Postgame Quotes: Suns at Bobcats, Jan. 23, 2009

(On fatigue being a factor)
“We had no energy. Somehow we have to find some energy. Again, it was the turnovers. Maybe it was the turnovers that zapped a lot of our energy away. Boris (Diaw) had a big game for them. It was a tough night.”

(On Steve Nash’s back)
“His back was bothering him early in the game, so I decided to take him out. When he shot an air ball in the third quarter, I knew his back was giving him problems. That’s when I decided to take him out for the rest of the game.”

(On his return to Charlotte)
“It was fun going against my old teammates. All of those guys are like brothers to me. We used to all go over to each others’ houses when I was here.”

(On facing former teammates Raja Bell and Boris Diaw for the first time this season)
“It was weird facing those guys at first, but it’s a business. We’ve all gone through it before. You just have to keep focused when something like that happens.”

(On Raja Bell and Boris Diaw)
“They played about as well as I could ever expect. I’m so proud of Raja because he just plays, he does all the little things. And Boris was phenomenal tonight. I think they’ve both been great since we got them. Under the circumstances it was a pretty nice ending.”

(On the team’s progress)
“We’re 1,000 percent better. Our players are better. We have a lot of guys that have improved, especially Emeka, certainly Raymond and Gerald. I think Gerald, every time he steps out on the court he’s playing with a triple double now, the way he’s playing, in my mind. A lot of our young people have gotten better. I think as a team we are doing a better job as coaches in terms of having a rotation as far as guys knowing what their roles are. We defend better, we rebound better, we pass the ball better, our shot selection is better; I don’t think there is an area where we haven’t dramatically improved.”

(On whether or not the goal is to make the playoffs)
“It’s got to be. Even if you don’t make it, you’ve got to be shooting for it as long as it’s mathematically possible. We’re playing good basketball right now and I think we can get better. We’re playing hard and we play defense. We understand that we’re not going to run the table, but we’re going to work for it and that’s got to be our goal as long as it’s possible.”

(On Boris Diaw’s game tonight)
“I think his game spoke for itself tonight. I said he was my hero tonight. He’s a special player. When he’s confident and aggressive and really feeling it, he is as good as anybody.”

(On the game)
“It was a lot of fun. It was a good game. It was a little different because it was against the team that I was traded from, but it was definitely a great game. I’m definitely feeling good because it was another good team that we beat.”