Jeff Gundy Quotations | Page 2

Turnovers are a skill thing and a responsibility issue.

When you shoot poorly and you're a bad shooting team, all mistakes are exaggerated.

We're not thinking about that. You can only take care of today. Worrying about down the road, percentages you have to win that's wasted energy.

When he (Alston) was not healthy, or out for a while, and we were without a true point guard, we were much more plodding. We want to be up the floor, which is what he does best.

We didn't play well and we didn't have the personality on our team of mental or physical toughness.

We still have the same problems we had last spring: one-on-one defense; pick-and-roll defense; (we're a) high-turnover team; when it turned into a street fight, they fought harder than we did; and can we finish? Right now, we're not a finishing team. That's on me, that nothing's improved.

Yao was much more aggressive in the second half, but he's has to continue to come up big for us like this for us to win.

Yao on the boards tonight was a monster.

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're eliminating the nonsense. I'm fed up. I'm sick of losing at home and playing terrible basketball. Nonsense is always a distraction.

Tracy's obviously struggled and I thought tonight he had a little bit more of a bounce to his step. I thought he drove it and made some nice plays. I thought he looked better.

Tracy got going pretty well after a while, but the first half his back was quite bothersome. Obviously, Yao had some fatigue problems. He never could quite get going in the fourth quarter.

You make less than half your free throws (actually 53.8 percent) and 10-for-47 from the 3-point line, and this is great basketball. (Rockets forward Tracy) McGrady was the only one to make a 3 for the West.

When Yao shoots the ball more, we have a chance to be a more efficient offensive team. That's because for the most part he's going to shoot 50 percent and above, and get to the free-throw line, and close shots near the basket even missed are harder to translate into transition points, which allows you to get your defense set.

We left a lot on the board today. Free throws and turnovers are problem number one but when a team shoots that well you have to give them credit.

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 would like to get some more dribble penetration from people other than Tracy McGrady. It would be nice to get McGrady a spot-up shot that wasn't under duress, where he didn't have to create a shot for himself but where a shot was created for him. Particularly when McGrady is out, we'll try to do more pick-and-roll stuff for Rafer.

We're not paid to try hard. That should be a given. We're paid to produce.

We didn't guard the ball well and we didn't help appropriately. I think they (the Hornets) were probably sleepy a little bit, not ready to play. I had a little bit to do with it. They turned it up in the second half and we had no response.

We didn't guard the ball well and we didn't help appropriately.

Trying to judge a big guy too early is a mistake. If he wants to be an NBA player, he has to stick with it. You never know ? he may get an opportunity here.

We were down 16 and I don't believe in saving guys. So we got it to eight and they called (his sixth) foul. We played a very soft, non-contact game.

We cannot shoot the ball. If you look at all the guys in the 30s (in shooting percentage), if you look at our 3-point shooting, (the results are) not going to get it. Last year, we rode the wave of great shooting. That brings passion and energy. When you're not shooting well in today's NBA, it's very deflating.

When it gets tough right now, we're not the mentally strongest team, and that's at both ends. We just have to be able to weather some bad moments without caving in. We could have shown more resilience to hang around. That's what separates players in this league: mental strength. Mental strength is a huge component to how great you can be.

There have been a lot of questions about the use of their bench. How can you question a team that's in first place (in the Atlantic Division)?

We did a good job defensively after the first quarter.

We have enough players, and we've developed a game. Most of it goes to the belief. It's been that way since the practice after the Sacramento game (the Nov. 2 season opener) that he's been in and out so much.

Even though we have a mediocre record, you don't have to be a mediocre player. It's all dependent on how hard you're willing to work to win and how much you want to put into it. You may not always win, but you can certainly put forth great effort and play with passion and discipline.

Because I knew we were trading for Keith, I thought it was the right time to get together and evaluate where we were going. We came to the conclusion that it would be best if we try to find another team for (Anderson).

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.

There's going to be some bumps in the road certainly. You don't sit out that long in this competitive of a league and make it back the you were playing before. You saw tonight he started out great and then he couldn't make (shots).

There will be things we'll have to correct. I thought we played a cleaner game as far as being efficient. We're just struggling.

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.

The things we need to improve on are glaring. We are where we deserve to be.

Our shot selection in the last quarter was not good.

Of our 16 turnovers (Wednesday), a lot were from being irresponsible and careless.

Against that team, we're at a quickness disadvantage. So it makes it look like an effort disadvantage, when it truly is a quickness thing. And we don't have the habit or discipline.

A warning on a racial epithet? What gets you thrown out?

That's where it starts ? get the effort so you don't beat yourself that way and then playing intelligent basketball. You just want to give yourself a chance to play your best. If you don't beat yourself in this league, you win a lot.

You should never play at home on the second night of back-to-backs. Your home fans deserve the best you can give them. If you need to, play all your back-to-backs on the road, and never on national TV. They've done that, and sometimes the basketball is not the best.

You're going to have to shoot the ball, make some shots, which we don't. We're a bad shooting team.

This is not a year that we should take a mulligan on from blame, from the coaching perspective, from the team-building perspective. This is not a year of injuries. It's a year where we could have, despite the injuries, still been in the playoff hunt.

This isn't new. It's the same old, same old. We have to put in young guys to compete, so it starts with competing hard. As we compete hard, we make far too many mistakes and that's why we have the record we have. We're a mistake-laden, inconsistently competitive team.

The way we're playing ... we're offensively inept. Last year, the 3-point shot was a huge weapon for us. This year, it's a huge detriment.

They turned it up in the second half, and we had no response. You've got to give them credit for that. They play well, and they're well-coached.

A lot of our guys are at the crossroads of their careers. Some know it, and some don't. Individually and as a team, we have a lot to play for, regardless of where we stand in the standings. But more so, we owe it when people pay to come see us.

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.

There will be a lot of sacrifices that have to be made. We've sort of protected ourselves in case we're not as healthy as we hope to be. If everybody's healthy, there's only 240 minutes to go around. It'll be challenging.

They really showed our other guys absolutely no regard. I've never seen a team just leave small guys wide open behind the three-point line, but that proved effective.

There's a lot that goes into winning and a lot that goes into losing. Our second-half defense just led to another close loss.

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 a testament to his dedication that he was able to, after six weeks off, play 32 minutes. Very few people with his injury and his natural conditioning problem, being 7-6, would be able to do that. But he's got an unusual amount of dedication to his team. He should be really commended for that.

I tried to talk to him, ... to tell him this was fate, that it didn't go through; should we think about moving on?

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's not who you're taking it away from. You're rewarding people who win, because those are the people who deserve to be rewarded.

It starts with mental strength. Just to have the ball taken from you like that is disheartening. For us to beat quality teams like that, we're going to have to be mentally and physically tougher.

It starts always with the two best guys (Yao and McGrady) and their energy level. Tracy McGrady obviously was very efficient tonight and when he is efficient, we as a team have a better chance of being efficient.

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.

Everybody is just having to do a little bit more, and that's all right. We'll see what we have in this really challenging stretch.

Everybody's got an opinion and usually misguided. They don't know him. What his basketball character has revealed is that his will to win is in the upper top five in the league, combined with a talent level in the top five of the league. That is a very rare, rare combination.

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.

It was part defense and probably them missing shots they couldn't make.

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.

They whipped us. Once the whipping started, I don't think we competed as hard as I would've liked to have seen us - but that was after the whipping started.

They lead the league in field-goal defense, so you have to give them credit. They made it harder on our best players.

That sequence (with the three consecutive blocked shots), even though they ended up scoring, and Yao coming to help on Andre Miller ? those things are inspiring. And you can tell by the reaction of everybody, the team, the paying customers, that stuff is inspiring.

That means zero because it doesn't matter who we win against, whether it is a division team or not. We are happy any time we win.

I'm not going to judge him for public consumption on that. I don't think that does anybody any good.

I love his competitive spirit, I love his intensity and I hate the way the game has grown to where you can act your way to calls. In hockey, I like (that) they fine, they fine for dives. And every time the guy exaggerates the contact, the foul would be on him.

I know we haven't played well enough or near hard enough the last two games to play well enough to have a chance against two first-place teams, and obviously not well enough from a shooting standpoint. But every player and every team is going to go through the ability to make or miss. That's why you need to have other parts of your game that are consistent, individually and as a team.

I know what inspiring basketball is. When we're dead in the water and we're not playing the way we're capable of, I'm going to say that. But tonight we were very inspiring.

I just want Yao to recover when he can and become an even better basketball player. I've got enough problems already without being a vicious capitalist pig.

I'm not surprised when (Yao) plays well. He is prepared every day. He works hard every day. He's one of the few guys who doesn't need outside motivation. He is without question the best regular-season center in basketball.

If you're a fan that comes a lot, it's tough to watch right now.

If you have Tracy McGrady on your team and play really hard and smart, you can be in games.

I hear the talk about the best player in the league. You can certainly make the case he's having the best year of anybody in this league.

I haven't had any conversations with anyone, so expending vocal energy on that is of no significance. This may be his best chance at carving out a career for himself in the NBA.

I played my bench too much in that quarter.

If you watch him, he's anything but that type of player. That's how everybody wants to make him out to be. He's a low-turnover guy. He's sound. And yet, people still want to label him as that kind of guy. Maybe he can do that stuff. But he doesn't play like 'the Professor' out there.

I think our guys can make (shots). We haven't made consistently. I think we could make.

I just spoke to him about him as a player,

But he's aggressive. You've got to give him credit for that. He's a young player who plays real hard. He's got to figure it out, and we've got to figure out where he can play.

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.

He's very comfortable in his own skin, ... That's his personality. When you're true to self like that, it comes across well.

He's a higher energy and effort player than anyone at his position in the league.

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

I care very deeply about Eddie. I like him. We would like to count on him.

I'd rather see a guy who has a lot of confidence than throw out that guy (who is) like a deer in headlights, ... I'm not really concerned with him right now.

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.

I don't want to get painted as a negative quote. I want to be positive. I'm a (glass) half-full type of guy.

I don't think they have many weaknesses. I didn't think they had many weaknesses before, either.

He's got a level of dedication to his profession that very few have.

How little we put in the game, from the start of the day to the end of the game, was totally uninspiring. We went through the motions, but didn't even fake it very well.

I don't look any more forward than the time when we were injured. Your job as a coach is to maximize the abilities of what is on hand at any given time.

He played well. He hasn't been shooting the ball well, so it was timely he made shots. I think he's consistently gotten better in trying to keep us organized offensively.

You can't explain it. He's the best road player in the league.