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Postgame Quotes - October 17, 2014

On whether execution breakdowns caused the loss: “We weren’t in position to win that game from the minute it started. We didn’t put anything into the game for the first 18 minutes. Then we played well for 18 minutes, and that was it. You’re not going to win games playing a quarter and a half out of four on any evening.”

“We were fine from the middle of the second through the end of the third, so when you want to play you can. We didn’t put anything into it mentally or physically. I was not happy and they shouldn’t be happy either.”

On D.J. Augustin’s second quarter run to put the Pistons back in the game: “D.J. (Augustin) played well. Greg (Monroe) played well. Both of those guys I thought competed well. Greg struggled down the stretch too, but until then he played well, D.J. played well.”

On the need to dominate the boards with a big lineup; third quarter being significant: “No question. We weren’t very successful with any lineup tonight. They played a lot harder than we did with a lot more energy and it’s going to be hard to win games where teams play that much harder than we do.”

“As a team we need to come out with more energy. Like he (Coach Van Gundy) said post game ‘some nights you will lose for different reasons, but the only reason you can’t accept is by getting outplayed and having the other team play with more effort.’ That is what they did tonight and we can’t let that happen.”

(On adapting to Coach Van Gundy’s system) “I am adjusting pretty well I think. I think I fit in well with the stuff that he runs and eventually will be successful in it. I think we have the personnel to be successful in the things that he is running. He is definitely putting together some special things that fit our personnel even more.”

“I definitely think we can make a run at the playoffs. If you don’t have the mindset or that focus that you want to accomplish it, then no way. That is something we have to take one day at a time. It is definitely a goal of ours.”

“Stan has a great system. It pretty much is pick and roll or play through the big man. We have a lot of unselfish players so whenever I play with unselfish guys and guys that want to win, it is always a good fit.”

“There is no turning back for me. I am going to continue to play the same way (as he did in Chicago last season) and Stan wants me to. Whatever he wants me to do to help this team win, I am going to do.”

“I am just trying to get everybody involved and make sure everybody is in their spots. I will score the ball when I can and push the tempo.”

“Once you get that (perimeter shooting) down things open up…driving to the goal, finding other people. I just have to stay confident and shoot open shots. That is what Stan wants me to do and continue to do that.”

(On playing with multiple skilled big men) “It makes our job easy. We have a great front line so we just try to play through those guys, pick and roll with those guys and things open up.”

“He (Coach Van Gundy) wants everyone to be sharp and on their P’s and Q’s out there and that is what I try to do.”

“I just have to know my position and help on defense. I need to know the guy in front of me and keep him in front of me. Stan wants us to play as a team on defense so that is what we are trying to work on.”

On starting front court’s play: “I thought we got off to a really good start first quarter. I think our first five really set a tempo of how we wanted to play. I thought we were pretty good on the boards, contesting shots and so overall that first unit was really good to get us off to a good start. Overall throughout the course of the night I think we were really good at boxing out and being aggressive and making things tough for them.”

On Kyle O’Quinn and his shooting, do you see progress?: “He’s definitely improved ten-fold, just the game like I’ve said a little bit has slowed down for him and is still in the process of slowing down even more, but he’s extremely fun to be around. He loves the game, even though he came to the game late. He’s great with his teammates and it’s on both ends of the floor. I think he’s excited about getting better and contributing to the team.”

On ball movement and the 25 assists: “Yeah, that’s huge, 25 assists throughout the course of the night. I thought the ball really moved, no hesitation. It got to a guy, expected shots were taken and that’s crucial for us because we are a team, that’s how we’re built as such, as a team, so that’s huge. The turnovers we’ll continue to address and correct, a lot of them are self-inflicted and so we can take care of those things, but for our guys to play through turnovers is a pretty good sign.”

On leading from start to finish entire game: “It’s huge. You know the NBA game is extremely long and I told our guys there are a lot of ebbs and flows and some great lessons for our young guys…you get up 19 and next thing you know you can have a tied ball game. So, enabled to have that focus and concentration where you play each possession. Tough to do, but we’re going to ask our guys to do it.”

“We stuck to the principals that coaches gave us during training camp and I think that helped us out a lot. You play a team like that with those types of big men, you have to be physical. That’s what we did. That’s why we were able to be successful tonight.”

On Kyle O'Quinn: “I’m not surprised. He works really hard. He comes into the gym every day and gives a good effort. You can see he’s conditioning.”

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