Maurice Cheeks Guys Quotations

We knew we were coming in here playing a team that had just beaten us on our own home court. I told our guys that until we are mathematically out of this we need to keep up the effort.

We have to get other guys involved. We're not just trying to win games with Allen and Chris doing all the scoring.

We have players we haven?t actually seen out on the floor, with the exception of a couple guys playing now, ... But I want to see the players out on the floor. We can always say we want to add this, add that, but to actually see the players out on the floor once they get there, in person so I can see their strengths and weaknesses, I think that?s the best thing to do rather than say, ?Let?s go get this, get that.? Every coach can say that at some point.

I can look at it and say some of the guys have had a lot of experience because of the guys that have been hurt, but I also would like to have the guys that are going to play out on the court,

Chris is very capable of taking our troops, as all our guys are. Chris is our veteran. He's been around certain situations a while, so he understands about guys getting hurt and how to help other players. (Sunday) night was a perfect example of Chris leading us.

I thought down the stretch of the game, when we needed those two guys to score the points, that?s what they did. That?s what they have to do. We got to the penalty at a certain point, Allen continued to drive the ball, and Chris had wide open jump shots because of it.

I thought our guys played well. It was a young group. When you throw a young group against a veteran group, you may be able to win a game like that. A veteran group is going to use their brain a little bit, and that's what they did.

Kyle?s in better shape than a lot of these guys here and that?s what I pointed out to them. A guy who doesn?t have to be here and is here, and in better shape than some of the other players, is a credit to him. I think some of those guys have to look at him and see a player who?s here who doesn?t have to be here and in the shape that he?s in now.

Our offense is fine. Our defense is where's it's at. You have to put guys out there and show them how to play defense. We have to keep trying.

Somehow we've got to turn it. We've got to turn it immediately for us to get back in this thing. We're still there, but we've got to turn it immediately. We've got to turn attitudes and turn to believe in yourself as well as your team. We've got to turn it around and make guys understand the importance of it, number one, the urgency of it, number two, and leave it out on the floor.

We needed guys to make plays down the stretch. We needed guys to pass the ball. (Webber) is our veteran leader, and that's why I was so reluctant to take him out in the second half.

Yesterday was a great practice with guys who came back like Johnny (Salmons) who was very good yesterday, and Kyle (Korver) and Andre (Iguodala). They uplifted the practice with the guys who are here trying to make a team. Everybody played pretty well. It was a great practice yesterday,

We have some guys trying to make the team, anyway, so it gives them other opportunities I'm sure they're looking forward to.

We had a lot of guys step up when (Iverson) went out. This was not a game of stats. This was about our guys going out there and just trying to play. Everyone had a part in winning this game.

We had a lot of guys step up when A.I. went down. It was about trying to play and perform.

We have too many breakdowns. I think that we have to go back to the one, two, three of defense rotations, and getting guys in different positions. The only way that you can win games if you are relying on your offense night in and night out, is you have to outscore teams. We're not going to outscore teams, so our defense has to go back to the fundamentals of teaching positions.

We had some good players, we had some good guys on the team, but some things kept happening time after time and that's all people talked about, ... The things that they did, the dysfunctional things that happened, a lot of that became a part of the Portland Trail Blazers, and that was unfortunate.

Well, there was never a question in my mind about those guys playing (well) together.

Why should he be a guy who comes here and says, 'Well, I'm not going to be one of the guys and I won't be able to play?' ... What that would do to him is as far as mentality is take him off the floor, in terms of going out there and competing, day in and day out. I think that does him a disservice. Now, if it comes to the point where he can step out there and play, why wouldn't I put him out on the floor?

You have to transform yourself, ... As a player, when there?s something you don?t want to do, or you don?t want to do these interviews, you have other guys that they like talking to more anyway, ?cause you like those jovial guys. You can pass that off. As a head coach, you don?t have anyone you can pass it off to.

You had guys that were exhausted out there.

When a guy has to sit for whatever reason, another guys steps in. Michael Bradley's a prime example. He's been impressive. He has pretty much taken advantage of an opportunity with guys being out.

Sometimes, when you play in a game of this magnitude, it can wear on you a little bit. I don?t think the guys came out there intentionally to be a step slower. I thought our effort was pretty good. They were just better.

That's not the best defense you can play. Our defense just has to get better in order for us to win games. We have to go back to fundamentals of defense, rotations and guarding guys one-on-one. You have to want to play defense.

They obviously rebounded the ball, controlled the paint and covered for each other. Those two guys had a lot to do with our defense.

It?s not over yet, and we and I will keep going and see if we can put that unit together and get enough guys to win a game tomorrow night against Boston and then go into Chicago and win on Saturday.

It's unfortunate when a guy who could play like that and have the ability that he had is not be able to play. He was one of the few guys who could shoot the three, break you down and post up.

Not everyone can be a hitter, or shooter, or part of an offense every night. There are some guys that have to be different things at different times and sometimes Andre is that guy. Certainly, we'd like to put the ball in his hands a little more.

They just controlling the game and our defense was not that good. Everyone that we had out on the floor was not playing defense. I tried to insert some guys that were going to give us a little energy, give us a little defense and they turned the game around. Those guys that I put in there helped us get back in the game. Everyone that came in the game had a part in the victory.

I'm not opposed to ever having three or four guys scoring the ball for us.

I knew it would be a lot like the last three games we had, and we'd have to win it down the stretch. We had a lot of guys step up when AI went down.

If there's anything wrong with him at all, I'd rather him sit out and play in a regular-season game than a preseason one, ... But I think guys need to get a game or two under their belt to get ready for the regular season. It's not (that) they have to, but I'd like to see it.

He throws the long pass. He didn't panic. Those teams and guys like that understand about playing the game and not hurrying.

You could hear Allen on the bench keep saying, 'We're still there, We're still there. I think he gave a lot of guys a lot of hope.

Allen is one of the few guys that can tolerate a lot of pain. If Allen can't play, you know he's really, really hurt.