Postgame Quotes - January 27, 2013

Orlando: Jacque Vaughn

(On the final minutes of the game…): “I thought it was really good. Will Bynum did a great job of engineering the pick and roll attack, finding open people. I thought we had great ball movement. Brandon obviously had two of those threes, made the third one. You think about Brandon, the two threes, taking a charge, a big rebound; it was good to see how we responded. There were 20 lead changes in that game and we kept our poise, our resolve, we had a very hard time stopping them. In that third quarter we gave up 33 points. They just kept on scoring and scoring and scoring in a bunch of different ways but we kept with it and we fought. It was really a total team effort. You talk about a guy like Kim English who hasn’t really played for us, gives us almost 18, 19 minutes of really solid play. You can go up and down the roster and I thought everybody impacted the game in a very positive way.”

(On the last two games against the Magic…): “In this league good to bad, bad to good very quickly. It’s the NBA. You just have to stay the course and just keep working. As Pat Riley said a long time ago and every coach has taken it from him, ‘there’s winning and then there’s misery’, it’s that simple.’”

(On finishing the road trip on a positive note…): “We had a very, very tough loss after being up 17 in Chicago, a very disappointing performance in Miami where we underperformed, and then today even though it wasn’t perfect the spirit was great; collective team win, great fight. We know how to make it interesting. We had a little volleyball contest at the end, we just didn’t inform the volleyball association on that last offensive rebound. I thought our guys really showed some great resolve and it’s good to finish the trip on a positive note.”

(On the defensive adjustment for J.J. Redick…): “J.J. against us, he should want to play against us. He is phenomal. He had a career high. Some of those were the result of help situations, pick and roll. We made some tweaks at halftime and then late in the game in the last six minutes like we do versus most special players, we blitzed his pin downs, his pick-and-rolls, his dribble hand-offs. Charlie read a great one. It just knocked off of his hand. Redick was great but I thought big baby was really good. In that run we just individually had a very, very hard time trying to guard him. E’Twaun Moore comes off the bench and gives them a huge lift. Defensively, it wasn’t one of our better efforts but I’m proud of our guys, the grit they showed, and I’m happy we came out with the ‘W’.”

“Every game is a must win game for us from this point on if we want to have a shot at trying to make the playoffs. We have to continue to take one game at a time. We did feel that we really wanted to come out and get this one because they beat us pretty well the first two times that they played us. We really wanted to come out and be aggressive and we got off to a great start. JJ got rolling early and they kind of fed off of that. Nobody else really had a rhythm for them in the first half, which allowed us to have a 10 point lead at halftime. The other guys picked it up in the second half, but Wil Bynum did a great job of setting up Brandon. Brandon was making some tough shots for us and even when he missed some shots, he was able to take the next one with the confidence he was playing with.”

“Baby struggled in the first half. He struggled against us in Detroit the last time we played. He got off to a great start in the fourth and made some plays getting into the paint. For the most part, Brandon was our savior tonight and Wil was our savior at the start of the fourth. Kim was unbelievable for us in a situation where a guy that doesn’t get any minutes, to depend on him to guard a guy (Redick) who is already hot. It is a tough situation to be in.”

“They (Magic) always play hard. JJ Redick was on fire obviously. Big Baby picked up in the second half. When you have two guys like those guys going, and Jameer who is always solid at the point guard position, they are a good underrated team. They play hard, so whenever you play hard you always put yourself in position to win games.”

“Many games are won in the fourth quarter. You have to be able to get stops going down the stretch and make the most of your possessions. It is something that we did tonight.”

(on whether Pistons can catch Celtics for #8 seed due to news about Rondo season ending injury) “Our goal is to win as many games as possible to try and get into the playoffs. It is unfortunate for him (Rondo). I never wish an injury on any player. That is something with or without him we have to do our job anyway.”

“You have to commend him (Kim English) for being ready. He definitely was ready and played good defense. He made some tough buckets. He has always prepared himself and I wasn’t surprised with anything he did tonight.”

“Throughout the entire game you are going to have plays that are going to go in your favor or not go in your favor. Tonight we had a lot of plays in which we got the 50/50 balls and we were able to close out the game. The ball bounces funny sometimes and you have to get some of those bounces and make some of those effort plays. I have to commend my teammates for making those effort plays towards the end of the game.”

“You always want to go home on a win although we know we let a couple games (during road trip) slip away before that.”

(on career high w/ 31 points) “I have to commend my teammates who did a great job of looking for me and seeing I was making shots. A lot of it came from them trying to create for me.”

“Will does a great job on pick-and-rolls, getting into the paint and drawing the defense. He does a great job of making reads and making the right plays. He did that throughout the fourth quarter.”

(On end of game, another close, tough loss): “We tried. We tried. The coaches and I were talking about if we were going to leave Glen in because we were going to press after that and still foul and send them to the free throw line. We decided to leave him in, just in case Jameer missed it. He comes away with the rebound, big fella, I think Nik had an opportunity, Jameer. Great effort, you got to give them credit, though, for their approach tonight, but I thought we did some good things. Great effort at the end.”

(On Arron not playing at end, E’Twaun being in the game): “Arron experienced a slight left calf strain, so that went into the equation. So, we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. But that was the major reason why I decided to go with ‘E’ (E’Twaun) down the stretch.”

I think there was one possession, I think Knight ends up hitting a three, and those are the possessions that, for us to win we have to win those possessions. I mean at the end of the day we have to come away with that rebound with that ball, that loose ball, that 50/50 ball. Somehow, someway and that’s important to us for us to win.”

Was that your decision for Jameer to miss the third free throw at end?: “It was not. We had almost seven seconds left. We had a play that could get us a shot in seven seconds so I think we were in good shape. No it wasn’t. We got a chance to get a rebound we wanted to make that.”

(On JJ in starting lineup recently): “It makes it tough for us to, size-wise, that they’re both at times guarding different guys, but tonight E’Twaun’s guarding Tayshaun Prince so everyone’s a part of the equation. I think it’s produced some numbers across the board. I think last game we had six guys in double figures. This game we have five guys in double figures so I think that the floor’s spread, the ball is moving and I think it’s been ok. I think numbers-wise it’s been ok, productive-wise.”

(On JJ’s minutes): “I rolled with him a few times multiple minutes. I think at least ten or twelve, that’s a long stretch for the way he runs and has to defend. I would prefer not to play him ten minutes straight or 12 minutes straight. That’s just tough on the body. That’s tough for him to defend on the other end and then run around on the offensive end. I kept him in after he missed his last shot then I put E’Twaun in, I think at the two minute mark, so 2:12, that probably put him in ten minute stretch, that’s a long stretch.”

On E’Twaun and a closing role: “I just think he’s aggressive by nature, and when he does that he’s able to do different things. He’s able to spot up. He can create off the dribble so he made some shots for us tonight, which is good to see.”

(On keeping the team up): “I keep believing that it’s going to turn in our favor, to be honest with you. I’m genuine. I’m upfront with them. I tell them as fair as I can, that you continue to work hard, you don’t skip steps. You control your thoughts. Easy right now to let misfortune and misgiving get into your mind. This is life’s lessons also basketball-wise. This is an opportunity for you to fight thru something. Stay together as a team, easy, easy to give in. But our coaching staff, we will continue to fight. We will continue to be resilient, continue to push these guys but continue to hug them at the same time. That’s what we do.”