Maurice Cheeks Quotes (174 Quotes)

I thought Kevin played well. I think he had our offense going a little bit, but on the flip side I think sometimes you want to bring Kyle in to stretch the defense and give Allen Iverson and Chris (Webber) a little more room to operate.

The zone hurt us quite a bit. We couldn't get any shots we couldn't get any dribble penetration. We didn't make any shots and certainly our defense was not up to par.

I think we're getting a little better on the defensive end. If we're going to make some hay, we're going to have to do it on defense.

I can look at it and say some of the guys have had a lot of experience because of the guys that have been hurt, but I also would like to have the guys that are going to play out on the court,

I certainly thought we'd win more than 43 games.

Players have a lot of knowledge. It would be silly of me to say if they suggest something that I wouldn't look at it.

Allen has been playing some great basketball for us and Chris is playing like he did a few seasons ago. We need to keep picking up wins if we're going to be a playoff team.

First of all, New Jersey is a very good basketball team. We're working our way back. We started out good and they started making some shots. Vince (Carter) made some shots and our defense still has to get better.

It's unfortunate when a guy who could play like that and have the ability that he had is not be able to play. He was one of the few guys who could shoot the three, break you down and post up.

I wouldn't say I'm worried about it, but that's what training camp is going to lend itself to. It's going to allow me to see where it's going to come from.

If there's anything wrong with him at all, I'd rather him sit out and play in a regular-season game than a preseason one, ... But I think guys need to get a game or two under their belt to get ready for the regular season. It's not (that) they have to, but I'd like to see it.

He was our best option in terms of putting the ball in his hands. I thought his defense on Garnett was just excellent.

When you see Kyle shooting the ball the way he's capable of shooting the ball, and giving Andre more offensive opportunities, and even Sam, I think we're a more dangerous team that way.

The organization does not condone anything like that.

Once he gets a consistent jump shot, he can be a much more effective player, ... I think people discredit his toughness. He has to keep working on his jump shot.

We knew we were coming in here playing a team that had just beaten us on our own home court. I told our guys that until we are mathematically out of this we need to keep up the effort.

We know how these games are. We've been on the other side. We had games we thought we won, and the other team came back. San Antonio had the game won.

When a guy has to sit for whatever reason, another guys steps in. Michael Bradley's a prime example. He's been impressive. He has pretty much taken advantage of an opportunity with guys being out.

No, we lost four of five games and it didn't matter who it was. We had to win a basketball game and it so happened to be against Portland.

I'm glad to have him back. Especially with Yao Ming here. You have to be very tentative with how you play Yao Ming.

It was important for us coming home for these four games that we establish some home-court (advantage), so when teams come in here they realize they have to play their best game to beat us.

Every time you're in an NBA game, a team is going to make a run and they're going to make some shots at some point. Early on they missed a lot of shots, which allowed us to get the lead that we had.

If you give teams like (Detroit) so many second chances, it is going to come back and haunt you. And that's what it did.

They tried to run us from the beginning knowing that we played last night. They did a good job. We did get back into it late, but were never really a threat.

I just can't give him a spot right now.

Yesterday was a great practice with guys who came back like Johnny (Salmons) who was very good yesterday, and Kyle (Korver) and Andre (Iguodala). They uplifted the practice with the guys who are here trying to make a team. Everybody played pretty well. It was a great practice yesterday,

When you play a team like Miami, you cannot start the way we started. You put yourself in such a hole, and you have to climb out of it. You can't do that against a good team. They space the floor, they have a great post player. ... Then they spread the floor with their shooters.

They're better at their game than we are at stopping it. Our defense was not great, but I thought our rotations were good. They continued to pass the ball, and consequently we had to guard them for 24 seconds per possession, and that can beat you down.

That's not the best defense you can play. Our defense just has to get better in order for us to win games. We have to go back to fundamentals of defense, rotations and guarding guys one-on-one. You have to want to play defense.

I am not going to get upset over Johnny taking shots. I did say the next time he has that opportunity to drive the basketball. We were in the penalty, so drive the ball, maybe get a foul, or the defense collapses and kick it out.

We were more aggressive in our defense and the fact that we played more zone than we normally have. We were active in our zone, we were talking in our zone and we played a little more full-court defense.

In the fourth quarter, they packed it in and we couldn't make shots. When you don't make shots, the zone is much more effective.

I think NBA players can adapt and certainly Coach K can adapt to NBA players.

a lot of things ... about energy, getting out and being ready to play from the beginning. From the start, our attention to detail was great.

You won't win games by going 0-for-19, but you will never, ever win a game going 0-for-19 and 24 turnovers. It's amazing we were that close in the game.

Webber's a veteran who knows how to play. We try to put him in the same situations he had while he was here. He understands how to play this game.

For me, it's a pretty sad moment, because I played for Jimmy. He's always been a part of my coaching, the reason being he's a guy who has been through every situation imaginable. Any time something happened on or off the court, he would either beat me to coming to ask him what I should do, or I'd be going to him anyway. That's the reason why he's going to be missed so much.

Nah, it wasn't that bad, ... Twenty-seven percent, c'mon. When Kyle misses a foul shot, I knew we were in trouble.

I talked to him about it before the game. He had about 11 charges during camp and he had three today. The fact is, he played an offensive game, he plays a defensive game, he does a lot of things to impress you.

Allen is one of the few guys that can tolerate a lot of pain. If Allen can't play, you know he's really, really hurt.

I've been over there before. We have to move on. You can't always live in the past of what we did or what we were. The Blazers moved on and I moved on.

He's a very versatile player that can play the one, two or three positions. You're trying to put the ball in his hands and allow Allen to come up and make a play.

The way they play, most people say you can't win that way, but that's how they play and they have one of the smartest point guards (Nash) in the league. They play aggressive, offensive basketball.

I don't think Kyle is our best on-the-ball defender, but as an off-the-ball defender, he's pretty good. I don't have a problem with Kyle being in the game at that particular time.

We had a lot of guys step up when A.I. went down. It was about trying to play and perform.

I'm hoping I'm here a long time, ... Stability can go a long way for players and teams. They know what to expect.

It's us trying to stay together, which we will, and to keep working to figuring out how to win games. There are a lot of things we've got to work on.

We all think that Andre is this veteran player, because he has played so many games in his first two seasons. We take for granted that he should be at another level, but he has to grow a little more.

We want to funnel the ball to him on defense. And you know what He's a much better offensive player than people give him credit for. We're going to give him a chance to show it.

We can't have games like San Antonio and Chicago anymore. That's not going to cut it. We have to be on the floor competing night in and night out.