They Said It ...

Game Quotes: Rockets 93, Spurs 72

ROCKETS COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY

(on Yao Ming's conditioning) "I think his conditioning is way behind (and) I think it shows."

(on whether it was his plan to get the ball to Yao Ming often) "You can just write that one down every night. He's very good down there and he can't be a reluctant scorer. If he scores 3 times in a row when we come to him and is given single coverage, then score again. And again. And again."

(on the play of Shane Battier) "He's a fine shooter so when he's open, we want him to shoot the ball. We sure do. But I was disappointed in our offense. We're not playing with the offensive energy that it's going to take to be a good team. We're back tonight to straggling up the floor and low energy offensively, so that's going to have to improve."

(on the play of Tracy McGrady) "When he's balanced, he makes. He's a very good perimeter shooter when he's balanced, just like anybody would be. If you have good form like he does and you take balanced shots, then you'll make. The further out you shoot, the more balance you need. Some of his shots from the perimeter are at the end of the shot clock. I think game conditioning has a little bit to do with it, too."

ROCKETS FORWARD TRACY McGRADY

(on how he feels the Rockets are doing against other teams during this
preseason) "It's really hard to tell. We're playing a lot of teams that aren't really playing their big guys. You just don't know. Sometimes I feel, like tonight, if San Antonio had Tim Duncan and their key guys, then it would have been another story. There were times when we didn't execute and sometimes guys didn't know the plays. It definitely would have been a different story. We've got 2 more preseason games and, hopefully, we can make some adjustments."

(on the importance of the Rockets getting off to a good start this season) "Absolutely. That's key and I think that our schedule works in our favor. I definitely feel like that's the key to moving forward. As a team, I think the schedule is in our favor to make things happen right away. That will give us confidence going into the season and, hopefully, we can stay injury-free as well."

(on whether the supporting players will be beneficial to both him and Yao
Ming) "Yes, I definitely think the organization did a phenomenal job of getting key guys we really need. I think that's going to really relieve some pressure off Yao (Ming) and myself. Shane (Battier) is a very smart basketball player who does everything well and they went out and got good shooters. That's something that we really needed last year. This year, you've got to respect the guys that are out on the basketball floor because they can knock down shots from all over the court."

ROCKETS CENTER YAO MING

(on his conditioning) "Before the game, Coach (Van Gundy) that the starters were going to play longer (this game). We knew that they (Spurs) were going to be without some of their key players. We did not take care of their 3-point shooters (defensively). We had a slow start to the game, but the longer minutes are going to give us more time to adjust. If you were playing in the regular season and you dug yourself that big a hole to begin the game, it would be really hard for us."

(on whether he feels he's close to where he wants to be with his level of
play) "I think I'm getting closer. Until today, I would say that I am ready for the game, but I feel like I'm still not ready."

(on his single-team coverage shooting) "Coach (Van Gundy) talks about that in practice. He wants me to score, score, score. If you score 5 times in a row, don't think about passing the 6th time. Just continue on. I need to do this."

ROCKETS FORWARD SCOTT NOVAK

(on Tracy McGrady's comment that Scott Novak was the best shooter on the
team) "It definitely does (mean a lot to me). Coming in, my job is to space the floor and get those guys looks. When he's (Tracy McGrady) at his best and drawing all that attention, it's really easy for us to play off of that."

(on his 3-point shooting tonight) "When I was younger, it would have really affected me to miss my 1st one. The more I play, the more I realize that I have to have a shooter's mentality. I really can't get down about missing a couple. I made the 1st and missed maybe 6 straight and then I made the next 2. That would give me 3 for 7 which isn't too bad. I just have to have that mentality."

(on Coach Van Gundy playing him for his outside shooting) "He's definitely tough on us sometimes, but we know that he's going to let us play through and that means a lot to us. That's so valuable for a guy like me who's just gotten here. There's no question I'm going to make mistakes, but I'm glad I'm out there."

ROCKETS POINT GUARD RAFER ALSTON

(on how he felt out there tonight) "For me, it was pretty solid. I had a couple of turnovers on passes, but besides that, I felt solid. I like the pace of the 2nd half more than the 1st half. We got the ball moving, we got the ball to the big guys that we wanted to and we got Shane (Battier) going there a little bit."

ROCKETS FORWARD SHANE BATTIER

(on how his shot felt tonight) "My shot felt better tonight. Those are shots I can get every single night."

(on whether this is an easy team for him to fit into) "It's been a somewhat difficult transition for me. After 5 years (with Memphis), you have the same mind-set and then coming here, you have a different philosophy. Playing with Tracy (McGrady) and Yao (Ming) has been an adjustment for me -- a good adjustment. It's been a slow progression, but a good progression."

(on his increased minutes tonight) "It was good to be out there and see where we were conditioning-wise. I felt pretty good out there. The regular season is going to be here before we know it."

SAN ANTONIO SPURS COACH GREG POPOVICH

(on the game) "One down and one (pre-season game) to go and then we can
all enjoy the regular season. I thought it was a great effort, and it was really good to play against Houston's tough defense. It was enlightening for our guys and a good education for them."

(on the Rockets) "Houston will be one of the better teams in the west. They won't be surprising anybody with the talent they have. They added a lot of new talent and will contend for the playoffs."

(on Steve Novak) "He (Novak) is very confident with his shot, and he gets it off quickly and is a perfect fit for this team."

(on Beno Udrih) "Beno felt pretty good in his past workout and I think this next week he can get some contact in practice and get ready for the season."

SPURS CENTER FRANCISCO ELSON

(on the game) "It was good to be able to get some extra minutes, to get comfortable on the court, and learn to play with my new teammates. Getting adjusted to coach Popovich, my teammates, and playing with such a great team, are the biggest things I have to learn. It's exciting and a great opportunity, and now I have to learn how to play with them."

(on the Rockets) "They (Houston) have more shooters and more overall talent, and a little more athletic than they used to be. They are one of the toughest teams on defense in this league."

SPURS FORWARD MATT BONNER

(on his adjustment coming to the Spurs) "Anytime you're on a new team, the more game experience you can get, the better off you are. The system is very different with a lot of motion and reads you need to make on the court and where you need to be at certain times. I haven't shot the ball up to my expectations, but I'm very confident I can shoot in this league. I just need to learn how to play with these guys, and where to be on the court."

SPURS FORWARD ROBERT HORRY

(on the game) "This game gives our guys a reality check, and helps our big guys realize what they have to do to get their shots off. We wanted to look at different guys and access what they could do."

SPURS FORWARD MICHAEL FINLEY

(on the game) "Coach wanted to give guys a chance to run the system and see some different options. Physically I felt good and I felt like I needed to come out and get more comfortable with the system too."