Postgame Quotes - March 29, 2013

(On game’s turning point): “It’s a one point game; very similar to the Minnesota game, it was a competitive game…Third quarter, 25-8 run between (Rudy) Gay and (DeMar) DeRozan. What did they have, 30 of their 35? Transition defense, our turnovers led to their transition attacks; they had 16 points in transition of the 35. But like I said, it doesn’t add up when you’re competitive for a half and then it snowballs on us, and we don’t have the resolve right now to put more into it. This is embarrassing.”

(On recent home game struggles): “The bottom line is, we have to get tired of getting embarrassed. At the end of the day, we’re all professionals and you have to be motivated by competition. That’s the deal. And to come into our building again and be embarrassed like we were; it hurts.”

(On frustration): “At the end of the year, we can assess everything. Right now, everyone associated with the Pistons can’t be very proud of what we’re doing, that’s what the bottom line is. I know this though, there are a lot of people who want to get this right, and we will get it right.”

(On coming back from loss): "We have to come together as a group and just fight through it. Things will get better, but tonight we didn't come together and we let things separate. It only got worse and worse. You can't give up a 30-point plus quarter and expect to win the game."

(On defense): "We didn't execute our defense the way we wanted. On offense we turned the ball over and gave them easy transition points. They hit some threes in transition, too. It just wasn't our defensive scheme, it was also our offense."

(On Andre Drummond's return): "It was great. Andre is a big part of this team. He can affect the game on both ends of the court and I thought he came in with a lot of energy."

(On momentum into off season): "It's really important to have everyone back healthy to find some sort of rhythm. I think this is the first time Jose (Calderon) has played with Andre (Drummond). And that also moves Greg (Monroe) to the floor, too. It puts a lot of players into positions where they haven't had a lot of rushing practice, so it's important to find a rhythm these few last games."

(On first night back): "It definitely felt great being out there tonight. I felt like I didn't miss a beat. I just have to get used to playing with the guys back on the court."

(On conditioning): "It was good. The way Coach Lawrence played me tonight was very beneficial; not leaving me out there too long so I didn't exhaust myself. I felt good tonight."

(On play of bigs): "They saved us in the first half. We got off to slow start in the first quarter and Amir (Johnson) and JV's (Jonas Valanciunas) activity and energy got us going. I thought when the second unit came in the game and changed the game; then the first group came in and joined the party."

(On guards): "The first unit joined the party in the third quarter after they saw the energy and how hard Landry (Fields), Alan (Anderson), T (Terrance) Ross, and John Lucas were playing. It was good that they did that because they came in and got us going, that is why we let them roll in the third quarter."

(On Jonas Valanciunas): "He did not have big minutes earlier in the year. Again, he has had that now and he has been consistent with his energy. Even earlier, I thought he hit a wall somewhere in between Christmas time and right before he broke his hand, but now he has bounced back."

(On second half): "We picked it up, especially in that third quarter. (Rudy Gay) and DeMar (DeRozan) got it going. That is the type of players they are. They get it going and it is hard to stop those guys."

(On running the team): "Get them that ball and call plays for them. Let them be in different type of situations where defense can’t set themselves, and try to get out in transition where the defense can’t get set and lock in."

(On energy): "We got some stops and got out and ran. That was the base of pretty much where we got all of our points. We got stops and we got out and ran and we got some fast break dunks and easy 3's in transition."