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AUDIO: Collins
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Q: Can you talk to us about Michael and exactly where he is as far as his comfort zone coming off the bench? How many minutes will he play and have you come up with an accord yet, or are you guys still working that out as training camp progresses?
Collins: We've always had an accord. Michael and I know exactly what
we want to do. It's just important to keep that in-house right now about how
we're going to handle that situation. But we feel very good; he's getting stronger
every day. We know that we have to keep his minutes down this year. Last year,
he worked so hard in the offseason -- he was trying to come back after being
off for three years and he went through broken ribs and tendinitis in his knee
and to start the season out. And then we got off to a very slow start and his
minutes just kept going up and up and up. We know this year we can't let that
happen, so we know to keep his minutes somewhere between 25 and 30 to start
the year out and then we'll go from there. But he's getting better, he's getting
stronger, he practices with us every day and he's taking it much slower this
year. Last year, he worked so hard in the summer that I think he felt like he
left a lot of his game in the summertime. So he wants to take his time -- he
has 28 days in the preseason. He's not expected to play any exhibition games
and be ready to go for opening night.
Q: How is Larry Hughes coming along? There's a lot of conjecture that it didn't work out last year as a point guard. How is he coming along at point guard from your perspective?
Collins: Well, Larry played great for us in the opening game. We've
only played one exhibition game, and he was five out of six on the floor, he
had 13 points, he had five rebounds. I know he had at least a couple of steals,
he had some assists. I really don't play a pure point guard offense, so I had
him on the floor with Juan Dixon at one particular time. Both of them shared
the ballhandling responsibilities. We have the kind of offensive attack where
we really don't have one guy who runs our offense. I like our perimeter guys
to be very flexible, and we got a lot of that in our opening game against Philly.
Larry has played exceptionally well, and he gives us another bigger guard on
the perimeter. I'm very happy with him.
Q: How has Kwame Brown done thus far in camp? I know you talk about taking the pressure of him this year, that he obviously felt last year. What are you looking for from him and how is he responding?
Collins: He played great. I thought he played the best game he's ever
played as a pro the other night against Philadelphia even though it was exhibition.
He came in off the bench and was very active defensively. He had 20 points,
five rebounds, he blocked a couple of shots, he ran the floor well. I think
the fact that we've added Jared Jeffries is a tremendous stimulus for Kwame.
Jared is playing so well that I think it has really lifted Kwame's play. These
guys really go at each other in practice every day. They both have really helped
each other. In fact, in the game tonight against Philly I am going to start
both of them together and see how that works. Kwame has been very, very good;
he's in much better condition this year than he was last year. I think he feels
more comfortable. I hope he can play like he played the other night because
he played very well for us.
Q: Looking at the Atlantic as a whole, can you size it up? Because the East is so different than the West, how do you play into that as the season goes, knowing that anyone could come out?
Collins: It's an interesting situation. Last year, you saw a team like
New Jersey go from 26 wins to the Finals. Jason Kidd came in and what he did
for that team -- and they've added Mutombo. Richard Jefferson will be a second-year
player. I expect New Jersey to be terrific. Boston had a great year last year;
Jim O'Brien did a great job with his team. They've added Vin Baker, and if he
fits in with Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce, they're going to be very good.
Detroit was a 50-win team last year. They've changed their team a little bit,
they've added Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, so they're going to be a little
bit of a new-look team. New Orleans will be very good. If Jamal Mashburn can
come back healthy, they have a very strong frontline. Baron Davis is a terrific
guard. Orlando, if they get Grant Hill healthy and back. You've got us. Miami
probably is a team right now that is probably going to be struggling more than
anybody. If you lose Zo, who's the heart and soul of that team, and that's a
huge blow. Philadelphia -- they've changed their team. They added Keith Van
Horn and Todd MacCulloch in the trade for Mutombo. So there are a lot of changes
that have gone on in the Atlantic Division. The Eastern Conference is going
to be who can stay healthy and whose team can blend well together. And again,
I think the important thing is that you've got to win at home, and you've got
find a way to go out and get some road victories. It's wide open. If everyone
can stay healthy, anything can happen. So I think we feel very good that if
we keep everybody healthy, we've got a lot of depth this year, and our goal
is to make the playoffs.
Q: You were in Detroit when Jerry first got there? How different is he now? How does having had that previous experience with him help now?
Collins: When Jerry came into Detroit, when I first traded for him,
he was coming from a situation in Philadelphia where there was so much written
that he and Allen Iverson couldn't get play together and all these types of
things. I think he saw that during the period of time he was in Detroit his
game grew, he was much better defensively and he does a much better job with
his shot selection. I think his whole game has blossomed. He's really matured;
he's very comfortable now with who he is as a player. I think it was tremendous
last year that he helped his team to a 50-win season. He took seven less shots
last year yet averaged over 21 points, five rebounds and four-plus assists,
so his game has grown. We feel very good about Jerry. We feel he's at the prime
of his career, and probably he's at the best stage he's ever been in terms of
just where he is with his total game.
Q: Getting back to Jared Jeffries real quick. Larry Brown was quoted as saying that if he had the top pick in last year's draft he would have selected Jared. I just wanted you to expound a little on what he brings to the table and what sort of role you envision for him this year.
Collins: Well, we're just thrilled with Jared. First of all, he's a
tremendously versatile player. We're playing him in both forward positions.
We've let him play out on the floor. We've played him as a power forward a little
bit as long as he's not playing against a real power player. He's an excellent
ballhandler. He's got a great instinct for the game. He's really helped our
defense -- he can cover so much territory. He helps guards on screen-roll. He
does a nice job of corralling the ball in the open court. He rotates to people,
so we're very pleased with him. His shooting -- the more he goes along, he's
getting more consistent with that. We want him to be a very versatile player.
We don't want to really tag him in one position. If he can get that ball off
the boards, we want him to push it up the floor and make plays for people. We're
sort of giving him the green light to play and be aggressive. We think he's
really going to thrive.