Rasheed Wallace Quotations

We started the season with that chip from last year. We had to wait all summer and then wait through this long regular season. All of that other stuff was just in the way. This, the playoffs, is what we've been waiting for.

With us, we didn't like the taste we had in our mouths all summer. No disrespect to San Antonio, but we knew we could have beat them in Game 7.

We were already up big, so I'm thinking that's why he did it, to get his teammates to stand up and rally off of that. It didn't work.

Me and Chauncey were talking in the locker room. We are trying to figure out some way to recognize him.

I don't have the slightest (idea), but they better come up with something.

I don't know what they were trying to do. But whatever it was, it didn't work.

I don't care about that number 16. Y'all should know that coming from me. It ain't going to change nothing about us and what we doing. Y'all should know that.

I don't care about No. 16. I'm just going to be cheering from home.

I can't speak for other teams, but for us, we're definitely trying to voice our objection. I don't have a problem with that dress code if a man is injured and has to be on the bench during games. But it's kind of crazy to sit up there and try to tell us how to dress on the way to work. We're not in that head office in New York. To me, that's crazy.

This wasn't any kind of statement -- you make statements in the playoffs. This was just playing a game against a very good team.

We told ourselves to turn it up and get a couple of stops to take over the game.

He was feeling it, so we got him the ball. He's a smart veteran, and if he hadn't been making the shots, he would have passed.

He lifted their morale a little bit. Obviously he's a great coach. He has three or four 'ships (championships) and he's won over 1,000 games, so definitely, he lifted their morale. But as far as long range? I don't know. We'll have to wait and see.

Keep us on the back-burner. We won't lose our swagger at all, because when you put that food on the back-burner, it's just simmering and it tastes better. When you got that food on the front burner, that's the one you're paying attention to the most, and that's the one that might burn. We're on that back-burner.

I think it was pretty emotional for him. He's a pretty emotional cat. I was just paying my respects. I can imagine it's tough for him right now, but hey, I have to concentrate on this team.

It happens. We missed some shots and they hit some shots. It's a tough loss, but it's not like an end-of-the-season loss. We just have to go back into the gym and get ready for New Jersey on Tuesday.

I was just taking what they were giving me - open shots. I just wanted to take advantage of it.

Our ultimate goal is not to have the best record, but to win that championship.

That doesn't surprise us at all. We're still the same Pistons and we still go out and play that same Pistons D. That wasn't going to change.

It does matter. We can't be letting the man run loose scoring 50, 60, 70, 80 points. That's not good.

Man, we're just playing. It doesn't have anything to do with being extra physical or nothing like that. That's the way we've been playing all year.

That whole little clock thing had me messed up.

We just couldn't make a shot. We had to buckle down and play some defense.

We don't see ourselves as four All-Stars. We see ourselves as one unit. It's like five fingers on a hand. You can do more damage together as a fist than spread out flat.

We have an agenda. We want the hardware back.

We got the moral victory with the two wins this year. But they got the overall by getting us in Game 7 last year. We're just trying to get back to there, and get back what's ours.

We know it's going to be a playoff atmosphere. We only played them once, and we can't sit here and brag and have a chip on our shoulder like, 'We put them out last year and we beat them early this year.' Because you can be beat on any given night in this league.

We still don't get the respect we deserve. It's all right, though. Hey, it's cool. For the last so-and-so years, we've been under the rug. They swept us under the rug and the last two years we went to the Finals.

We just have a little bit more freedom. L.B. is a more technical coach, who wants you to run your sets, but Flip says that if we see an opening, we should go ahead and attack.

There are lot of people in the media out here not focused on team play. We get more praise from high school coaches or small-college coaches about our team's play than a lot of media. I think the NBA is still more one-on-one, got to score, got to dunk and all that. That's not us.

We knew if we were going to win this game we were going to have to go out there and play hard and make those diving plays, those hustle plays. And that's what we did to get back into the game and took it from there.

We knew if we wanted to win the game, we had to slow them down a little bit.

We just knuckled down a little bit. Just stepped it up on D a little bit more and boxed out. Just made a little bit of hustle plays.

Body (Wallace) was blocking shots left and right, grabbing rebounds. The kid's a monster. I am just glad he's on my side.

Sometimes we drop to the level of our opponents. We had that loss to Atlanta, knowing good and well we shouldn't have lost to them. Same with a few other losses this year. I tell you, if we play on our consistent high level, we'll be fine.

Some people say that without Larry we won't get back, but he wasn't the one out there playing. It's cool, though. We know we're going to be there. It's going to be a lot of bandwagon cats at the end of the year, just like it was last year.

Some people say our starting five is like an all-star team. But we don't see ourselves like that. We see ourselves as a unit.

As far as how effective Kobe is, that don't matter to me. That doesn't matter as long as we win. This is one that we needed. We're just trying to keep it rolling.

As long as we got the win. We gotta deal with that other (stuff) every night. But we fought through it and got the W.

That's when guys get to trash-talk. And it's pretty much stroll down Memory Lane. You know, when cats say, 'Oh, back when I was playing, when we went to the tournament and this and that.' It's just a stroll down Memory Lane more than anything.

Ain't no pressure games or big games for us. We're just playing. We're just playing basketball.

They've got a post presence now. They had a few guys who could post up before but not a clutch post guy. Now that he's back, I know that makes Rick feel a little bit better.

They made the hustle plays - the extra battle for the loose balls and the second and third efforts on some of their shots. That's what beat us.

There were about five minutes left and they were down by eight points. I could see maybe trying something like that if it was a two-point or a three-point game. But why do it when you're eight points down?

This is where we want to be, we've been looking forward to the second season all through the season. It doesn't matter who we play. We're ready.

This is what we've been waiting for. We got up for a couple teams, but we weren't really excited about the regular season. We've been waiting for the playoffs since Game 7 last year.

This is what we've been looking forward to all year.

It's just veteran play. We knew what we had to do get a couple of shots, hit some big shots and do the things we've been doing all season.

It's just unfortunate he was never able to get to that Big Dance (Final Four) that he wanted to. Coach Chaney is a heck of a coach.

It wasn't nothing. It was just a shot.

It wasn't no statement. It was just another game. Statements aren't to be made until playoff time.

It was (crappy). It was (crappy). I will say from especially myself, on both ends, offense and defense, our effort in that first half was (crappy).

It was some big shots that Chauncey hit, especially that little and-one when Bobby fouled him right there. That was big. That got our momentum up and got our fans back into it.

I told him, if they see us, you know, hey, Carolina will have to do their thing. That's been a pretty good rivalry over the last few years.

It's nothing like, 'We've really got to go stick it to these guys this time.' It's nothing like that. It's always a good game when we play them, whether it's at their spot or at our spot.

It's no statement. It's just another game. Statements won't be made until the playoffs.

It's more shots for everybody. The cats definitely enjoy more offensive production.

It's going to be us and somebody. That's all I know for sure.

It's going to be a good one, because they always play hard in the Garden. We're looking forward to the challenge.

That's really important as we get into the playoffs. We're going to get tired, we're going to sit down and won't be able to play the whole 48, so they're going to have to come in and do the things they've been doing the last few games.

That's our main food that feeds this team.

It's still too early to say what we're gonna look like and what we're gonna to do.

It's great recognition for what our team has done.

It's cool. It's what we've been waiting for all year. The regular season, you know, we got up for a couple teams but we weren't excited about the regular season. Now that the playoffs are here, this is what we want. This is what we've been waiting for since Game 7, so go out there and do it.

They better come up with something. Because we're ready.

They've had good records and good teams, but they haven't been able to go far in the playoffs -- that's sort of been the knock against them. Has that changed? You never can tell.

Not really. That's nothing that ever came up in the locker room or in team meetings.

Not really (anything different). We're a veteran team and we know what we need to do to prepare ourselves for the game physically and mentally. So he (Saunders) doesn't need to harp on anything specific.

It's no big thing to us. We've been there and done that. It's nothing that we shake in our boots about if it's a close game with a minute left or anything under a minute.

I'm not going to start the game by cracking a cat in the skull if I don't get elbowed first.

I'm a friend. This event is a blessing for us to be here. I'm thankful that we are here and we woke up this morning. My heart pours out to the families and I will do anything and everything in my power to do my part in helping to resolve this situation quickly. I pray every day for the families that have lost or are currently missing their loved ones.

I'm not a big fan of zone myself. I'm more a man-to-man. But, if it's for the team, I'm with it.

I'm not a big fan of individuality. My wife and kids will like it, but I'd rather have a championship.

I know they're not coming together like Rick (Carlisle) wants them to, but it's going to be a good game (today). We'll be ready full-force again and have everybody back.

I know that's not going to happen again.

I knew he was real excited when I saw him taking pictures of his all-star jersey with his camera phone. That's when it finally hit him that he made it. But I'm happy for Rip. I'm happy for Chauncey and the whole organization.

I just pick them game-by-game, not that bracket thing. It's more profitable that way.

I guess that was his wannabe retaliation. I started laughing and got a (technical foul) for that.

Hey, we're just playing, man. Ain't got nothing to do with being extra physical. That's the way we've been playing all year.

He's just a great player. He's doing what he can for his team right now. He's not getting the help that he really wants right now, but he's doing all he can for his team.

He's quick and he's got a nice outside shot. He just needs to put a little more weight on.

I didn't know what was going on. Flip said I wasn't starting and I was cool with it. I've come off the bench before in my career, so it wasn't a problem for me.

Chauncey hit some big shots. He did a good job. He hit some real big shots when we needed it.

If it happens, it happens. It's monumental that four from one organization are here. That's good for the organization. If he does put all four of us out there together, it'll be cool.