(On Timofey Mozgov):
"I think since he’s came in here, he’s applied himself extremely well. He’s fit right in and he’s a great fit for our team. The skill set that he has and his activity level is just a great fit for our team. We’ll miss Andy Varejao for a good period of time. We played not a short period of time without our starting center but obviously when Timo (Timofey) came in, he filled a big void and he’s just applied himself extremely well."
(On his team’s defense):
"I think this was our best defensive game of the year for a couple of reasons. Number one, we have added some things defensively and made some changes. We adhered to our principles and performed to the level that we need to perform to hold a score down and hold some outstanding players on our opponents’ team down. Chicago is a high-level team and I thought, defensively, we were able today to control that end of the court. I have to mention Kyrie Irving, who’s been playing great basketball since day one this year. In addition to an outstanding offensive season, he’s having a great defensive season. If you look at our last two games, he’s playing against two of the premier point guards in the NBA for quite some time (in) Chris Paul and Derrick Rose. He’s being asked a lot at that end of the court and he is giving us a lot. You just look at his performance against those two guys defensively and I think that speaks volume."
(On the wrinkles he added to the defense):
“We improved some things and they fit well with our new roster. We incorporated some new players to our team and we tried to make changes that suited the skill set of the new players that we brought in and it has (worked well). We just have to continue in that path.”
(On the importance of not taking a step back after two road wins):
"It was very important. I told you all before we left, a big part of our trip to the West Coast was going to be our midseason-preseason camp because we had to spend significant time practicing even at the expense of fatigue to pull our team together, to get everyone on the same page, to incorporate new players, to re-incorporate injured guys like LeBron (James) and Shawn (Marion) coming back, to put in some wrinkles to our game and to really practice in addition to playing five games in nine days. Four of those five games were winnable games for us. We played an excellent game at Golden State. We lost in the last quarter and we played a terrific game in Phoenix. We lost in the last minute and then we won the two in the back-to-back in L.A. (We) had one poor game in Sacramento. We wanted to come home and show that we had actually moved from one point to the next in a positive direction…We have a long way to go, but I feel the ship is sailing in the right direction in every respect."
(On the team’s defense tonight being the best of the year):
“It is because it’s the recent one on the mind tonight. We came in with a lot of energy and effort and we competed. That’s all you can ask for.”
(On the first game back coming off of the road trip):
“It’s the toughest one. I’m just trying to get acclimated back to the Eastern Time Zone and things of that nature. We came in and we understood how important these games are for us, just to keep on going in the direction we’re going in. It was a good test for us.”
(On being comfortable with where the team is right now):
“I like where we’ve been the past few games. The last week we’ve played some really, really good basketball. From the second half of the Phoenix game all the way to tonight, we’ve played some really good basketball. It’s a good feeling for us, understanding that this is what we have, we know what we have, and you’re going and moving in the direction knowing that you have to get better every day.”
(On keeping his back healthy):
“It’s just a weird thing…just continue to get treatment. Today I felt great, minus getting hit in the nose. It’s just one of those things that you just have to keep on, keep lose and continue to get all the work with our training staff and just go from there.”
(On what was learned from the West Coast trip):
“Getting Trix (Shawn Marion) and Bron (LeBron James) back was big for us. We didn’t play well in Phoenix, but we were able to respond when we got to Los Angeles. Getting three in a row here, we’re pretty happy about it but we’re not going to settle now because we have a few games in a row here at home and then we’re going to go on the road and go from there. It’s just something we have to deal with. We needed to integrate those guys back into different plays. Timo (Timofey Mosgov) and J.R. (Smith) are getting used to the different sets and playing out there. I think most of the guys have fresh legs and we’ll continue to keep working.”
(On the team’s defense tonight being the best of the year):
“We’ve had some pretty good defensive games, but for us it’s about having that consistency for four quarters and I think we played a full 48 minute game together.”
(On the key to the recent offense):
“Just taking it one day at a time and watching a lot of film together and being very communicative about what we want to accomplish on that end. Our offense is dictated by our defense. Every single day we watch film, we have open dialogue with one another. I think that’s the best thing about this team. When someone sees something, we’re not afraid to talk to one another if it’s for the betterment of the team.”
(On tonight’s game): “We started slowly. We didn’t rebound well. We didn’t get back (on defense) and didn’t do any of the things that are necessary to win on the road against a good team.”
(On injuries affecting his team’s intensity): “We’re not playing well in any aspect of the game. So we’re not giving ourselves a chance to win. Usually if you’re playing great defense, you’re rebounding the ball and you’re keeping your turnovers down, you’re going to be in a position to win no matter who you’re playing against, no matter where you’re playing and no matter who is playing. But if you don’t do those three things, then you’re not going to be in a position to win. Right now we’re not a multiple effort team. We’re not concentrating and we’re not doing our job, so we’ve got to change that.”
(On the Cavs tonight): “(Timofey Mozgov) is a good player. He’s long and he fits them well. I thought J.R. Smith played great. He fits them well. LeBron (James) and Kyrie (Irving) were who they are. I thought (Kevin) Love played a very good game. They’re a deep team.”
(On how to fix his team’s recent struggles): “Everybody has to be on the same page. Until then, we’re going to get our (butts) kicked. The whole team (has) a lack of communicating to one another when we’re on the floor. Everybody’s quiet. Until then, we’re going to get the same results.”
(On dealing with his team’s injuries): “No matter who is on the floor, who’s coming back or who’s out, we’ve just got to compete. My biggest thing is that we’ve just got to compete and make sure that we let the opponent know that we came to play.”
(On his team’s recent losing streak): “We’ve got to practice harder. We can’t be taking days off. We’re going to go through rough stretches, but we’ve got to practice harder. We’ve got to play with some energy. The energy wasn’t right (tonight). We’ve just got to find a way to push ourselves out of this. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. The games are going to keep coming.”