Detroit: Lawrence Frank | Jose Calderon | Greg Monroe
New York: Mike Woodson | Carmelo Anthony | Tyson Chandler
(On tonight’s game): “Every time we play New York (Knicks), three times, they dominate the first quarter. We put ourselves in such a hole, we start playing frustration basketball, and mentally we don’t stay as focused and engaged as we need to be. Then, second half, we play better basketball. We have to be past that point where we play the way we did that first half, that’s unacceptable.”
(More on tonight’s game): “Defensively you have to be able to take away the threes, 14 threes is tough. Offensively, you have to be able to make plays and move the ball through all the random switching. If they double the post, you have to have the correct spacing, make the correct pass, and then you have to move the ball. There was no secret in the second half. Better ball movement, change sides on the floor, we had very little of that. The only way we scored in the first half was really in transition. In fairness, we throw Jose (Calderon) in there, and then Max (Jason Maxiell) gets two fouls, we play a lineup we haven’t played much of. I can accept the fact of the lack of different lineups out there, and that’s going to be a byproduct of where we are at, but our inability to maintain our focus and give ourselves the best chance was disappointing to me.”
(On his first game as a Piston): “I tried to do the best I could. I am thinking too much. I am trying to figure out all my teammates. I have to do a better job of figuring out how to get my guys involved. It was one game. It is going to be anytime. It wasn’t the best start but still there were some positive parts. My teammates were helping me a lot and I felt comfortable.”
(On the first quarter): “First quarter I have to be a little better. We have to have a lot better. It is tough because every time we got down 10, 12 points they hit two or three threes in a row.”
(On his new teammates): “They have to get used to me, I have to get used to them. It is going to be time working together, practicing. I tried to look for everybody, tried to look for the right plays but we will be okay. It is going to be about time.”
(On getting some practice time with his new team): “For sure it helps. I knew what we wanted to run. It cannot be worse than this. It is going to be better because I am going to have that time to work with them and practice with them.”
(On playing the Knicks this season): “Every game they have jumped out in the first quarter and it is a deficit we can’t recover from.”
(On the Knicks’ three point shooting tonight): “It is very deflating especially the rate they shoot and make them.”
(On Jose Calderon): “I think he played well especially considering we never got a practice together. Obviously, everyone knows, how well he plays in the pick-and-roll. The more he plays with us and gets used to us he will be better.”
(On the Knicks): “They can play traditional, they can play small, they can spread you out. They are definitely a tough matchup. The personnel they have, and the principles we have on defense, it is a bad matchup. That being said, we have to find a way to win.”
(On tonight’s game): “We have to continue to play at a high level. We played a great first half and then we got happy. You have to give Detroit credit…they kept playing. They outplayed us in the second half. We had a big enough cushion so we could pick and choose what we wanted to do. I liked how we played as a team. Everyone is contributing.”
(On Raymond Felton): “He is our quarterback. That was the whole idea when we got him this Summer. All three guys (Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni) can run a basketball team and throughout the course of the season you see that. Raymond is a big piece of the puzzle. He can pick and choose when he wants to score the ball. He is great at setting other people when he wants guys to get shots.”
(On the first half of the season): “We have a big goal. Big picture is to win an NBA title. That is first and foremost. One of our goals is to win our division and host first round at home. We are on pace to do that. We have to stay the course.”
(On Tyson Chandler grabbing 20 rebounds in three straight games): “That is incredible…three straight games with 20 plus rebounds. It is very hard to do so you have to take your hat off to Tyson for the effort.”
(On not letting Detroit back in the game): “We talked about it…we talked about not letting this game slip away. We wanted to maintain the focus and keeping the momentum and we stepped up to the challenge.”
(On tonight’s game): “I was trying to be aggressive from the jump. I knew this was one of the games that could slip away from us.”
(More on tonight’s game): “Defensively we were getting stops, we were getting out in transition, we were sharing the ball and we got our momentum going.”
(On the five game winning streak): “We wanted to win all of these games. We needed to win all these games. We had to have these games and we approached it that way. Now we have to go on the road for these next two.”
(On recording three consecutive 20 rebound games): “It hasn’t been done in a long time…since Willis Reed. Whenever you are mentioned in the same breath or accomplish records he has…it is a tall task.”
(On Coach Woodson motivating him): “Throughout the season, mentally, he lit a fire under me. He called me into his office and said I needed to start playing like an All-Star and the last thing I wanted was people questioning that. I had focus after that. Sometimes you need that…a little push.”
(On tonight’s game): “I think we played incredible defense especially the last two games. We really have stepped on teams to start the game. The ball movement has been incredible. We have been unselfish.”