Rick Adelman Quotes (109 Quotes)

We were a team without a personality. With Ron, we have one.

I'm going to do what I can to win, and if it's not good enough, they'll tell me, ... But there's a big difference. This year, if we do well and I can get this team to win, it's my choice what I want to do at the end of the year. It's nobody else's. This isn't just a one-way street here.

It's a real sense of accomplishment. We had to fight through so many things. We made the trade, we had injuries, but we just kept coming. I'm really proud of the way they came back. They hung together, and now they're in.

It's not going to be the same team we saw in there last time. Other than Detroit, they were the most consistent team in the league this year on a game-by-game basis. That's how they got to where they are.

It was a great win for us. We've been struggling. Four games in five nights is tough and our guys stayed with it and got the win. We didn't have some of our people on the bench and we really needed those guys to be consistent.

He's definitely had an impact on the way we defend because he is a great defender. He gives us a guy who can basically shut down people. He also does things you just can't teach. Every situation, he has great instinct and he has great physical ability.

I even got on the Internet and saw how our cheerleaders are going against their cheerleaders (in an NBA.com poll). So I guess it is a rivalry.

To say the least, it's gratifying to come from where we were. Those guys in the locker room deserve a lot of credit. They stayed with it. I'm really proud of them and the way they came back and hung together, and now they're in.

The first 3 12 quarters, I don't know where we were, but we weren't into the game and (the Warriors) pretty much dominated it. I don't have an answer. We just never got it going and they started shooting better and moving the ball better.

He did fine, better than I thought. I think he was excited to start playing basketball again.

I don't know what happened in the second quarter. All of the sudden we just got stagnant and stopped doing things offensively, and then we got worse defensively while they took control of the game.

We're just trying to make sure somebody's on him all the time.

We needed to take it to them in the third quarter and not lose our concentration. I wasn't going to let them let it go. Either we respond and take control of the game or (the Nuggets) were going to do it. I just didn't want to let it slip away.

I think it's been a very good trade for us in that we needed a change in our season. What was happening wasn't working. Getting Ron more than halfway through the year, it's given us an energy level. That's been the biggest thing this team needed.

It's still in our control. We're ahead of them. If we win games, they can't catch us. That's the bottom line. If we don't win games, then we open it up for them to get back in it.

I thought he was unbelievable. He did everything you could do. It's a shame we wasted the effort he gave us and then Ron took over in the fourth quarter. I don't know how much better somebody can play, two games back-to-back, especially against that team.

We knew they were going to come out and attack us. It was the first game here. The crowd was into it.

He's such a quality individual. I never expect him to come out and not play hard. He's just got to find a way to get through this. Everybody has feelings at certain times, but those feelings can change as the season goes on.

That last possession says a lot about who we are as a team. With 3.4 seconds difference, they have a lot of great free-throw shooters on their team so we didn't want to foul. I just told them, 'we need a stop and if they miss a shot then foul right away.' We did a great job of getting the ball back, and Kevin Martin is fast.

We get these lulls where we our concentration wanders at both ends of the court.

This is the type of home game that really gives you a boost. We've made a huge climb. Now that's we're over (.500), we have to stay over it.

We didn't set the tone and we got down big. I thought we had wide open shots, and we couldn't make them. We stayed with it, but just got down too far, and they had a nice level of comfort. We didn't play as well as we needed to play to win this game.

Each time one of those (milestones) happens you appreciate it more because you know when you look back how much effort went it. I have been really blessed to be in two great situations in Portland and the last seven in Sacramento.

He's very willing to do that. He gives us something we really haven't had A guy that can put it on the floor and break people down. I think we should give it some time and see how this team grows together.

You've got to give yourself a chance in the fourth quarter. I don't know what we were down in the fourth quarter and we turned it over three times in a row and that was a killer. You can't do that. It was just unforced turnovers.

We definitely caught a break after they had such a hard game last night. It wasn't pretty, but I'll take it.

Kenny came up huge in the end. He was the guy they were leaving open and he hit that one shot with a little bit of luck, then the second one was dead center and he hit the free throws.

When you look at the team since we made the trade, we were in games, but we just couldn't get over the hump. The team's really getting accustomed to what we've got to do to win. We think we can beat anybody at this point. ... There's expectations for us now, and that's a good thing. When there's no expectations, it's no fun. It's drudgery.

When you're eight games under .500, things don't look very good. But I liked the way we finished.

We didn't have a lot of people on the bench and we needed the young guys to give us consistent minutes. They're learning and they're getting better.

Now we are going to the playoffs on a positive note and we'll see what happens tomorrow night and prepare for whoever we play.

I didn't envision anything. At the time, we were just trying to right the ship. I didn't really know what was going to happen.

The patience at the end of the game there when Brad hit the three was terrific. We had plenty of time, we moved the ball around and they made a mistake and left Brad standing there. Then in the overtime we took control, especially when Odom fouled out.

We came back with a good attitude today. They've put themselves in a position to have a great trip.

We're just trying to get one of those eight (playoff) spots, we don't care where it is. It's going to be a fight right down to the end.

I told him I would put the ball in his hands, call plays for him, make him make decisions.

Obviously it was a real disappointing loss. We did very poorly offensively in the second quarter and just couldn't play well as a team. They got ahead of us and we couldn't get the stops to get into the game.

That's a tough loss. It's very disappointing to have lost that game, the last game of the trip.

We couldn't stop them in the second half. Once they got going that's who they are. They spread the court and attack you. They are a dangerous team.

He's just been a monster. They have a hard time guarding him. He's quick, he's aggressive, he's obviously strong. I think the most impressive thing is the way he rebounded the ball.

We moved the ball and they had a hard time guarding us. From the start of the third quarter we really jumped on them and maintained. This was just a solid win.

We really moved the ball well tonight. We still didn't shoot as well as we can. We had a lot of assists, but they're a hard team to guard. You know they were going to make a run they always do here.

That's a tough loss. We have to play just a bit better. We made the stops we needed to make tonight, and we certainly did enough defensively. We just have to play better.

In the second half, we didn't stop them. I have to give my guys credit. We had the chance to put it away. When it was tied with three minutes to go in the game, we didn't do what you have to do to win a game like this. We were impatient and we forced the issue and it cost us the game.

I've been doing this a long time and that's just the way things happen. I wasn't real happy with the whole thing either, but you've got to play the cards you're dealt with.

This was a great win for us. We've been struggling, injured, with four games in five nights. But we stayed with it and got it done.

We had a great trip. We played consistently, and then came out today and played very well offensively. I just felt that if we could make a few stops and maintain our concentration we could pull away. We have put ourselves in pretty good position going home.

We've put ourselves in playoff position now, we're right there. There are expectations, and this is good, but there's no time to relax.

He did as well as he could. He hadn't been working out that much because he didn't expect the trade. I thought he was winded and tried to get him some shorter minutes in the second half.

We finished the season strong. We had three days off before the playoffs, so we had an extra day. It wasn't fatigue tonight, it was the Spurs. It is going to be a battle. I think that we are a better team than we played today.