Rick Carlisle Quotations | Page 4

He's fit in well. He's a proven NBA player who's played at a high level for many years.

He's been a major key in this series.

He's done a lot of good things, considering the amount of time he's been out. But also, you can tell there's an adjustment period here. This is going to take some time to get to full strength.

We have a lot of confidence in all of our guys. If you have good players you need to use them, because not every team has this kind of depth. If guys play well they stay in the game. It gives us a chance to keep our starters fresh. It was a real key.

We have an 11-game season to make a push to make the playoffs. There's nothing guaranteed. We'll find out what we're made of during this stretch. The frequency of games is still there. We're a little banged up, but we have to find a way. I have a lot of confidence in our group.

It certainly was a very important game. Let's face it, it was critical. We're in a must-win situation every night.

It comes down to what's best for him and the team. It's best for both to try to get as healthy as possible. I know it's frustrating for him that he can't play the way he normally plays, because he's being held back (by the injured ankle).

I think the guys rallied behind the fact that we lost (O'Neal). It's important for us to understand what can be accomplished collectively when we share the ball and work at the defensive end.

I thought he did a great job keeping his emotions under control in both series. I look for him to build on that. There's nobody in this league that always has complete control of their emotions. I thought he set a great tone in the playoffs and I look for him to continue in that vein.

I thought defensively we were playing soft (in the first half) and not playing the type of game we needed to play to give ourselves a chance. The third quarter we came out with a lot of more aggression, and the third quarter was the key quarter.