Detroit: Lawrence Frank | Greg Monroe | Tayshaun Prince
Milwaukee: Jim Boylan | Paul George | Tyler Hansbrough
(On the Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye trade) I think everyone was surprised that it took place right before the game. Joe Dumars called me and I knew how much it hurt him. Tayshaun has been a part of the Pistons’ family for 10 years. Throughout the time all those tight woven relationships have developed and I know that Joe felt horrible right before the game. But for Tayshaun I’m eternally grateful for his professionalism and how he handled himself. Obviously with the championship and redefining himself he became a very good role player and a captain for the team. I wish both Tayshaun and Austin the best of luck.
(On the game) Yes, the trade did affect it. But we’re professionals and we have to move on.
(On falling behind early and struggling to come back all night) They did a good job of getting a lead early, we were able to fight back and make a few runs at them, I was proud of our effort in doing that. Pacers are a physical team. We knew that coming in and they play good defense. But I think turnovers hurt us more than their physicality. I didn’t think that was as big a factor.
(On his reaction to being traded) I was shocked obviously. I knew that this was going to be a tough game for these guys to play, tough circumstances, for me it’s definitely a tough time but now it’s time for me to go on to the next page and make the most of it. I thought things were starting to go well here as of late, I thought the last month we were making strides. It’s intriguing because I think about the last two weeks seeing where Rudy Gay wanted out and I never thought I’d be a part of it.
I’m proud of our guys coming back off a trip and taking care of business. We had an edge which is important when you have a losing streak. We’re not happy with how we played on the road and we want to make it up at home. If you’re not going to play .500 basketball on the road you need to be better than good at home.
(On Lance Stephenson) Last week we had a meeting after Portland and Utah when he didn’t play very well. We talked about his value. He’s not just filling in, he’s a reason we had success this season. Now he recognizes his value to the team.
(On Roy Hibbert) He was tough tonight. He has to be a threat, not just with post-ups but offensive rebounds and his passing.
(On the importance of tonight’s win) It was huge. We had a tough stretch on the road, losing three in a row. Coming in tonight we knew this was a must win.
(On tonight’s defense) We rely on helping one another. When guys are in gaps and ready to shrink the floor and contest at the basket, we’re tough. On the road we kind of got away from that. We were leaving guys out to dry and having them isolated by themselves. That’s not the defense we play at all. We cleaned that up tremendously as opposed to those games on the road.
(On the Miami matchup on Friday) It’ll be a tough game, but I’m up for it. I know this team is up for it. Any chance when we can play on the main stage against a great quality team, I think this team is going to be ready.
To be honest with you we came in here and weren’t happy about the losses we got on the road. We just figured a way out to get a win, and that was defensively. We came out and got stops and everybody was in the help position. I think we were all frustrated about the losses so we wanted to get back on the right track as soon as we could.
(On playing a lot of home games in coming days) It’s going to be good. Our bodies will be rested. Hopefully we’ll get on a big home streak and get some wins. And the crowds will come out and support us.
(On the Miami rematch on Friday) We gotta come out and play. We know how good Miami is. We know the pieces that they have. So we have to come out and be on top of our game and hopefully get a win.