy, a Paul Pierce, a Vince Carter, a Dwayne Wade, Lebron James. Someone who can get a shot against a good defense. Vince can get off a pretty good quality shot all the time an at least you will have a chance even if the defense is good.
Re: "Defense in last two minutes: I thought we fought really hard. When they got back I the game we had very bad break downs on pick and roll coverage defensively. They still had a lot of shots they could make. There aren't going to be too many games Rasheed goes 0-8 he had some very good looks out there from 3 and didn't knock them down. You have to be realistic, it was a heard fought game, but you got to have some breaks too. You need them to miss some shots they would normally make.
Re: Dwight: "I thought he was great tonight. I didn't probably go to him enough. To be honest first half we had it rolling, there was no reason to slow it down and go to the post in the first quarter. And then when we got in the second half. We had so many turnovers trying to get the ball in the post. It wasn't that I didn't think he could get the job done, we couldn't get the ball intot he post without turning it over. So I went away from it. And I think it shows a lot that he stayed with it and continued to get on the boards and play good defense and everything else.
Re: Win on the road. "I think that is the first one of those we had. I think we showed real good competitive toughness. They really hung in there tonight. Those kinds of wins make me happier then the ones where you're knocking the ball in there and everything is going smoothly. Because as I told the team every team in this league I s capable of getting it going and having a great night, and anyone can win on those nights. I think what sets apart the better teams is that they can win when they aren't having their best night. And I think both teams tonight were struggling offensively, but both teams fought in the end of the game. And we were just fortunate we made a couple more shots than they did.
Rashard Lewis
Re: When things aren't dropping but still able to win: "Coach is always telling us that when things aren't dropping on the offensive end, we gotta play defense. And we did a really good job on the defensive end tonight. The defense kept us in the game. We were able to make some defensive stops at the end. They are one of the best defensive teams in the league and we know we are going to have to come out and play defense.
Re: Big loss to clevelend: "This is a big game for us, a conference booster. But at the same time Cleveland came in on our court and took total control of the game from the start, I thought our guys didn't play well on the defensive end or the offensive end. You can't do both. You got to at least go out there and play some defense. We didn't do that against CLE.
Re: Vince: "He is the guy we went to pretty much the whole game. Went to him on pick and rolls. We thought he had a mismatch on the post. He came up big with some big shots.
Re: Wide open conference: "Yeah, it shows you the eastern conference is better. It is still early in the season. Teams are still continuing to get better. We are still getting better. It is a tough conference.
Vince Carter
Re: Big guy makes the shot at anytime… reason brought you here: "Yeah I guess so. I mean I don't put any pressure on myself, I am just thankful that I was able to come to a great team and that the early point of the season they have the confidence in me. Whether it is putting it in the basket or trying to find the right guys. I am just glad I was able t o deliver.
Re: 29 shots: "No. I didn't really realize. I think just in the course of the game. The plays kept coming back to back to back. In this kind of basketball game you don't want to let down. It would have been great to make 29 shots, make some of the layups I missed. I missed like 4 of them. All that matters is getting the win. We knew it was going to be a heard fought game regardless. We knew they were going to make a run, they play well here. So it is can we sustain and perserview. Espeiclaly in the fourth quarter.
November 18, 2009: Magic-Thunder Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the team's performance:
"That was a good game to see right there. I thought we came with a lot of energy right from the get-go and sustained it pretty darn well for three quarters. We had a brief low really early in the third but we played three quarters with very, very good energy at both ends of the court so really happy with that. I thought Vince really went on the attack tonight and was very aggressive offensively. I thought MP's defense on Durant was outstanding. I thought our team defense helping was a lot better. I thought Rashard got going and he got on the boards he did a lot of things tonight. We had a lot of guys play well and a lot guys play with real good energy. That's the No. 1 thing and that's what I told them that's what we're looking for. Some nights the ball may not go in as well, but we just need a consistent energy. That was a good step and now we need to make sure we can sustain that do that consistently."
On ball movement:
"Our ball movement was good. I think the energy and ball movement go hand-in-hand. If we're playing at a pace where we're a little harder to guard, I mean when we're walking up and down the floor and not moving our bodies, you're not going to get space on the floor and you're not going to make good plays. I thought our energy was a lot better tonight and I think that accounted for it."
On Mickael Pietrus' performance:
"I think the biggest thing with MP defensively is he's playing much more disciplined than say a year ago. He's not leaving his feet on shot fakes as much, he's not going for steals reaching and giving guys lanes to the basket. He's staying in front of people, he's staying down and he's making people make tough shots. He's working very, very hard, which he's always worked hard defensively, he's just been a lot more disciplined this year. I thought in the whole game, he really set a good tone on Durant early and gave him nothing easy. He ran up and down the floor very well. He's an outstanding open 3-point shooter, particularly from the corner. We don't think he shoots enough of them quite honestly, there's times he passes it up. We're really happy with the way he played."
On the team's energy throughout the game:
"I just thought there were a lot of those kinds of plays tonight where guys set the tone. Dwight had a big block early on Westbrook going to the basket, Vince had the save. We were in on the boards. I was real happy with everything Vince did at both ends of the floor but I don't want to single out one guy (for) the energy, I thought as a team we brought a great energy to the game tonight and the challenge for us will be to make that consistent. You're going to have good nights and bad but the energy and effort should be consistent and that will be our challenge."
Jason Williams
"I just get out and ran; hope guys will run out there with me."
"I think we played pretty good team defense. We rebounded the ball pretty good and got out on the break."
"Teams aren't able to load up on Dwight when we're running and getting out on the break as opposed to slowing down to half-court. They're geared towards Dwight."
(On 0 turnovers for pt. guards in 1ast half)
"Just making the smart decisions and making the right passes."
Rashard Lewis
(On just missing triple-double)
"I didn't even notice until I got the bench and the guys told me that I needed one assist. And I was like, 'Seriously?' I've never had a triple-double in my life, in my career. So that would have been good to get it. But more importantly we got the win."
"I knew that we were winning by a lot and then when they cut it down to 20, he looked at us and told us, 'Start getting loose 'cuz if it gets too close, he's going to put us back in.' I mean if I had gone back in, I would have gone for it. But at the same time, I felt like some of the guys on bench need to get some minutes."
"I felt better than I did the first game. Still a little tired, legs still felt a little heavy but I felt overall I felt a lot better."
Ryan Anderson
"Today, really in the first half, we shut their guys down. We did a good job, we went through their schemes in walk-through and I think we did a job pulling it off during the game."
"It's really important for us to get out and play defense like we did tonight. We just had a great effort tonight."
November 16, 2009: Magic-Bobcats Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On their defense tonight…
"Well the first half was terrible. The first half was 63 percent, 52 points, 28 points in the paint. But the second half we held them to 40 percent and 39 points and defended pretty well. So, it improved in the second half and that's what turned the game around and got a win."
On what is bothering him… "There is nothing really bothering me. I mean it was good win to get I just, I guess I'm just waiting to see us play well."
On the play of their bench players tonight…
"I thought Ryan (Anderson) and Brandon (Bass) in particular gave us a really good lift. I thought that when we went up double figures was when they were in the game and I thought those two guys gave us a really good lift tonight and played very, very well, played very well together out on the court. I thought those two young guys were very good tonight."
On lack of shot attempts by Vince Carter tonight…
"Well, you know what I didn't go to him much. He's shooting the ball well, I would like to go to him more, but I want him to attack and make plays. And he really hasn't been doing that for whatever reason. I mean its just been jump shots. So, we can get jump shots but I want to get them from the inside out. And so, I thought Jameer might attack a little bit more so I didn't really go to Vince a lot, so that's why he didn't get too many shots, that was me more than anything. But I wanted to put more pressure on the basket."
On the play of Rashard Lewis tonight…
"Well, he actually had his good moments I thought playing with the second unit big guys, playing the three-spot and getting down in the post. Which has been a good thing for him in other games where he has struggled, you know, is to get down in the post and go to work. And he did a good job down there and had a nice little run down there and that was good. He had a drive from the top of the key. He did some good things. I know that he can play a lot better than he did tonight, so it's positive to have him back and get a win."
Vince Carter
(On his last basket)
"He (Van Gundy) ran a play for me just to make a play and the clock was down and I was just trying to take my time. I've never been afraid to take the big shot or take a shot of any kind. Just took my time and there weren't many places to go. So once I got my feet set, I was still kind of off-balance. Got it up and tried to take a normal shot."
(On his 2 shots attempts in 2nd half)
"It's in the flow of the game. There was a lot going on. Rashard was getting a lot of good looks because of the teams showing extremely hard, trying to get Dwight, and duck-ins off the pick-and-roll with me. So he put the ball in my hands, it's just the other opportunities were there."
Rashard Lewis
"Actually I felt fine condition-wise. My legs did obviously, got a little tired; they felt heavy, felt like there wasn't any lift in my jump shots. It'll come with the rhythm, the speed of the game. I was happy with the minutes I got tonight to try and get back into the rhythm."
"We've got a lot of new guys on this team and we'll gel eventually. The most important thing is getting wins and we're 8-3 and as long as we get a 'W,' we should start playing well soon."
(On his 3rd qtr.)
"I think just catching up with the rhythm of the game and taking my time and not rushing my shots. And they were shorter shots for me. But early in the game, I felt like I was kind of rushing the 3-point ball and didn't have any legs into it so I was shooting kind of flat."
Ryan Anderson
(On defensive changes for the 2nd half)
"We went over stats. We really didn't change much. We just needed to own up and really just guard your man. We really didn't do that in the first half. So we did a great job of rotating in the next half."
November 13, 2009: Magic-Nets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"Well it was nice to play a team that was more depleted than we were. And, I liked what we did defensively; I thought Dwight (Howard) in particular was very, very good at the defensive end. Brook Lopez is a very good player and didn't look like it tonight I think in large part because of Dwight's defensive effort, plus he blocked five shots and then Matt (Barnes) did a great job on the defensive glass for us, so I thought it was a better defensive effort overall and it was particularly with those two guys. Offensively, obviously we're still struggling, I thought we did some good things getting the ball to Dwight in the paint deep, in the first half, but we're just not shooting the ball well at all right now and because of that people are able to pack the paint on Dwight. And, until we get back to shooting the ball it's going to be hard to get room in there. So offensively we weren't as good as we should be but I like the effort defensively particularly in the second half. I don't care who you're playing in this league, to hold them to 30 points is good."
On if everyone will be healthy and ready to play on Monday…
"Well we'll see. Matt (Barnes) has a finger thing, so we'll see if he's still there too. He got a pretty good injury on that finger tonight so we'll see what happens. I don't know who will be there on Monday. This is the way this season's gone so far I'm not going to try and guess so, we're going to practice tomorrow and see who's there we'll practice whoever can practice. Same thing on Sunday and then we'll play on Monday with whoever's available. But yeah, at some point I'd like to start playing where we can feel like we're moving forward, playing the way we're going to have to play in the long run."
On the energy of Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson tonight…
"Well I thought tonight Dwight was excellent. I thought he was excellent, and you know Jameer (Nelson) was OK, he was OK, but I thought Dwight was really into it. Blocking shots, really playing Lopez tough, I thought that was good and I thought he did a good job on the offensive end of the floor too so I thought it was a good night. Had we been able to make some free throws and things I think that we could've maybe opened it up a little earlier. I also thought we got real good energy, J-Will (Jason Williams) had a nice little run there where I thought he really, really helped us. I thought our bench did a good job and really helped us. Marcin (Gortat) he had a couple real nice defensive plays to sort of ignite us in transition. So, I thought there were some good things tonight in terms of effort."
On the play of Matt Barnes tonight…
"I thought he was very active. I thought he and Dwight at the defensive end sort of keyed everything. I thought his rebounding more than anything was important but he had some good cuts and good drives on the offensive end. You know, five assists, getting the ball down into Dwight in the post. He did, he did a lot of little things, actually not even little, they're big, big things when you're rebounding and passing like that, that really, really helped us tonight."
November 11, 2009: Magic-Cavaliers Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"We got obviously badly outplayed, hopefully that will end up being a good game for us and we will start to learn something. The main thing to learn out of it is, and JJ (Redick) said it in the locker room, he was the first one to speak up in the locker room and he was absolutely right, we've got to be honest with ourselves, we're not very good right now. Forget all the excuses and everything else, to a man, and as a group, and as a coaching staff – I mean, no question, I didn't have anything tonight either, we're just not very good. And that could be a very good starting point if we're honest enough and we quit with all the excuses and we quit with thinking that it's just going to come as you go – then maybe we'll start making some improvement because it was just broken record again tonight. No defense, no rebounding, not a whole lot of effort and we just don't defend and we don't play hard enough. That's where it all starts; there's a lot of other things, but until you're going to try and guard and until you play hard enough, as hard as the teams you play against, you're going be in trouble, and that's where we are right now. I think it's hard for guys in there to admit that. I didn't get any argument when we talked about it in there. They I think understand, but it's one thing to understand and another to do something about it so we'll see what happens from here. We got absolutely, totally outplayed, and I said this a while ago, I said it when our record was pretty good last week, and I talk so much everybody just writes it off to ranting and raving, but I said we're not nearly as good as Boston, Cleveland and Miami. We're not in the same league with those teams right now. There's not one of the those teams that if we started now, thankfully we don't, we have 73 games, but if we played a playoff series right now there's not one of those teams that we could be competitive against right now in a playoff series. So, we've got to start there and start understanding why we win when we do and get to that. That's what it's going to come down."
On if he's surprised by the team's lack of effort…
"Surprised? I'm not now, not anymore because every night I pretty much see a lack of effort. I don't mean a total lack of effort, you have to be somewhat realistic, it's not like guys are out there not trying at all, but look, over time now and it hasn't been real long, it's been nine games, defensive numbers don't lie. I mean, we won last year and we started training camp talking about why we won. We won because of our defense. People get wrapped up in our shooting and everything else; we won because of our defense. This group right now, my opinion, thinks that we win with our offense and so we don't play any defense. Our defensive numbers are one of the worst defensive teams in the league right now and we're not going to win a lot of games doing that. So, if that doesn't change we're not going to be very good. If it does change, then we have a chance to be good. But, it's not about Rashard (Lewis) being hurt, it's not about Ryan (Anderson) being hurt. Maybe we score a few more points, but I don't think that's going to make a significant difference defensively. It's got to start to me, with Jameer (Nelson) and Dwight (Howard). I mean, Dwight is having trouble having double-figure rebounding games right now. I mean, the guy averaged 14 a game last year. Go check the numbers the last five or six games, he's not rebounding, he's blocked one shot in the last three games. Jameer now has had, look, people have big nights, but it's Russell Westbrook, (Raymond) Felton and Mo Williams. It's got to start with those guys, and that's not to put it all on them, but I've told them that too so it's nothing I'm saying behind their back, it's two returning guys, captains, guys that know your system, guys that are supposed to be leaders, it's got to start with them. It's not all them, but it's got to start with them. But it's got to be everybody, and I don't know, I just don't see it right now."
On how they can begin to address the problems on defense…
"For me and what we do, it has to be a continued emphasis and something we work on every single day. We haven't, and it's starting to hurt us a little bit at that end; also, we haven't worked on any offense in a long time. We're in a stretch that has hurt us a little bit in that we're not practicing enough but that's my part; I ultimately, it's my responsibility, particularly at the defensive end. I think that, and I've always thought and this is just a personal thing, that if your team is not playing hard enough and not defending then that's an indictment of you as a coach. And, that's the way I look at it right now, I'm not getting the job done. My team is not guarding and so it starts with me, and it's a lot of work in practice but then there has to be something there, some competitiveness and some fire and some desire to stop and everything else."
J. J. Redick
On what was said in the locker room…
"I think I just said something that needed to be said. I think everybody here is frustrated with the way we've played the last few games. Our effort hasn't been good. I think we can be really good but right now we're not very good. I think we have to be realistic and come Friday with a worker's mentality."
"That's definitely a fair assessment, our defense hasn't been good. Our defense is something we hung our hat on last year and that's the reason we made it as far as we did. We were in the top 10 or 12 in the league in every statistical category. It wasn't our offense last year that got us into the Finals."
"We're a different team. We're missing some guys, and we got some new guys. Games aren't played on paper so we've got to figure things out. We got to put everybody into the system and really we've got to start getting better."
Jameer Nelson
"I'm not into judging with what's going on. But I know that we have to have more defensive focus. Every body sees it, it's not a secret. We've got to buckle down defensively and get tougher."
"I know a lot of things fall on me and Dwight. We accept the challenge and we need to step it up. It's not just one or two individuals; it's everybody, to a man."
Vince Carter
(On Rashard's return)
"It gives us another player, another body, another guy who can shoot the ball, another great team defender. Getting a full roster back is really going to upgrade us."
(On J. J.'s remarks)
"Yeah, he's right. We're not playing great basketball right now. For us to win and to be as good as we want it, we have to want it and we have to go get it."
(On what it starts with)
"Each individual, commitment. Continue to build something. So whenever we decide as a unit that enough is enough and it's time to be one of the elite teams, you'll see it. Vocal or not, it's understood."
November 10, 2009: Magic-Bobcats Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On Vince Carter playing tonight)
"He didn't go through the walk-through with us and I got the word this afternoon that it was official he was not playing. I was doing the boards (before the game) and Vince came in and said he was going to give it a shot. I was totally surprised. He made the decision, not me. He had a good run taking the lead up from four to 11 in the fourth quarter."
(On Brandon Bass)
He played a really good first quarter. I think that was key getting us off to a good start. They were trying to load up on Dwight (Howard) so it gave him open shots up by the free-throw line. He played a great first quarter."
(On playing Marcin Gortat and Dwight Howard together)
"The pros of them both being on the floor is protecting the basket. At that point your interior offense and defense should be great. Marcin has a pretty good idea on how to play off Dwight."
Magic guard Vince Carter
(On coming off the bench being his decision)
"I wasn't in shootaround. I didn't want to disrupt what was going on, especially since I wasn't out there."
(On the team's potential)
"If we want to be the team that people are talking about and perceive us to be, we have to go out there and prove it. It's not just going to happen."
Magic center Dwight Howard
(On the team's potential)
"I think we have the right team to win the championship. It's on us to go out there every night and give the maximum effort to get a championship."
(On whether going to the Finals last season will help this season)
"I think if we get a chance to get back (to the Finals), we'll be more experienced and have a better outcome."
Magic guard J.J. Redick
(On the team's playoff chances)
"It's too early to tell. We've got to get healthy. We've got to get everybody back and incorporate Rashard (Lewis), an all-star, back into the lineup. It's a long season."
November 8, 2009: Magic-Thunder Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On tonight's game:
"We are more predicated on shooting, we have no defensive toughness and right now we aren't a very good team. The Thunder are much better than us right now. They would have beat us if we had everybody. They play much harder than we do. They would of have beat us here or in our place. We are just not as tough as they are right now. We are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and it showed tonight. We are a white collar team right now and those teams won't win on the road."
On thunder defense:
"They play very hard defensively. They play with great intensity and that is the way I would like to see our team play."
Improvement of the Thunder:
"Like I said before the game, their roster is better and their defense has pick up. Teams that play harder have a better chance to win and they are playing a lot harder on the defensive end. I think they have a good roster and it fits together very well. They have a great nucleus of Durant, Green Westbrook and Sefolosha. They have toughness off the bench in Thomas and Collision that want to do the dirty work. Ollie and Harden also fit in nicely. They have toughness to go with there great players and we have to find that toughness."
Jameer Nelson:
On the loss and struggling on defense: "It is a tough loss but it is early in the season. We have to shift our attention from the offense to the defense. We have to focus more and hustle on the defensive end. We can't use struggling on offense as an excuse."
On if injuries are a factor in the team's play: "There's no question it's a factor, but we can't use that as an excuse. We have to play with who we have and keep hustling. We will get better, it is still early in the season."
Matt Barnes:
On the loss:
"Any time you give up over 100 points there is something wrong. It is tough playing without three of the guys that are major contributors. But that gives people opportunities to step up and play. Tonight was one of those nights we didn't get it done."
On if the team is more concerned about offense or defense: "It has got to be defense, giving up 56 percent field goals. They play well at home and the crowd got behind them and got the momentum and made a run. Early in the third they kind of put us away. It is early in the season and we have a lot to work on defensively. I think this is still a very talented team and we are going to do really well."
November 6, 2009: Magic-Pistons Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"Happy to get a win, we had very few people. Ryan went down with the injury, then we had three guys with four fouls by the end of the third quarter so we're a little thin right now to say the least. Especially when we're in foul trouble, but the foul trouble is out of hand. We're not playing smart enough, we didn't play enough defense, and I thought we had too many minutes where we were just hanging on to win a regular season game, we weren't really making a big push to be great. What saved us is that I thought Dwight made great plays against the double team and got us some good shots, hit it out on the cut a couple of times. We made some plays there and hung on but we still have a long ways to go. Defensively, I'd like see us make a more consistent effort and we're just not doing it, or we can't do it, I don't know we'll find out."
Depth of Bench:
"Well we're not deep when you don't have any people. You can say you're deep but we ended the game with eight guys, that's not very deep. We will have AJ back on Sunday, Vince is a maybe, we don't know about Ryan, I don't know what we'll have. That's not the issue, we have no control over that. We can play better and defend better with eight guys, we can, that's the issue to me. I have no control over guys getting hurt. We do have control over the foul trouble, we have to work on that, we have a lot to work on. Right now my biggest question is whether or not we're serious about being a great team, right now we look pretty content to cruise along and do enough to hang on to win an early, regular season game and I'm not happy with that."
Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes Performance:
"Big shots, I thought big shots and a huge offensive rebound from Matt that let to Brandon's baseline shot and then Matt hit a big shot, he had some cuts, he had free throws. I thought we did a really good job, because we couldn't guard them at all so we needed to make plays on the offensive end and we did."
Physical Nature of the Game:
"We're not good in the physical game. We need to get a lot tougher, we need to get a lot tougher."
Ryan Anderson Injury Update:
"We'll know more in the morning. He's got a sprain, a sprained ankle. He didn't break anything or anything like that, he's got a sprain and we'll find out."
Gameplay After the First Quarter:
"We didn't play well, I thought our bench came in and did not play well and when our starters came back in the second quarter they did not play well you know again, I felt pretty content to try to hang on and win a regular season game."
Jameer Nelson
On their play tonight…
"We've got to be better defensively, that's the main thing. Coach keeps saying that's the main thing, we've got to get better defensively."
On dealing with injuries to the roster…
"There's no excuse for anything, we don't make excuses at all. We put five guys out there at a time and we expect those five guys to do their job. Obviously we know what happened tonight, they scored easy. We've got to take more pride in our defense, one-on-one and as a team. We won the game, and it was a good win, it's a win. It went in the w-column but at the same time we know what we've got to work on things to get better, defensively. I know we won the game, I know we have things to work on. I'm not content, but it's a win."
Brandon Bass
On losing their depth…
"Everybody's just got to step up. Rashard (Lewis) was out and Ryan (Anderson) stepped up. So the next person just has to step up and I think we'll be all right."
On fitting in with the team and his role…
"I think everything is coming along, at its own pace, but it's going to come around. I definitely got to work on defense and our defensive coverages and how we want to play different things. I've got to get better with that. And bring more energy into the game when I get in. It's reads and being active and playing with energy and playing hard."
J.J. Redick
On their tendency as a team to get into foul trouble…
"That's a weakness. Guys have been in foul trouble every game pretty much, we put the other team on the line too much and our offense doesn't work when we're walking the ball up the floor after free throws. It just doesn't work that good, it's tough to get into a flow offensively if we're fouling every time down the floor."
On how starting has helped him gain an offensive rhythm…
"I think, with the exception of tonight, it's been better being in a rhythm and again I was saying earlier I don't feel like I have to be anybody else I just have to be me. I'm not replacing Vince (Carter) or trying to be like Vince, Vince is one of the best players in the league. So, I'm just trying to make the offense work, be a ball mover and take shots that are there."
November 4, 2009: Magic-Suns Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
"I thought that was a very good bounce back for us after a game we were all very unhappy with last night. I thought that maybe it's the first time in these five games where I thought we played well at both ends of the floor. They still ended up with 100 points, but based on who we were playing and what we had to play against, I thought we did a very good job defensively. Much better than we have all year, and offensively, other than the one stretch in each the second and third quarters where we were shooting the ball too quickly and not moving the ball I thought, but probably for 42 or 44 of the 48 minutes we moved the ball well offensively. I thought we got some good efforts from guys who played very poorly last night – Jameer, Dwight didn't really get to play much last night, I thought those guys bounced back and played very well. Great effort out of Matt tonight again. Ryan was tremendous – you know, one of the things with a young player you sort of always wonder is, he had his first real bad night, at least for us, last night, and I said before the game I was curious to see how he would respond after last night, and not only shooting the ball the way he did but seven offensive rebounds, I think his response was pretty good for a 21-year-old guy coming off of missing 10 3's last night. That was a good sign – a lot of good signs tonight, our best overall effort, very happy with it."
On if he is worried about ever getting his whole team together again…
"The only thing you ever really worry about is you would like to obviously be developing some continuity and sort of a rotation and guys getting used to playing with each other, and we're just not able to do that. And that's a little bit of a setback, but there's nothing you can do about it, so there's no sense worrying about it. The same thing with Rashard's suspension that we've said all along is that as much as you don't like these things to happen, there always is a silver lining and the silver lining is a lot of other guys are getting a lot of minutes, and that has got to help them down the road. But you would like to start, we would really like to start getting our lineups and rotations together, but what are we going to do? We haven't been able to."
On the Magic's defense…
"I thought our defense was pretty good. The problem with Phoenix is they create so many problems, particularly in their pick-and-roll game with Nash and Stoudemire, and then they put shooting around them that; you can be playing pretty good defense and looking pretty bad at times. It's a little bit tough to judge – they made some plays on us, we certainly made some mistakes, but the thing with Phoenix is they make you pay for virtually every mistake you make. But I thought we played them, and their pick-and-rolls in particular, better than we've played anybody's pick-and-rolls all year. I thought it was our best defensive game. I thought we were more committed and made more good defensive plays, so I thought it was a good step forward."
Dwight Howard
(On his foul trouble)
"Yeah, I was a little frustrated but I kept on playing. That's all I can do is keep playing."
(On getting 3rd technical)
"No, it's not a concern. I mean, I get a tech, I can't do nothing about it. It's going for a good cause."
"We had a very bad game in Detroit and we bounced back. After the game, we were in the locker room talking about what we needed to do to get back on track and everybody made a concentrated effort on coming back so I think we did a good job."
Ryan Anderson
"You just got to bounce back. I think that's what makes the NBA what it is. I mean you might have an off shooting night, but the great thing is that you have the next day. You have the next day to come back and build your confidence back up. My teammates maintained confidence in me and they didn't lose anything in me even though I shot the ball terribly the last game. They're still passing it to me and I played my game tonight. It was fun, fun when you play like that."
"Night in and night out, I can't really control if my shot's going to go in or not. Last night, it felt great, it just wasn't falling. Like I said, everyone's going to have nights like that. Maybe not that drastic but everybody's going to have good nights and bad nights. So I just try and focus on next game and tomorrow, which was the game tonight. I think the NBA's a lot of highs and lows, highs and lows. I'm glad to redeem myself someway and glad we got the win most of all."
Mickeal Pietrus
"I got myself ready. I got myself ready like usual and we finally got a win and that's what's important tonight."
"Actually I came into the gym this morning for two hours and tried to learn my game. I think that it's about team. We bounced back and after we lost last night and found a way to fight through it and beat the Suns."
November 3, 2009: Magic-Pistons Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the Magic)
"There were only two guys that played decently and they were Jason Williams and Matt (Barnes) and I only played Jason 14 minutes. That's bad on my part too, we didn't play together and we forced play after play after play. I don't think we defended badly, other then the fact that we fouled constantly. We just didn't make very good plays, didn't make good decisions, forced plays, didn't shoot well when we did get shots. It was just a very bad night all the way around."
(On their three-pointers)
"We didn't have a lot to do. We only had Dwight (Howard) for 17 minutes, so we couldn't go to the post. Vince (Carter) was really unable to attack. He made some shots, but we were running pick-and-roll for him and he didn't take the ball to the basket a single time. I don't think he felt comfortable on that ankle, and Jameer (Nelson) had a nightmare. He couldn't dribble the ball more than two times without losing it. Our game is the ball has to move. I don't care who's in there and the ball didn't move tonight, I thought we probably took more bad shots tonight than we have in the first three games combined. I think you have to give their defense a lot of credit; a lot of credit."
Orlando Point Guard Jameer Nelson:
(On the game)
"We tried to force things offensively and we didn't play our game as a team, we tried to hit a homerun, we tried to do things individually. We definitely missed Dwight, but we still had our opportunity and we still had our chances. I think if we stayed a little more poised than we did down the stretch, then it could have been a little different."
(Poor 3-Point Shooting)
"Just make solid plays, I came down the stretch and lost the ball a couple times, when you have a guy like Bynum and the way they were getting to the line, you definitely want to minimize your turnovers as much as you can. The thing is we're learning and the good thing is about the NBA that you have another game tomorrow and in this case it's a great thing."
November 1, 2009: Magic-Raptors Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
Thoughts on game….
If you're a fan that (game) was a lot of fun, there was a lot of points. That was two good offensive teams who can spread the floor out and who have weapons inside that are tough to guard. Both teams were very, very difficult to guard today. I thought our guys did a very good job, and I thought that we were very tired. J.J (Redick) played 45 minutes, Matt (Barnes) played 40 against a team that you are running around on and I thought we were sucking wind a little bit there. But we hung on and got the job done. When they got the lead cut down we made some big plays. I thought that everybody we played played well. All five guys in the starting lineup, had great games. What we said before that game was the tendency tends to be when you are missing people, people try to do too much and we said you have to play your own game. You can't play Vince's (Carter) game or anything else but you have to play your game at a very high level and those guys did… They (Toronto Raptors) played very well. That's the thing. The thing I look at is it's not like they can walk into the locker room and say well we just didn't have it today. They shot the hell out of the ball, their main three guys all played great and we were still able to come out with the road win.
It's a career night tonight for J.J. Redick…
Well it's probably a career night with 45 minutes. He really stepped up for us tonight and played great. We've seen it before, he did it in the playoffs last year, game 6 at Philly. With guys out he stepped in as a starter all throughout the Boston series. I've said it all along he's a guy you can trust and count on. He's not normally going to get 45 minutes but he played great, great basketball. Six rebounds and five assists and he had five rebounds at New Jersey. He's a tough guy who will get in and throw his body around. It's just somebody as a coach you really like and can really trust.
Dwight Howard
How is your shoulder?
It was very painful for me. I just tried to get some ice on it and do what I could. It still hurt throughout the game when I came back, but thank god that it was not anything serious.
What happened with you and Chris Bosh?
It is over with now. We are just trying to pound the ball inside and get to the free throw line. It was the heat of the moment, it is over with and you can't do anything about it now.
Is that the kind of foul you are accustomed to Chris Bosh delivering?
I am accustomed to getting fouled. Does it hurt sometimes, yes. I just try to not retaliate but sometimes it does get frustrating. It is not who it is. I just try my best to not allow it to affect my game.
Ryan Anderson
Big game missing some key pieces…
I don't think that anybody has to step up and fill a Vince (Carter) role and be super aggressive and score because of course our main emphasis is getting it into Dwight (Howard) anyways. Luckily he was healthy tonight so we could get it down to him and feed the offense through him. Everybody did a great job, everybody stuck to their roles and we have so many weapons. We keep going back to what we keep saying, that we have so many guys that can do things. Our bench did a great job, guys stepped up who may have not played as much. Everybody was ready to play today and we came out and played really well together as a unit even without those guys. I think that is a key thing for us because obviously throughout the season people are going to get hurt and we have great guys that can step up and fill in that role.
October 30, 2009: Magic-Nets Postgame Quotes
Orlando Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
(On the game)
"We had to play with some different lineups tonight. I thought we faced some adversity, we had to grind it out, we did it with our defense, we didn't shoot the ball well. We didn't have Vince, we had Jameer for very little of the first half. I like what we did tonight fighting to get that one out. Our two young foremen I thought did a hell of a job; we got 29 points out of that position tonight, that's outstanding. Dwight was unbelievable, 20 points, 22 rebounds. I really like his maturity, in the past at times we've had issues they would double team him in the second half and he wasn't getting many shots, but at times when he's not getting the ball on the offensive end it has affected his defensive intensity, but tonight not at all. I thought he really took the game over defensively in the second half.
Ryan Anderson
(On the Magic as a team and organization)
"We have a team full of unselfish guys, but we still put the ball in the hoop. It is just a great organization to be a part of."
(On being back in New Jersey)
"It was kind of weird. You build a relationship with the fans, your teammates and coming back creates a different feeling. It does feel good to come back and get a win. Its nice to play for a winning organization, not that New Jersey wasn't trying, but we were rebuilding and we were kind of feeling each other out. At this time last year it was a different atmosphere, but it is great to be back and see some old faces and people who supported me."
(On Vince Carter)
"Vince is just a great player…A great leader. We really need him because he has so much experience and he demands so much attention on the court.
Vince Carter
(On being injured during the game)
"It is not disappointing. We still won. It is never disappointing when you win."
(On when he expects to be back from his sprained left ankle)
"I heal like a young guy so I'll be good tomorrow. Hopefully Sunday though. I'm feeling better, I'm walking better."
(On the reception of the crowd coming back to New Jersey and playing against former teammates)
"It is always good to come in and be appreciated. It was good to get back out there. We are trying to accomplish something but we always enjoy playing with guys that you battled with the year before. It was a weird feeling though, I will say that.
