Rick Carlisle Certainly Quotations

We had a whole scheme set up to double-team him. He goes out of the game, it certainly changes the complexion of the game for their team.

He hurt it at the end when he got that put-back, so we'll hold our breath and keep our fingers crossed that he'll be OK (on Thursday) and the next day. He's going to be sore, we know that, but if anybody will play hurt, he's certainly a guy who's done it time after time.

I think I speak for everybody when I say that we like winning better than we like losing. We're certainly happy to get on the winning side of a game. It's been a while.

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

That certainly was an important game for us. We were sloppy at times offensively. The key for us was our disposition defensively. It was there today.

That certainly was an important game for us, for a lot of reasons. We were sloppy at times offensively. The effort was really there and it was great to see. We've got some cobwebs to get out.

It's about learning the league, learning the guys he's playing against, what their tendencies are and what their strengths are because those are important things to defend well, ... We have a system of defense that's solid and he's in the process of learning that. For him, he's an experienced enough player and certainly has a high enough basketball IQ that he can pick it up quickly.

The best situation will be for him to completely heal. I don't know what the prognosis or possibility is for that. It's certainly going to be awhile before he plays, because it's hurting too much for him to play effectively.

It's certainly a step in the right direction. He continues to make gradual progress. We just hope things continue to get better.

They certainly competed on a higher level than we did, and that was probably the most disappointing part of it.

Anytime you can acquire a player with his abilities as a shooter and a scorer - and we happen to think he's a better defender than people give him credit for - we certainly need what he can bring us, especially with Jermaine out now.

You've got to keep playing and stay the course. We were able to get some big stops and Jermaine had a couple of key blocks. We're certainly happy to get on the winning side of the game.