Gary Payton Quotations

We're more focused on the road. On the road, those hills we create for ourselves look a lot higher.

What they were doing in the first half we were doing in the second half.

We're going to have to play freely and open.

We knew they were going to make a run, but we didn't know we were going to go cold like we did and not execute. We were really executing well until the end, then we stopped playing defense and let them do what they wanted.

We always have to be the ones to give us a little energy.

When I come into camp, I'm going to try to help him,

Me and him are going to click real, real well, ... I'm going to take him under my wing. I'm going to make sure he doesn't get mad at situations where it's not even necessary.

I didn't like him as light as he was. He should have been a little bulkier. That's when he's Shaq Diesel.

I didn't like him as light as he was,

I don't think Shaq really worries about it. I think he wants to play well, but he doesn't really worry about it. ... It's over.

He fooled us. Usually, we get the tantrum and all of that. He can say some mean stuff. But this time, he went to an opposite approach. I never thought I'd ever see that from him. He must have danced a good three or four minutes. He was good out there, twirling around, light on his feet. We got some spirit from that.

He looked pretty good. He just has to get his timing back, and then it's going to be good for us.

We've got to take it upon ourselves to play defense as individuals.

He didn't like the 19 (points) and 10 (rebounds, actually 7.8) he was getting (in the playoffs). This year we'll get him back to 26 and 12 or 13, and we'll be fine.

I think we got to get a win to make it 2-2, to make people understand that we can beat them, that they don't have any advantage over us. We just have to make a statement like that.

I think (Stern) is just trying to get our image back.

Nah, ... The trash-talking cost me a lot of money, now...

I think Pat realized he didn't have that maturity. With Shaq getting hurt and Wade getting hurt, I think he needed someone who could make big shots and big plays. I think he went out and did that.

I think I can still play with a lot of people in this league,

We have people calling from out-of-state who want to come and help. As we begin this recovery, we will serve as a referral service for volunteers.

We have a lot of new guys coming in that are going to have to learn the system. And we are going to have to get it together right away. I think that is where a lot of people are concerned about us. We have a good shot, we have a lot of talent here and we have to get cohesive very quickly.

When he bullies people, that's when he's at his best,

What I think Pat is doing is he's trying to get us perfect. There's no coach that would come out and say, 'You're perfect,' because once you hear your coach say that, then we'll slip up and we'll start slacking. He's doing what he's supposed to. He's supposed to stay on us like that.

We've got to expect a war. Everybody's overlooking this team, but this is a very good team.

We want to win basketball games, and not let our egos get in the way. Everybody on this team has, at one point, been a star or a starter or a bigger part of their team. ... We have to understand that we are talking about wins, not who is going to have the points.

We all had a skip in our step. We had to go out and prove we can play against a top team. We went out and established ourselves.

We're very close, and when he steps up for me like that, it's hard to tell him no.

The simple fact is back in the day when (guard) Alvin Robertson and (guard) Derek Harper were guarding you, they could hand-check you and do everything else and you had to shoot over them. They were making it tough for you. You had to earn everything.

They've got a legit team. You can't go in there and say it's a win. You've got to take those guys seriously now.

A lot of guys are stepping up, a lot of things are happening for us that are good. Everybody's stepping in and playing their roles, so all we think about is winning right now. We're starting to jell a little bit.

This is what we're supposed to be here for. We're supposed to step up for things like this.

They're athletic and young and they're all freewheeling. They're playing really loose, so it's going to be a good challenge.

They're all athletic and young and they're all free willing. They (Chicago) are playing really loose. It's going to be a good challenge. We're going to have Shaq back in there and all of us playing on the same page with everybody back.

It's all about mentality. We play these teams four or five times a year anyway, so we just need to not do the things that caused us to lose to them in the regular season.

It's him. He brought his system here, and he wanted us to run. Most of the guys on this team want to run.

It's got to be up to Shaq. If he hits the boards like that with us, we're going to win a lot of basketball games.

Everybody's playing the way they're supposed to play. Everybody's doing their job. Everybody's being the role player that they've got to be and doing the things they need to do. It helps when you've got a lot of veterans on your team.

It's been very hard coming from where I come from, starting all my time. But right now it's not about that. It's about what we have to accomplish to get to a championship.

They wanted the scores to go up because they wanted the fans to come back. They want high-flying dunks, a lot of people scoring and that's what they're getting. The people they want to see score, they're getting that, and their TV ratings go up.

It's not a lollygag thing. You've got to go hard on everything.

I'm going to try to help Jason as much as possible. He has never had a guy like me to guide him. When I come into camp, I'm going to try to help him. I'm not going to try to beat him up or beat him down.

I hope we've gotten past that sense of lackadaisical play.

I like him the way he is now. I think he just wanted to get in shape to show people he can do that. Shaq is Shaq when he's big and when he can muscle people around. I think people thought they could muscle him around. He didn't feel comfortable with that. ... It'll be a big difference.

Hopefully it's not going to be long for him to be out. He's a big guy. He came down and twisted his ankle pretty bad. I saw it.

George said I needed to start giving him something special,

My oldest brother and my middle brother would always beat me up and take the ball from me. I used to cry a lot, so I used to come in here and get my dad. He used to be on my team, so he used to hold them down and let me score the basket.

Not being able to rebound better was a thorn in our foot.

Way to rock lil' homie. Much Love.

It is much easier to be the hunter than the hunted. When you are the one not expected to do anything, you play better.