Postgame Quotes - December 31, 2010

(On Tonight’s Game) “They tried to not allow T-Mac to make decisions and we made an adjustment in the second half where all we have to do is have that big, and a lot of times it was Ben Wallace, make a play. The thing that they did was their energy was much greater than ours. We come back and have a chance to cut their lead to 10 points and that’s where we have to get tougher mentally and it’s amazing, we didn’t cut the lead, they extended it.”

(On Tonight’s Game) “I think we played right into their hands. I give them credit. I think they hustled and stuck to their game plan but we just didn’t make the proper adjustments to beat what they were doing. And when you play the same way the entire game, anybody can cover that, even a team that’s not particularly a great defensive team. They were going guns-a-blazing all game. We just made a run but continued to make some mistakes we’d made throughout the game and it’s tough to win when you’re not making adjustments. Even thought we made a little run, it just wasn’t’ enough.”

(On Tonight’s Game) “I think at the end of the third we were running some things that were working. Once they started making some shots again we got away from what we were doing. At the same time, a team like them, you can’t’ give them the same look every time down the floor. You’ve got to be able to run good sets to slow the game down for our defense to get back and when we started taking jump shots it allowed them to get out real fast and get out on the break.”

(Opening statement) “It was a much needed win for us. I thought we were aggressive from the start. We did a good job defensively. I thought we did a good job offensively too, as far as moving the basketball and getting shots. I thought we executed well on both ends of the court. The only thing that’s a little bit disturbing is the thirteen offensive rebounds. We have to do a little better in that department. I thought overall, though, to just give up one 20-point quarter, was really good and we have to keep trying to build on that.”

(On improving the Sun’s defense) “I told the guys, we are going to start judging our defense from this day forward. I thought we did a good job and we’re just going to continue to try to improve.”

(On building the second unit) “We just have to get to the point where we feel comfortable with what we are doing with the second unit. I thought they did a good job and we will continue to try and build on that. As I said, I was just happy because three out of four quarters without 20 points is kind of what we are looking for as far as building on our defense.”

(On the team’s defense) “Yeah just like frustrating was last game I got to tell you that it was a totally different team today and a huge, huge step forward. We did everything what we’ve been talking about the day before and a tremendous effort , tremendous will of winning and I got to tell you, such a young team, we’re only three actually veterans in the team; in 24 hours, 48 hours we became a probably top-five, the best defensive team in the league. (It’s) obviously just for one game, but it’s impressive. ”

(On sustaining good defense) “I think it’s going to be easier, it should be easier for us with each game, it should be easier for us to stay with this defensive. We’ve just got to work hard. That’s how it is. You’re not going to win a game at half speed or with only 80 percent of effort. You’ve got to give everything what you’ve got and just finish the game and your tank must be empty. Like I said, if we’re going to keep going with each game like that I’m serious that we’re going to go far.”

(On gaining confidence) “Today I played a lot of minutes, and I feel great on the court. I was just trying to make the right plays, involve the other players and just be aggressive in defense. Like I said, every game counts, so today I had a pretty good game, so I have to play hard and good the next game. That’s how I’m going to get my confidence up.”