Ben Wallace Quotations

We are a veteran team that knows what it takes to go out there and execute. We know that sometimes it goes, and sometimes it does not. There is no need to get excited about any one situation. We know we have to go out and play the game.

When we come out with that type of focus and that type of energy, it's tough for teams to beat us. When we play the way we played tonight, we make it look like that. We make the game look easy.

When we come out and play the way we did tonight, we always make it easy on ourselves regardless of who we're playing. If we play with this type of energy and effort, we usually make it easy for ourselves and that's what we have to get back to doing.

When we got out there and are active on the defensive end that allows us to get easy baskets on the offensive end. Taking care of the basketball and getting set defense, that's when we're playing Pistons basketball.

We're motivated to keep this up because we want home-court advantage, after losing Game 7 on the road at San Antonio last year. That will help us get back to being champions.

We know you can't win a championship in December. We've been there before.

We know what we've got to do and we know what we're not doing. We just have to go out there and get it done.

We'll see what we have tonight. We've got a job to do and we need to do it.

The only pressure I put up on myself is to go out there and rebound the basketball, make my presence felt on the defensive end, make plays.

There ain't nothing to worry about, because you're going to win some and you're going to lose some.

We set out from the beginning of the season to try and win every game. It's not about who we're playing, it's about going out there and taking care of our business.

Nobody wants to see us play. Everybody already knows what we do. But it's cool. But they got no choice, (as) long as we continue to win.

Right now, it's not about winning 50 games, 60 games, whatever. Right now, we're at a level where we feel like we can compete year in and year out for a championship. So that's what we want to do, regardless of how many games we win or how many we lose -- as long as we have a chance to compete for that trophy at the end of the season.

Right now, I'm not really thinking about any of that. I'm just out here trying to have fun, play basketball.

If we keep winning, they won't have any choice.

I don't know -- that's why we play the games, ... We've got a new coach, new system, got a couple new guys, so regardless of how good you are as individuals, it's going to take a team effort.

I don't think we played with the heart and desire that we usually play with. We didn't come out and impose our will on this team. This league is strange like that, you look to come out and win every game but things happen. Some nights it doesn't go for you and tonight was one of those nights.

I enjoy being here. I enjoy these guys that I'm playing with. I owe everything to these guys here not talking about this, not making a big buzz about me being a free agent. We just go out there every night, and (I) do whatever I can do to help this team win.

What we focus on every night is going out there and making this thing work and finding ways to win games.

Guys came out tonight and played with a lot of energy, just went out there and played basketball. Moved the ball from side to side and forced the defense to make a couple mistakes and made them second-guess.

He was so close and it sort of slipped away.

He didn't cut it, did he? Good. I like that hair. I'm rolling with him.

He carried us tonight. He's been like that all season.

Knowing Tony, I know he wouldn't go in the stands for no reason. You've got to protect your family.

I think it says a lot about the league, that you don't have to come out and try to dominate the basketball and dominate the game in order to have individual success.

I think it says a lot about the character of the guys in this locker room. We have had guys who have been hurting a little bit, who could have taken some time off. But they choose to come out and give us whatever they've got. That's all we ask.

It didn't matter, they were still going to lose. As long as we win the game, I am good. I don't have so much pride that I can't see the big picture.

I thought they were the more poised team down the stretch. I thought we maybe lined up too many threes down the stretch and tried to force the outcome instead of doing what we usually do.

I think that says a lot about the guys here; being dedicated to winning. And it says a lot about the organization being dedicated to winning and what they have to do to keep this group together.

Larry 'let' me be a part of the offense? ... That was deep right there. When I'm on the floor, I've got to be part of the offense. There's just no other way to have it. I think Larry did a great job of throwing little wrinkles out there. He called my number here and there and got me the ball in places where I can be effective. If I'm out on the floor, I'm going to be part of the offense. Unless it's Rick Carlisle, and I'm just standing around.

I think Dice is one of those that last year probably suffered the most. After the loss, he was really down. He really wanted it. We did what we could do to try to win it, so this year we're going to go out there knowing how he felt last year after losing the championship.

Right now, that's what we're playing for. We're not worried about who they put in front of us or who we've got to play this week or next week. We're just trying to win every game we possibly can.

Rip and Chauncey have been doing a great job for us all season. Seems like every time we get in a tough situation, one of them steps up.

That championship year we had, everybody played. It wasn't trying to win with one or two guys. We used everybody that we had, including our bench. We've got to use everybody. That's the only way you can win in this league.

Nah. Our goal is still the same, regardless of where we're playing or who we're playing against. It's still the same.

I was having one of those out-of-body experiences. Just trying to be active, just trying to get to the boards, just trying to make things happen.

I think our whole team has picked it up. We're getting the ball moved from side to side, forcing teams to defend, not letting teams come out and lock in on the plays we're running but force them to cover everyone on the floor. And when we do that, I think we're at our best.

I think everybody is making a conscious effort to go out and get it done on the defensive end. We hang our hats on the defensive end, being able to get stops and forcing teams to take tough shots.

It don't mean nothing to us, man. We just want to go out and try to win every game that we possibly can. Then, at the end of the season, we add them up and, hopefully, we can end up with home-court advantage. That's the only thing that we're shooting for right now.

It definitely helped our team. I think it helped everybody on our team get better. He played a major role in us winning a championship, so we're glad it happened.

I thought he would have had 16 way before now.

That's the key to our success. Everyone just goes out and plays their role. No one is trying to do it by themselves. Everyone is just relaxed and going through the flow.

That's the way it goes if that's the case. I'm not going to make a big deal of it. There are bigger things still to go after.

I wasn't doing anything special for him - that's how I play every night. No. 1 pick, No. 2 pick or a cagey veteran - it is all the same to me.

Whoever wins this is the world real basketball champion.

We just went through the motions. We didn't put forth a good enough effort. We didn't deserve to win.

We just came out and moved the ball around.

We're all underrated as defenders on this team.

We don't expect to go out there in one night and be back to where we were a couple months ago. We have to build that.

We're chasing something bigger than Miami, or anybody else. We have an opportunity to do something special. We're not worried about sending messages.

We dug a hole and had to fight to try and get back in the game. And when you play like that, sometimes it just bites you in the end -- when you play garbage basketball for the first 24 minutes.

We're always going to stick to our concept. There's no need to change.

We'll use the home-court advantage if we have to. But I think the teams that are going to be successful in these playoffs are going to be the teams that go on the road and win.

We had a little more energy because we were at home. It's tough to play away from home on Christmas.

Yeah, we expect anytime a team gets a win on us now, they're going to celebrate a little bit. We remember that and we'll take it into the game as a little extra motivation.

We had control of the game. We didn't really play with the heart and desire that we usually play with. We didn't come out and impose our will on this team.

We had control of the game and let it get out of hand.

We got off to a slow start, but for the most part, we were able to pick it up and take control of the game. The bench did a great job of keeping the wheels turning and giving us a lot of energy.

We haven't been playing well. Even the last couple of games we won didn't really feel like wins. We've got to go out there and play a little bit harder.

You know you got to be on top of your game or you're going to get embarrassed.

We're not sure we'll begin on the approved site.

When a team is short-handed, you can't allow them to hang around and feed off their emotions. Knowing that they got guys out, guys want to come out and play a little extra hard, try to pick it up. You can't afford to let those type teams hang around too long.

We came out and moved the ball around, forced them to go to their second and third option - not allow them to walk down and catch the ball where they want to catch it at.

We don't look for our bench to come in there and carry us. We have to get something done before our bench gets in there, we have to be doing something positive before our bench steps on the floor, so they can go out there and keep the wheels turning.

We put ourselves in a tough situation. We had to bail ourselves out with our defense. If we play like that for three quarters, it's going to take an effort like that down the stretch to get a victory. We have to start giving that effort from the start.

We don't care about the numbers. We just want to add them up at the end of the season and come up with home-court advantage.

When you get the opportunity to close a team out, you just have to come out with a lot of energy early. You just have to go out there and withstand some of their energy, play through it, and hopefully they'll wear themselves down.

We've got to get back to making stops when we need them.

When we play like we did today, good things happen. When we play like that, we make the game look easy.

We wasted the first half. We came out in the second half and tried to fight and claw to get back into the game. Once we got back into the game, they made big plays. When you play like that sometimes it gets you in the end. This was one of those nights.

Every time I step out onto the floor, there's no question why I'm out there. I play to win. I don't want to settle for being a good team. I want to reach greatness. None of this was ever given to me. I had to work for everything that I've got. I continue to work, and I continue to come out and try to improve on my game, night in and night out.

We're talking about it, getting back to what we were doing early in the season, when we were getting stops that would lead to easy baskets. Where everybody was getting buckets in transition and forcing teams to turn the ball over, everybody getting out and running. ... Now, we're just trying to get back to where we were.

We've been chased for a long time. We know what kind of beast these playoffs are. We will be prepared for everything and we will go into every single game ready to fight for our lives.

We've been chased for a long time, so it doesn't change for us. We've still got to come out and do what we do. We've been here before, we know what type of situations we've been in and we know what type of beast the playoffs bring. You've got to be prepared for everything.

We got a couple of new guys coming off the bench. Our bench has been doing a great job for us, coming in and maintaining.

We just wanted to tighten it up a little bit, get in the passing lanes, force them to go to their second or third options, not allow them to just catch the ball where they want to catch it at. Once we came out and did that, we had a little success with it.

We just wanted to give ourselves every opportunity to win games. Guys came out ready to play with a lot of energy but the playoffs is a whole different beast. This game won't mean anything for that. Everybody knows teams step up their game once the playoffs start.

We just wanted to come out with a lot of energy early in the game and take control of the game and we were able to do that. That was our game plan and we had good success doing it.

We got outworked all night. That's it. No other comments.

You got a chance to see some of the younger guys get out there -- you know, have a little fun, get their feet wet, so to speak.

Before Larry got here, we knew what kind of team we had. With him gone, we still know we capable of getting it done.

Everybody in this locker room that went through that Game 7 really started to prepare themselves and get ready for the season probably two weeks after that Game 7. That was the big reason we came back so focused and ready to play.

Flip allows you to go out there and play. You know if you make mistakes, he'll allow you to play through it. Coach Brown, you know, he likes to coach, pretty much every possession if he can. That's his passion ? he loves to coach.

Every time we play Miami, regardless if it's in the playoffs or a regular-season game or pre-season game, the tension, the excitement, everything is there.

I used to play with the weights, but once I hit my sophomore year, I got serious. That's when I got addicted. You know, you start seeing a couple of rips and you like how it looks and you keep working, and it goes from there. Now I am addicted. I enjoy working out. I enjoy being in the weight room.

The thing that he didn't show in Detroit was the passion for the game to want to go out there and want to dominate the game.

Sometimes, when you have a new coach, a new system, a new group of guys, it takes time to jell together, ... But there's no doubt in my mind that we're eventually going to come together as a team and make that title run.

Team basketball is a lost art nowadays, but it's always going to win. You can win in the regular season, but if you don't play together as a team it's going to be tough to win in the playoffs teams. And I think now teams are starting to recognize that.

Right now, we're chasing something bigger than Miami or anybody else. Right now, we're having a lot of fun. We have a nice streak going. We've got an opportunity to do something special.

Same way we've been doing it all season ? just going out and playing with a lot of energy, knowing that it really doesn't matter who we're playing against. We're just trying to go out and win every game, just to put ourselves in a better situation than we were in last year.

Our defense got lost in the shuffle. When that happens, that's when we get away from playing the way we're capable of playing. We have to be more aggressive on the defensive end.

No regrets. I never live with regrets. You just put the past behind you and live with it. And I think if you have regrets, you really don't learn lessons. It's a life lesson, you learn from the past. You just keep on moving, so that's what I do.

Any team in the NBA would have won that gold medal instead of a team of individuals.

That's how we've been all year. We don't panic, regardless of the situation.

That's how we've been playing all year. We're not going to panic regardless of what the situation is. We're just going to go out there, execute, continue to try and get stops. We know if we get stops, we're capable of scoring the ball.

You've just got to wait and see how it plays out. If it comes together like they put it down on paper it'll be a great. But if not, it might fall apart.

This game doesn't mean a whole lot. The playoffs are a whole different game. I know that's a broken record but that's what it is.

They're a struggling team right now, trying to find their identity. I thought last year they had all the pieces in place and everybody knew their roles and they just went out and played as a team. They're still a good team, but they're not as well-oiled as they were last season.

A big ball of energy. I'm happy to see him back out there. I know it was probably eating him up, sitting on the sideline and watching games and wanting to be out there. It's going to help the team a whole lot, especially with the energy boost.

It wasn't really about making plays but making stops. We know we can make plays, we just need to make stops and give ourselves the opportunity.