 Thomas |
There've been some changes in the East with New Jersey, Boston and Detroit. I think all those teams will be stronger. I think Washington will be stronger this year, and I think it's gonna be very difficult to win games in the East. I think everybody will be better, but we're pretty excited about the challenge ahead of us.
Q: What does it take to break a dynasty? Do you have to lose to them painfully the previous year?
Thomas: I don't necessarily think that losing is required. I think that it's the stamina that you need and the toughness and smartness that you need to beat a team like the Lakers, who kind of have a dynasty going right now or a stranglehold on the NBA. You need to learn how to beat that team and the only way you really learn how to beat that team is to get yourself in the position where you can compete against that team in playoff situations or championship situations if you're from the East. I think Sacramento has put themselves in a position to compete against the Lakers and now they have to keep going up against the wall and learning how to beat the Lakers, which is a tall task.
Q: Is that what you did ... learn from those painful losses? You learn what it takes to get to the next level?
Thomas: You learn how to get there. However, the team that you're playing against normally, if they're a championship team, they're a very smart team and they have a lot of different ways to beat you. They can beat you playing fast, they can beat you playing slow, they can play half-court, full-court, and a lot of different people will step up and beat you, and it's not always Kobe or Shaq. It can be Fisher or Horry or Fox. So you have to learn how to play against those people and it really does take some time. To win a championship, it takes perseverance and patience.
Q: Give us an update how your new offense is working.
Thomas: I don't know how necessarily long it will take. We've been moving toward this style of play for the last two years. What I've tried to do is combine three schools of thought: Tex Winter's triangle, John Wooden's UCLA shuffle-cut high-post type action and Bob Knight's passing game on the weak side and try to combine those three schools of thought and make our offense fit our players. What we've been doing the last couple of years with our players, because our players were so young when we got them, is we've been building toward this style of play and you really need complete players who can play all over the floor to do it. I think our guys are enjoying playing this way. It's letting them use their versatility. I think they're really enjoying being basketball players as opposed to being position into role players.
Q: Do you see anyone out West that can maybe break through the Lakers?
Thomas: I really think it all depends on Shaq. He's the only guy that I've seen since the time that I've been in the NBA where he really has no matchup. He's really become very patient in the post, so zone defenses really don't bother him. He understands his personnel. I just think he's the most dominant and the best player that's playing in the NBA right now, and it's going to be a tall order to beat him. I don't think you can do it with just one man. I really think you need a team to kind of go after the Lakers and attack him. But Shaq is the key and I don't see a person in the West yet, who can really match up against him or team that's come up with some type of defense to stop him.
Q: Can you talk about Tracy McGrady's development as an NBA player? Has it been faster than expected?
Thomas: Not really. When he came into the league out of high school he really had all the skills. Mentally he was very sharp about the game on and off the court. That's what attracted us to him when I was drafting him in Toronto. It was that he was a high school player, but he had pro skills and he had a pro mentality, and I think the way that he's handled the NBA and the way that he's been able to handle his fame and his stardom has been fantastic. He hasn't missed a beat. He still works hard. He still enjoys the game and he's more of a team player. When he was in high school, he played the point guard position so he understood how to pull a team together, how to get other people involved, and he's doing that in Orlando also.
Q: What would it take to beat the Lakers?
Thomas: I think you need an uptempo offense very similar to way Sacramento plays. You need high post players that can come away from the basket, pull Shaq away from the basket. But you also need forwards that can get around Shaq just in case they try to switch on the defensive side of the ball. Phil and Tex, those guys are so smart in moving Shaq around and getting Kobe into positions where he can score that it's really tough to say where they're going to be on the floor all the time because of the things that Phil and Tex are able to do with him.
They're a tough team to play against because they can really attack you inside and out. They have a team that's well suited and a style that's well suited for them to play in. I think you need to uptempo the game and you need to try to find a way to limit Shaq's touches and more or less live with Kobe getting 40 and not having Shaq get 40.
Q: You and Gary Payton were really the only franchise players under 6-6. What are the common ingredients that allowed you to fill that role?
Thomas: I would say that there is a strong sense of confidence in self because you're fighting against a league that doesn't allow small people to dominate. So it's really a league that's geared towards 6-9, 6-7 and 7-0 guys, and they're very forgiving of those guys. I think you've got to be tough-minded, you've got to be a strong leader and you've got to be strong willed, because everyone is telling you you can't. You've got to be strong enough to say that I can.
