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(On the second unit) “Maxiell has been really good. I thought Maxiell is getting his legs back under him. I think for you all that have watched Max you see that he is jumping better, so condition wise I think he feels good. Both Maxiell and Amir (Johnson) have come in and played with a lot of energy and that's something that we need. I thought Arron Afflalo and Walter Herrmann played great. So that's just guys coming in playing their role”
(On the second quarter) “The last two games we've done a really good job in the second quarter. It’s just a matter of us finding a good mix of who needs to be out there in the second quarter and help us attack. We’re getting better, the guys played better. We've got a tough one on Sunday. It doesn't stop. Portland is coming in here and I like that young team. They play hard and last year I thought they were really good, then you add Greg Oden to the mix, Rudy Fernandez, that young team is playing really hard. When games are close (Brandon) Roy has been able to finish games for them. Nate (McMillan) has done a tremendous job with them and that's a big game for us on Sunday.”
Pistons Guard Allen Iverson
(On his game) “It was a different feeling as far as my rhythm. Obviously I'm used to starting basketball games in the first quarter and in the third. It was just different for me. I think I was trying too hard. With everything that went on I wanted to play well and I think I was just trying to hard. In the second half I just settled down and played my game, tried to create for my teammates and if they took that away, try to create for myself."
(On not carrying this team) “It's definitely something I like. The pressure for me putting up big numbers is not there every night. It makes it easier for me; it's easier obviously on my body. I don't have to deal with a lot of double and triple teams, like I'm used to dealing with. It's just playing with a better group of guys and that's all I've ever wanted. All of the scoring, and there was scoring titles and stuff like that, I've been there and done that. I've accomplished those things and I haven't won a championship and that's what I want. Obviously, scoring a lot of points has never won me a championship. So obviously something else needs to be done."
Pistons Guard Rodney Stuckey
(On starting tonight’s game) “I just got to be ready even if Allen Iverson is not coming off the bench, and I am always (ready).”
(On the bench) “That’s what we’re supposed to do. Jason Maxiell and Walter Herrmann really stepped up and that’s what we need to do to win a championship. Our bench needs to be ready to play every game”
(On his career high steals) “I didn't even know that. I was just playing hard and running around, pretty much.”
(On trouble winning Sunday night games) “We will be good. We will be ready to play. The last few practices we have had were really hard and we don’t want any more so we will be ready to play.”
(On their defense) “For whatever reason, particularly in the last three games, we’ve lost a bit of our will to defend. I’m having a hard time finding lineups that are willing to go out there and try and defend. We’ve got to find a way to get it back otherwise we won’t win. We’re trying to find anything we can to find a group that will go out there and get stops for us. We’ve had a hard time doing that lately.”
(On working on their defense) “Typically what happens is there is other slippage during parts of the year but you’re able to get into the practice gym and work on some things and get back to basics a little bit. We’ve had virtually zero practice time. This is not unexpected when we’re trying to turnaround the defense for this season. We’ve crept up in various standings but, again, the numbers don’t lie. We’re not going to win games when our opponents shoots over 50% (from the field) and scores over 100% points.”
(On tinkering with lineups) “I don’t know how (long) Charlie B (Bell) is going to be out. I don’t know if he tweaked his hamstring again. Of course Michael (Redd) is coming back. We’ll see. You’ve got to find a way. There’s playing time on this team that’s up for grabs and we’re trying to make that clear to guys for whoever wants to get with our program, defend. There’s playing time to be had. We’re searching.”
Bucks Guard Charlie Bell
(On their defense) “We’ve got to do better. We’re giving up way too much dribble penetration causing guys to come in and collapse and they’re finding open guys. We’ve got to do a better job containing the ball. We haven’t been doing that, especially the last couple of games.”
(On Detroit) “Especially with a team like Detroit. They’re a good team. Their crowd gets into it. With good teams it’s hard to get those points back. We made a run but sometimes when you’re playing some of the lesser, not-so-good, teams in the NBA you can make that up but a team like Detroit, at home, it’s tough.”
