Malik Rose Quotes (43 Quotes)

We're capable of more than that. We believed we were going to win.

It was so weird, ... People would say, 'You guys did great. I'm happy for you.' I'm like, 'But I was traded weeks ago.'

There's motivation there. All we can say is we didn't quit today and there's a good chance we'll see each other in the lottery, too.

What we've gone through is one of life's most cruel tests, a test of character and will and perseverance. This year has been very trying for us as players. I know it's been trying for everyone else, management and fans, especially. We're not giving up.

All the basketball players in the city, the NBA guys, the coaches, everybody told me to go see Herb. He's shaped the games of so many players.

The question to me is, what do we do You kind of can see where (commissioner David) Stern is coming from, but I wonder if he's at a game and it's someone he cares about. What would he do What are we supposed to do This ruling tells us, again, in no uncertain terms, don't go in the stands. So now my question is, what do we do if someone we love is getting attacked

They not only win big they seem to do it without any of the negative stuff that crops up everywhere else. No public feuds. No drug busts. No players griping over contracts or swearing at fans. That's just the way it is here, ... We've got a good group of guys.

It was tough for me sitting next to him and hearing (the fans), so, I can imagine what it was like for him. It's like somebody two feet tall just punching you and punching you, and you can't hit them back. It's so frustrating, but Al never let it bother him. Some days were better than others, but he never complained about it. It was just the price of fame.

I may not agree with everything he does or says, but he's the coach if he says it, I'll do it. Even if I think it's wrong or I don't think it will help, I have to do it because he gets paid to make the decisions.

There were moments when I found it difficult to compete and play with the ferocity I need. It's hard to play when you're not playing for anything. We put ourselves in this position and we have to deal with it. No one did it but us and we have to be held accountable for it. Monday morning quarterbacks are everywhere.

It's a matter of making one or two more plays be it offensively or defensively, most of the time defensively.

I felt proud of them and happy for them as friends. But then I was, not jealous in a bad way, but I just was wishing I had been there ... It did take me a while to accept that reality, but that's over with now.

I really don't place a lot of importance on starting. I want to be out there the last six minutes of the fourth quarter.

They're doing well, ... Jamal's having a great camp so far. Steph's been a little banged up, but when he's out there, he's learning. They have the toughest job. Coach is hardest on those guys. As they go, we're going to go, but they'll be OK.

I don't worry much but I'm starting to worry a little.

My instinct was to go for it, ... But then reality set in and I was like, What the heck am I doing

We learned as we went. You learn what it takes to be good. Once you know that, you learn what it takes to stay good.

I've been yelled at plenty of times so I know how to handle it. I mainly keep quiet. You can't argue back. With him, when he says something, you can't say, 'Well I was doing this.' You just have to take it.

There were plenty of moments where I was embarrassed.

Yeah, it's real hard, ... It's not like anybody's slacking. We're out there trying, and then, all of a sudden, he's out there yelling at you 'You didn't do this right You didn't do that right' It's frustrating. You've got to be real patient and learn how to take constructive criticism.

There were people laughing at us and joking on us out there on the court. I'm the kind of person, I want a little payback. So I'm hoping I'm here next year.

I don't tend to dwell on that too much. I'm starting to feel good, as far as confidence is concerned, but I'm just hoping things can keep going.

We're going to miss Coach, it was kind of weird leaving him in Cleveland. We're wishing him the best so he can get well and come back to us. I know he's dying to get out there.

Part of me thinks Larry likes it, people not knowing what he wants or whatever. All I know is I go as hard as I can when I'm out there. Sometimes, things just don't go your way.

You got two legs and two feet, a beating heart and a brain, you're equipped to play defense. I think this team definitely has what it takes to play defense. We just have to check what's inside our shirts to see if we're going to sustain that.

We can use these last 12 games to at least learn the first steps to building a defense. Maybe that'll help us. I don't know. We're not playing any shade of defense right now.

Coach has been leaning on me all season. He's been depending on me to do a lot and I haven't been able to hold up my end of the bargain. I'm just glad these last couple of weeks I've been able to do some positive things.

He's been really gaining confidence as of late, and it's looking good. He's out there playing well. He's moving defensively, he's hitting that shot, he's spreading the floor and he's scoring inside. He's finishing. So it's making him really, really dangerous.

I'll be scratching my head minutes down the road as to what happened. But it's over, and thank God I made it through.

Then, it wasn't a Finals atmosphere, but he went up against Bruce Bowen, one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he gave Bruce fits. Al wasn't one of those guys to play with the ball. He caught it and shot it or caught it and drove it and shot it. Not many people could stop him.

Those guys are consummate leaders, great professionals, great people. They weren't just great basketball players they were great people to be around. ... This organization has a knack for finding them. It's nice to have great people, but you've got to win games. They've found a way to do both.

He, like the rest of us, has a lot of things going on. He's in a position of power, he's the head coach, and ultimately he takes a lot of the blame for what happened this season. But he has a lot of decisions to make, just like a lot of guys on the team have a lot of decisions to make. I'm waiting to see what happens.

It's frustrating to lose. You just get tired of it. I don't like it at all. I hope we can correct it next year. We have a lot of talent in this locker room and a lot of weapons that can help us win, but we didn't come close to playing together or playing as a unit. That's what made winning very hard in my estimation...We didn't play together all year.

We have to look at the positives. We are competing. We are not getting blown out. We now have to take that all-important step and learn how to win.

Will it make a difference I don't know. I doubt it, to be honest, but it's to the point where I had to say something. If it falls on deaf ears, so be it.

All this stuff, we can't really worry about it. If we get better and keep getting better the rest of the year, that's our ultimate goal.

It is what it is. The cards have been dealt, we have to play them. We have to concentrate on getting better on defense. We have to use the last 12 games to learn the steps of getting better. Maybe that will help, I don't know.

It was basically a support meeting. Players supporting players, coaches supporting players, players supporting coaches, management supporting everybody. It was good. It wasn't anything like, 'You guys have to start playing harder.' It was just support.

Um. We still have time.

It looked like a different team on the defensive end. We made several mistakes, but we were trying to cover for one another, everybody was moving. It was a frenetic pace on defense and that's where we need to be.

But, you know, this is America . . . I just don't really care for it.

It's real tough, losing a game that you controlled the majority of. But I always try to look at the positive. At least we're not getting blown out now. We're competing and putting ourselves in a chance to win games. We just have to take that all-important step and learn how to win those types of games.

My mom always told me character is doing the right thing when people aren't looking. We've been awful this year and I'm sure people aren't watching us anymore. So if we do the right thing, it would be a great measure of character.