Byron Scott Guys Quotations

There are some guys that didn't prove (they want to play). If they don't look at this as a chance to get some playing time and legitimize the fact they belong in this league, then they are going to be in trouble.

We're still not confident in what we're doing from game to game. I'm still not sure what I'm going to get from everybody. There's certain guys that I know what I'm going to get, but there's too many guys that I don't.

We made a lot of changes this year and thought we'd gotten much more athletic. I didn't know we were going to have the same problems on the defensive end. Guys are getting beaten off the dribble like drums, and then when the help comes, the other guys aren't coming in.

Most of these guys want some type of stability. They want to know where they're going to be, how long they're going to be there and if they have families, they want their wives to be there, their kids in a certain school. It's going to be a challenge.

I expect both those guys to get opportunities and contribute to the team. And both those guys have shown improvement from last year to this year.

The people have been incredible, ... I walked into a place last night, and the person said, 'You guys are like movie stars. We don't know how to act.' I said, 'No, we're just normal people. We just want to be wanted.'

Just the fact that all of those guys had a chance to be here for a few days and get around the city and see some of the devastation that Katrina left made them feel a little guilty. I think the guys felt a little guilty after the last game that they had to come in and give a better effort.

I think it's a good thing for our team right now. If we can win games without Chris, I think it gives these guys even more confidence. And it also shows when he comes back that we'll even be better.

I think the one thing he wants to do is impress not only us, but other teams around this league to get back in this league. Once these guys are out, they tend to realize how good the NBA is - how much better it is up here - even if you're the 12th guy.

I think the energy in the crowd has been a tremendous boost to our team. We've got a lot of young guys and they feed off that type of energy. When you have a college atmosphere and you have a young team, this is what they like to play in front of.

I thought our effort was much better. Defensively we're just having way too many lapses. Guys aren't communicating out there and talking to each other. You give up (52) points in the paint, you're not going to win too many games.

I think a few of those guys in that locker room have quit. It's disappointing to me; (those guys) won't be here, it's as simple as that. We have no mental or physical toughness on this team right now. It's just hard to watch that; it's hard to watch these young guys that don't understand and don't get it.

I think they are starting to get it a little bit. We have guys who are starting to step up right now.

Jason plays at 110 percent in every game. We need other guys to join him. That's the bottom line.

Our guys feel real comfortable here. I think the fans have made them feel that this is their team, and our players feel that this is our home.

It doesn't hurt us defensively. We're probably a little better defensively but it definitely hurts us offensively. He's one of the guys that we can spread the defense out a little bit with his shooting ability.

I think guys are still adjusting a little, but I think the shock of the move has worn off. I think everybody here is pretty much settled. But just like me, you don't have everything from home, New Orleans, that you had, so you're constantly shifting stuff.

I would love to play here. I would love to stay here and play in Oklahoma City next year. I think our guys are at home here. I think the fans have been unbelievable. Out of our 12 home wins, I think the fans out there have won half of them. So, I would prefer to stay here next year.

With all the adversity we've faced, I told them before the game that you guys have always done a good job of coming together in the face of adversity. That is something we're going to have to do, not just tonight, but the rest of the season.

The problems we have to correct are all between the ears. It's not so much the physical problems. We have too many guys who don't understand, who don't get it. I don't know. Maybe we're reading too many of the clippings. Maybe we're thinking we're better than we are.

We are so weak mentally and physically. When it comes to the second half, we might as well just get on the bus because our guys don't show up. We're just not tough enough. I think a few of guys in there quit, which is very disappointing to me. And they won't be here, simple as that.

There are lots of guys in that locker room that just quit. It's disappointing to me. They won't be here. It's as simple as that.

When you don't have one of your best players, sometimes that's what you have to do. You've got to put guys in different positions to see how they react, see how they play. Sometimes you come up with a home run, sometimes you don't.

We've got a bunch of guys jumping around and they seemed to play better after that.

We want to establish some type of a home-court advantage. We've got a great crowd, so we've got to bring an energy and a physicality to the game that we haven't been bringing, and all our guys know that right now.

You hope, sooner or later, the young guys understand and get it. When you have a lead like that, you can't come out in the third quarter and think the game is over. Maybe a loss like this, when we know we should have won the game, that will do it.

What that does to us is slows us down because neither one of those guys really want to push the ball. We need Speedy back in there so we can keep that up-tempo game.

I wanted to be in a different situation. I think I'm in a great situation right now. I've got a young team, a bunch of young guys that are hungry and that want to play, so I just leave it that way.

Realistically, he's not going to play a whole lot at (center), because both those guys have been productive for us. But he's still going to get his chance. The things we talked about this summer were just getting stronger and developing a post game, as well. He's a big guy with a big body, and we want him to be effective down there on the post.

That's why those guys are here. Their job is to give us a boost, and be aggressive. We have a couple of guys who we rely on to do that, especially with P.J. (Brown) and Desmond (Mason) out of the lineup.

They've got a lot of players but three that they really rely on, especially on the offensive end, and those guys had big nights tonight. You can't trade baskets and think that you're going to outscore a team like this. We don't have the weapons to outscore them. Tonight, we didn't even give ourselves a chance.

I tried to urge our guys to come out in the third quarter with some urgency and try to get something going, we came out as flat as we did in the first half. It's just a very bad effort on our part.

For a 20-year-old, he really understands the magnitude of these games. We just needed other guys to step up, and we did that with seven guys in double figures.

It's been a fun first half. It's been tough at times. You go through growing pains (being) so young. For the most part, I've had a great time teaching these guys and trying to make them understand how this game, in my mind, should be played, and they're doing a great job.

It's disappointing. This still tells you how young the guys are.

It was just a lack of defensive mentality tonight. We didn't do a good job keep guys in front of us.

It's not an achievement, it's what we expected. We've gotten to .500; now the key is to keep going. There are a lot of young guys that didn't experience the terrible season we had last year; the 19 wins is a nice accomplishment, but were looking to do bigger things this season.

Hopefully Saturday we'll be pretty much full strength. We'll have some bumps and bruises. Those guys won't be at 100 percent probably, but they'll be in uniform and ready to play.

Hopefully, one of them will be back soon - soon being Friday, It puts a lot more emphasis on guys to play a lot more minutes. But that's pro basketball. You've got to be ready to play.