Jeff Gundy Good Quotations

When we have Yao (Ming) and Tracy (McGrady), we're a good team. It's pretty simple.

We're just not a good team. We can talk about it, but we're just not. Tonight, we gave a professional effort and yet an inefficient one.

When you score that little in a quarter, it's probably part defense and part you're missing some shots that you normally make. So we're not going to pound ourselves on the chest because I remember three or four they had right in a row at the basket over our midgets where the ball just happened to fall out. We try to play good defense yet we understand how good of an offensive team they are.

We're a team that does ... just enough to put yourself in a position and not enough good to win. That was poor defense, poor, poor defense. They scored 49 points in a half with very marginal offensive players. When they missed, they crushed us on the boards.

One of the things I really do believe is - and it would've affected our two guys this year, so it wouldn't have been good - I don't believe anybody on sub-.500 teams should be in the All-Star game. It should be all a reward for winning. Now that would affect our guys which, I'm glad no one took my advice for this year.

I don't care how hard you play, if you don't shoot the ball competently, you're going to have a hard time. We do just enough good to lose close. That's what we've been all season. It's mind-boggling. I know some of our guys killed themselves out there tonight and while that should certainly be complimented, this is about winning.

I don't think we let up as much as they did a good job at attacking the basket.

If it was me, being chosen by the fans would not be nearly as significant as being chosen by the coaches. Now players may look at that differently, I don't know, but if I was a player ? because there are so many very good ones ? I really do believe being chosen by the coaches is a great honor.

He's had many good stretches, it's just that sometimes we get caught up in the numbers. I look at the whole thing, his pick-and-roll coverage, his transition defense. I think he's gotten better from his first game in the NBA through now.

He had an unexcused lateness so it's unfortunate, but it happens. I think he played his best minutes in a long time against Memphis. It's unfortunate. But he's a good player and a good guy. Tomorrow's another day.

We can expect much better from (Yao) defensively and on the boards. He had one rebound in the second half, and he was not active defensively. He's been playing great on offense, really great, and he's not been as good on the boards or defensively in the last three games.

He's a fairly intelligent player. He's undersized. He's got pretty good feet. At the lower levels, he's proven he can rebound.

He's a very good player, it's good to see he could make a full recovery and have as good a year as he's had. With him and Mo Williams on the floor together, when you put two point guards on the floor at the same time, it's very difficult.

I think their quickness and length had a lot to do with it. Turnovers were problem number one. Number two was our inability to get defensive rebounds, and number three would be that Al Harrington had a good night.

I thought our bench played substandard. We had a good start, and then our bench came in and gave up the lead.

Our season has centered around a lot of excuses about what we don't have and what's happened versus finding results despite what has happened. That's not to minimize how good Tracy is, certainly. Yet I feel we could have responded better. Take Yao out of the picture. Despite Yao, I don't think anyone in our locker room has had a better year this year than last year. That's on me, and that's on them.

Part is schedule. Part is health. Part is good play. I think all three of those things have had an impact on playing a little bit better. But this is a whole different level, this (Suns) team. This is upper-echelon, top-five team.

We came out ready to play in the third quarter. We were fortunate that they had a couple second-chance opportunities at the beginning of the quarter that they missed. Sometimes it's that simple - make or miss - and we made a good percentage tonight.

Yao is not blessed with anything except God-given size and great parents. Everything else has been worked for basketball-wise. There's a lot easier roads to becoming a really, really good player in this league. He had a difficult road, and he made it through his own internal drive to be great.

(Yao) did all right, but it's not about individual performance in this league. It's team play and playing collectively. He's still trying to get back in game mode, and we know it will take a while before he's back at full strength. I thought overall, though, he did some good things, but he's still not at 100 percent.

We have good enough players, but there are very few guys in this league who can draw a second defender to them. Those are the guys who make your offense good, whether it's a post-up guy, a dribble penetration guy or a pick-and-roll guy.

We did a good job defensively after the first quarter.

Every team relies on greatness down the stretch. However, I do believe that good teams can function efficiently with or without one player. Our chore to function without the one player is going to be tested.

The starters did a good job to start the game. The bench, inexplicably, is bereft of energy and intensity, and we have all young guys who are trying to carve out a career. I don't get it.

They have great point guard play in Parker, obviously. They share (the ball) well, they've got tremendous depth, they're very good defensively, they rebounded well, don't turn it over and have a great coach. They've got every base covered.

As much as I loved the team last year and still do, when you lose in the first round (of the playoffs) you have to make some moves. It's all about the results we get. Hopefully, we're going to get some good results.

It's not like we've not had opportunities in the first 53 games either. We're a good team. If we're ready to play, if our energy level's high, if the stars align just right, we're good.

It starts always with our two best guys and their energy level. McGrady obviously was very efficient tonight. Yao is a long way away from being in the type of shape he was in prior to his injury. But that he is in as good of shape as he is in is a direct result of his incredible dedication.

It's unfortunate that it happened. He's a good player and a good guy, so tomorrow's a new day.

It's hard against a quality team like Jersey. They're very, very good defensively.

No message, it was pathetic effort by all five of them. We played three very good quarters. It was unfortunate that it was marred by an irresponsible third quarter.

They did a good job on him, but they committed extra defenders on him. Obviously we're struggling right now with our perimeter shooting, and we didn't make them pay as much as we'd hoped to for their committing multiple defenders to McGrady. So we've got to do that a little bit better.

I didn't think Yao was particularly as good tonight as he has been. There's obviously a huge burden on his shoulders right now, but we're capable of making (shots) and we didn't tonight.

Because of how uninspired we were against the Lakers, it's easy to forget we won four in a row. Winning tonight, we did some real good things.

If he says he feels good enough, I'll decide if I feel good enough about how he feels.

I feel he has good basketball character, or we wouldn't have done it. Basketball character is important, and basketball character starts with working and passing and caring about your teammates. I think he does those things. It wasn't an easy decision, but it was, I think, the right one for us.

The league needs to step in and take away any perceived incentive to lose. But also, I don't think you do yourself any good trying to pick who you'll play. Sometimes, you try to set yourself up for something that may not work out. But I think that just the idea that you could be better served to lose rather than win probably needs to be taken care of.