Rick Adelman Guys Quotations

He has a quality about him that draws other guys into it -- the way they play, the effort they put on. He's always pushing. He's pushing the younger guys, saying, 'That's not good enough.' When a guy says that and then goes out on the floor and does it, it has an impact.

He made big shot after big shot, and we needed it. With the injuries and everything else, Mike and Brad have to be the two guys that are constant for us.

He's been a terrific young guy. He hasn't had an opportunity to play much because he is playing behind veteran guys but we are very high on him. We think he is going to be a player in this league. He is the type of kid who every day he comes to work. He works hard and never gives in. That is a great attitude to have.

( Kevin Martin ) came in, he was aggressive and he made shots. If we're going to be successful, we're going to need those guys to step up off the bench. He really gave us a lift in the second quarter.

I thought out guys played hard. We missed ton of shots in the last seven minutes, open shots.

Our guys did everything but win the game.

We played seven and all seven had double figures. We've been playing better and better offensively. We're getting more used to each other and our young guys are playing better.

We haven't been playing well these last seven games and our offense was the thing hurting us the most. Guys were trying to do everything on their own and we need to get back to trusting our teammates and passing the ball. We weren't paying much attention to detail in these last seven games, but we were better tonight.

We did what we wanted to do. You've got to execute down the stretch, you've got to get stops. We couldn't get a stop, but we kept scoring. We tried to put it in Brad and Mike's hands, let them make plays and the other guys feed off of them.

We still control our own destiny and teams still have to catch us. In the past seven games, we haven't been paying attention to detail. Guys were trying to do it themselves. We wanted to come out with a different energy and we showed it tonight. Hopefully we can build off this, but we'll find out at Golden State (on Friday).

To say the least, it's gratifying to come from where we were. Those guys in the locker room deserve a lot of credit. They stayed with it. I'm really proud of them and the way they came back and hung together, and now they're in.

We are shooting the ball well. I also think guys are looking for each other. If we pass the ball we are going to find open people.

Everything is so new. We're trying to get a sense of what guys can do. So far, they've responded. Every day we've mixed it up with people playing with different people.

There's nobody we can't go out and compete against. But again, it's such a new group. I always knew what to expect with the group in the past, but I don't know what to expect if we keep winning. Are we going to be able to sustain it and make it? These guys have done an unbelievable job of coming together as a team.

Ron made James work for the shots he got. One thing Ron makes guys do is work for every shot. We always wanted someone in his way. He's a great player but we didn't want him to get to the basket - we wanted other people to beat us.

Our energy level tonight was up. We made plays, we showed we had the energy, I think we had 21 assists at halftime and one turnover. Our offense was efficient tonight. We haven't been playing well these last seven games and our offense was the thing hurting us the most. Guys were trying to do everything on their own and we need to get back to trusting our teammates and passing the ball. We weren't paying much attention to detail in these last seven games, but we were better tonight.

They played hard down the stretch to make it a two point game and gave ourselves a chance to win. We missed shots and then Nash came back in and controlled the last couple minutes. Those other guys were getting rattled and he came back in and controlled the offensive end.

You can't lose two guys like that without having a lot of problems. Those are the guys you play around and it changes everything when they are not there. It doesn't mean you can't win, but it sure makes it hard to coach until you get those guys back.

There was frustration out there and we haven't had a lot of that this year. We took ourselves out of the game. We have to play better as a team. The five guys on the floor have to play better as a team and trust each other and we're not doing that right now.

It was a great win for us. We've been struggling. Four games in five nights is tough and our guys stayed with it and got the win. We didn't have some of our people on the bench and we really needed those guys to be consistent.

They'll let you back into the game, but they've been together. When you have Nash out there on the floor with Marion - especially Nash - those other guys were getting rattled and Nash came back in and hit a big shot. He controlled the offensive end.

It was huge for us going into halftime. Mike just carried us in the first half, then other guys came through in the second half. I don't know how (the Nets) felt about it, but it was huge for us.

In the second half, we didn't stop them. I have to give my guys credit. We had the chance to put it away. When it was tied with three minutes to go in the game, we didn't do what you have to do to win a game like this. We were impatient and we forced the issue and it cost us the game.

The guys so far have been very willing to pass to each other, and that's something that needs to carry over into games,