Elton Brand Quotations

We still need to prove that we're still a top-notch organization. We're going towards that road. I don't have PlayStation in my locker, flat screens or DVD's in my locker.

We still need to prove that we're still a top-notch organization, ... We're going towards that road. I don't have PlayStation in my locker, flat screens or DVD's in my locker.

There is no question that series would be exciting to play. Not only for the Western Conference finals implications but also for the rivalry.

We knew they were white-hot and were winning a lot of ballgames, but we were confident coming in. Even down four at the half, we were still confident. We knew that once we made our adjustments, we'd be OK in the second half.

The referees blew the whistle a lot. Anthony got to the line a lot. Our guys on our team got to the line a few times.

We're 5-1 but we're not happy. We didn't play to the best of our ability.

We have a winning record and that is a big thing for us. It feels good, but we still have a lot more to accomplish. It is a milestone we want to check off. I am just glad the organization has put the pieces around us so that we can learn and compete at the highest level.

We've never been in this position before; we're changing a lot of people's minds about what the Clippers are about, and no doubt, Sam is a big, big part of that.

Mike Miller brings a lot. He can shoot the ball, rebound well. The intangibles are there for Memphis with him coming off the bench.

My '99 squad, that was one of the best teams we had in a while over there. We could definitely take this year's team. We'd get after those guys.

If we had led all the way and let them steal it at the end, it would have seemed like some of last year's woes, ... You don't want to make a big deal out of three games, but it is a great start.

If they want to double-team, that's OK because we've got guys who can score all over the place. Wilcox gave us a great spark off the bench, and that's what we look for him to do every night. We have a lot of confidence in him because of what he does in practice. And when he plays like this, it really helps us out a lot.

But we just didn't gather up the ball. We didn't box out.

I expect a hard-fought series from Denver. We got home-court advantage, and that should help. The Nuggets are a tough club, and so is Dallas. I felt that we matched up well with either.

He was unstoppable. We were just trying to get him the ball. He was scoring at will down there, left hand, right hand. They had no answer for him tonight.

He hits big shot after big shot. He is fearless. He is a great addition and I love having him. Anytime we need a big shot, he is not afraid to take them. He hits most of them.

We can learn from it. We're going to have to play harder. We have to sharpen up.

Having an all-time record under our belts says a lot about this team. We pride ourselves on defense and boxing out.

Golden State is hovering right about .500 and they're behind us in the Pacific, so it's very instrumental. We're in there, so we have to stay ahead of the teams that are behind us and catch some of the upper-echelon teams.

He's a solid acquisition for us. He plays many spots on the floor, he can spread the court, and that's something we didn't have.

It is a great milestone for us to win 45 games. I am proud to be with the organization. It is important that we got this win. We had some tough games lately so we needed to get this win.

It gives us a lot of confidence. That we can go on the road and win those tough, tight games shows a lot about our character.

Our goal was to clinch a playoff spot. To be up four points with less than two minutes is disappointing to see it slip away.

My reaction is indifferent. It's something they have to deal with. We just have to focus on our team.

Matt is on top of this town. He has USC playing for their third straight championship and they have everyone in this town really excited.

It feels good, but we still have a lot more to accomplish. But it's a milestone we want to check off. I'm just glad the organization put the pieces around guys to enable us to win and compete at the highest level.

I thought he might be a little standoffish and not want to be here. He's a great guy, he's funny and he's got your back, 100 percent.

I thought he might be a little standoffish and not want to be here, ... He's a great guy, he's funny and he's got your back, 100 percent.

That was the most complete road win of the year. I was trying to set a tone for this game right from the start. Once they started doubling me, guys were open and I was able to share the rock. This was a good win for us.

That would mean a lot. All the hoopla about who's better goes out the window. It's right there on the court.

That's the way it should be. I learned that my rookie year. I averaged 20 and 10, while Dale Davis averaged nine and eight. He was on Indiana and they were in second place in the East or whatever and he got the All-Star nod. This time we're the fourth best team in the West, I expect to be there.

Whoever we get in the next round, we'll be ready, definitely.

We were No. 1 in field-goal defense coming in, but I don't know about now.

Without a doubt, the swagger level goes up, ... Sam Cassell has been talking trash as soon as he came here. That's what we need. We need somebody that's confident like that, saying, hey, jump on our bandwagon or get left behind. We haven't had that.

We have to play the way we played at the end of the game. We've got to start the game off with a sense of urgency and intensity.

We wanted to go undefeated, but it's not realistic to win every game,

We need to win one more game to qualify but it is great for our mindset. It is definitely a statement.

We can be proud of ourselves but we still have goals. We have to be looking forward to the next round. This is absolutely satisfying. It's like vindication because we worked hard and this organization didn't give up.

We didn't really lose our swagger. We just didn't play well defensively in some games. We feel confident coming into every game and we've been playing well as of late.

We had a good chance to win. We don't take any positives from this, even though we came close against a good team.

We want to be one of the top teams in the West, and we think we are.

There are a lot of multicultural people at Duke, and everybody felt that way, not just the athletes.

We waited a little to late to play with a sense of urgency, with intensity. I was just hoping that we could get it into overtime and continue the momentum that we had going.

We knew that play was coming. We were going to close the door and deny all options.

Without a doubt, the swagger level goes up, ... Sam Cassell has been talking trash as soon as he came here. That's what we need. We need somebody that's confident like that, saying, hey, jump on our bandwagon or get left behind. We haven't had that.

We wanted to get off to a good start, come out with some good energy and fire. We did that and they got behind, and we just wanted to keep plugging away.

Finishing sixth is a great thing. You want as much home court as possible.

We're hurting all around, offensively and defensively. We're looking forward to getting him back.

We wanted to control the pace. We didn't want to let them get any fast-break points like they did when we played in New Jersey.

We wanted to attack them tonight. That's what they did so well against us at home earlier. We wanted guys to penetrate and go to the hole, which is what we did successfully tonight.

We had a good plan against a great player. We did a good job against him.

To have Corey back ? that's exactly what I'm talking about,

We tried to take them out early. This was a must-win for us.

We tried to speed up the game and do some things that would benefit us. There was a lot of energy spent coming back from the first-quarter run they had.

We just had a tough stretch there where we couldn't make anything. Taking them to OT, that's one thing, but we had an opportunity for a victory here.

We were last in three-point field goals, and that makes a big difference in wins and losses,

We have to cut our turnovers down and box out. It's that simple.

We had them. We built a 20-point lead, but they kept fighting. It's a lesson-learned. Overall, we came out with a victory.

We will not be overconfident. Sam and I will not let that happen.

We got some good stops once we decided to play defense,

We got sloppy at the end, but we accomplished what we wanted to.

We got out of rotation and we paid dearly for it. We're not trying to take any moral victories ... we wanted to win. It's encouraging but we'd rather have that 'W'.

Being at .500 on the road is a big deal for us.

At that time, it doesn't matter what he's shooting - 0-for-10, 0-for-20 - he's going to knock down a big shot for us.

There's a feeling of excitement, and a little bit of the unknown.

There's some players out there who are very deserving, with more wins. And that plays into it. If we had some more wins, then I think my chances would be really high.

Sometimes, I used to make a joke how in restaurants in L.A., the Lakers' valet was in the front and we had the valet out in the back.

Sam was out there on their side last year hitting big shots, and now he's on ours.

Sam really got hot and it's easy to find him when he is like that, he gets unconscious and hits big shots for us.

After practice, you see him talking to him, going through drills, taking shots. Of course that's his direct competition, but you see him wanting to help the young guy.

Somebody said he did it in college. They had tape.

Once we win and get to the playoffs, it's all going to change.

This isn't our fault. We're not doing anything wrong, but the league has put us in this position.

This is absolutely satisfying. It's like vindication because we worked so hard and this organization didn't give up. We definitely have the confidence to go out there, advance again and keep going. We feel we can beat every team out there.

They really hurt us in that second quarter. We kind of played their tempo a little bit. You've got to make shots against this team so they have to take the ball out of bounds so they can't outrun us.

They're a good team. We're expecting a battle. We're going to try to limit them with their fast-break points because that's what they do. They get up and down and that's one of the things we're focused on. We've got to limit their fast break points because they're tops in the league.

They're aggressive, so we wanted to go hard at them, get to the line and knock down our free throws so that we'd be in a position to win the game. I knew Ostertag had five fouls, so I really wanted to attack him because he clogs that middle up, gets those tip-ins and gets extra possessions for them.

It's just a great feeling. It's still kind of surreal. I might not appreciate it until we start the second round.

It's embarrassing. You can't get embarrassed on your home court like that. You have to play with some pride and some intensity. We came out in the third quarter with a sense of urgency, but you've got to start the ballgame off like that.

It's a big deal. Each milestone is a big step.

It was our getaway game, so we wanted to get this victory.

It's one of my best games - definitely up there. We didn't want to come off our (4-2) road trip and be disappointed with our effort at home.

It means a lot, from our management all the way down to the ball boys. Even though it's just one game, it means a lot. We have to protect the home-court advantage.

It means a lot. Every step we take, first time we're 5-0, first time we're 10 games above .500, first time we have a winning January. Everything we do we take pride in.

You try not to let it change you or get too absorbed in it, but it's a lot of fun, just winning, playing basketball, getting on that court. It's just a lot of fun.

That's something they have to deal with. My focus is on our team right now.

It's been great having that bench threat. We haven't had that the entire season, so to have all those guys coming off the bench - not only holding a lead but sometimes adding to a lead and playing defense - it's great for the starters.

It's been tough over the years, so to be here in this position feels good, but we have a lot more to accomplish.

It's disappointing, but we'll bounce back. I'm very optimistic. As a team, we didn't shoot well. Personally, I got great looks, but just didn't knock them down.

It was a great win. I tried to set a tone early and my teammates put me in a great position to score.

It was pretty, and then it got ugly. It was a long time coming, and it was an important win for the organization.

I wanted to set a tone, I really wanted this game. They kept finding me in positions I could score and once they started doubling me really hard on the catch, there were other guys open. I didn't mind sharing the rock.

The NBA is the best job in the world, ... and you have to look good in business.

It's no longer a city thing. It's a playoff-seeding thing. No more statement games. No more learning from losses.

That might have been for the past, for teams that weren't winning. I guess Chauncey and I might have to eliminate ourselves from that poll.

I'm not going to try to lose. But if we finish behind Memphis with the sixth seed, we're better off.

If we want to contend with the upper-echelon teams, then we have to play well (Wednesday) and expect to win. They're going to be revved up at home, so we got to bring it.

I just wanted to get out of Dodge, clear my mind, not think about the disappointment anymore, lie on the beach. I'd rather be in the playoffs any time.

In the past, we might have folded, but we erased that 12-point lead and we're up three at halftime. It's a great, great feeling. It's much different than before.

In a close game, I think we're going to try to win. I think we need practice at that. There's no better time than now.