Mike Fratello Quotations

We are a different team when we make shots.

We're in a fight for position right now. You get rewarded for winning. We can still get home-court advantage with a better record than the third place team (Denver).

We've got guys that will (get rest) based on how much their injuries affect them. The older the player the more beneficial rest can be. Or, it can depend on how many minutes the player's logged.

We've been in a stretch where we would have one good quarter and then one bad quarter. Except for one stretch where Minnesota cut the lead in the fourth, I thought we did a much better job tonight than we've been doing lately.

Philadelphia found a way to win the game when (Iverson) went out, and we found a way to lose it.

I don't think it's any secret that we're a different team when we make shots. We have to make shots on the perimeter when they load up on Pau down low.

We tightened up a bit. We needed to get our own energy up. It was a matter of passing the ball and not getting beat off the dribble as much as we had.

I was happy with the way we kept our concentration.

I thought New Jersey was very good. They were very good in the first half, and we began giving effort in the third quarter. They did everything well. On offense they executed. On offense we had a tough time getting good looks at the basket, and making shots. They were very well prepared, and they came out and played very well.

I thought it was a little of both. It was us taking shots that weren't the best shots. We didn't pass the ball and cut hard and space the floor.

I thought it might have been a violation. But I'm not an official.

We'd still like to maintain the opportunity to create a position that's advantageous.

We caught L.A. on the end of a trip, and it's easy to catch a team with their energy level down.

We have a lot of respect for this team. We knew it was going to be a war. They play hard and unselfish. They make it tough for you. ... We got stops when we needed to and we became aggressive, taking the ball to the basket.

We just didn't rebound the ball for the whole series, but that's not even fair to say because we were terrible all year. It is what it is. We just don't rebound. Up against that team, the size they have and the way they go after the ball, the truth comes out.

We had open shots and we didn't make the shots that we made in the first half. They got in transition and we had some turnovers.

We don't have the rich tradition that some other teams have.

We came back in the third quarter and defended well, and made some shots. In the fourth quarter, they came back to beat us having seven offensive rebounds, I think five of them by David West, which turned the game around.

We rode (Miller) tonight. He was superb out there. We found him, got him the ball and he was magnificent.

We thought it was the best thing for us to do. Let them have the opportunity to get back home, straighten out their personal lives if there is anything that has to be done and get them away from the heavy concentration on basketball so they can come back with a clean slate.

We just have to see how long it takes.

We didn't guard him (Davis), we just fouled him is what we did. We put him on the line 20 times.

We focused on keeping Parker away from the rim, but we couldn't stop his dribble penetration. He did the same stuff, and he was very good.

We just executed a lot better than we did in the opener. Eddie (Jones) was hot for awhile and Pau answered some big hoops when we had to have them in the fourth quarter.

We just had a continuation of defensive breakdowns. We had nine assists in the game, and that's not good. They really dominated the series.

We just had a continuation of defensive breakdowns.

We hung on down the stretch. We were able to make big plays. Eddie got hot in one stretch, and Chucky and Pau made plays that helped us get a much needed win.

We did a good job of forcing turnovers and that was a big factor in the game. That helped us open a lead in the second quarter.

Eddie was right on him on the last shot. He made it, and there's not much you can do.

It would be good for us to try and keep playing good basketball and see if it is possible for us to start out a playoff series at home. That would be very significant.

I've tried to keep practice to 40 or 45 minutes and work on one or two things. It's showing in our defensive effort. I'd just like for us to go into the playoffs executing well.

Teams are focusing on him. And Pau has shown he can do more than score the ball.

That's what you're supposed to do, win games. I'm very proud of this team. They wanted 30 wins at home and they got it. Not many teams can say they had 30 wins on their home court this season.

That's what you're supposed to do. Win games.

That's who Bobby is. That's his style of play. He's a high-energy guy. He can be instant offense. He can cause havoc on the defensive end. ... It's like a personality trait. Everybody doesn't have that. But he does.

They're a deep team, a very talented team. It's nice to have that kind of personnel.

They're missing three starters, and they played a great game. They played bigger than we did. They worked harder than we did. They deserved to win. They executed better.

It was going to be Pierce or Davis. It's not like we didn't talk about both of them. We lost the game here last year with Davis taking the last shot.

It says a lot about the character of the individuals. They never let the different (adversity) affect them to the point where they got splintered off. I'm proud of what they did.

It is what it is. There was some discomfort there, so I'm concerned.

The number of fouls by both teams didn't allow the game to have much of a flow. It broke up runs. ... But then our execution got much better. We ran plays better.

It's only an advantage for us if we win. Last time I checked, they won their last game, didn't they?

It's been a grueling season for them, and I admire how hard they are still playing.

It's nice to know I've lasted that long. And hopefully, we'll be around a lot longer.

It was a big shot by Eddie. We became more aggressive in the second half taking the ball to the basket. As a result, we got to the free throw line and made enough of them to hang on and get the win.

They'll leave (the cast) on for about a week, take it off, look at it, and evaluate based on how much swelling there is.

This is a very complete team. When you statistically break them down into what they do well and what they don't do well, it's a very lopsided scale.

I'm proud of the efforts from our guys. They hung in there and the group that was on the floor to finish the game did a really good job for us. I'm really happy for Brian. He made huge shots for us.

I'm happy we bounced back from three (straight) losses. You have to be glad about playing hard before the playoffs. This is what it's all about.

I pay attention everyday and try to see where we are. But my approach is that you go out and try to do your job everyday. You're supposed to win games. Anything less than that would be not what I expect of a professional in the NBA. You go out and try to win and where you end up is where you end up. You just have to go from there.

Chucky did a good job tonight because he had no turnovers in the 37 minutes he played. That is a great job for the amount of times he put the ball on the floor. As he continues to get more comfortable in our offense, we'll work more on his defense.

Chicago played an outstanding game. They were sharp and beat us in every aspect. Maybe last night's win got them back on a roll. They shot the ball incredibly well, they beat us in every facet - off the dribble, defensively and shooting. It was just a struggle for us the entire night.

Hopefully, he can come back and give us some excellent minutes.

I feel badly that I didn't help our team enough down the stretch. I put Chucky in the corner, and he was set up to be trapped. It was my fault. I felt badly that I didn't help them out as well as I could.

I feel badly for our fans, our owner, the people upstairs. Unfortunately, we didn't play our best basketball, and they played great basketball.

Their bench had a huge impact in the first half, but we came back in the third quarter and defended well and made some shots. In the fourth quarter, David West beat us on the boards and that turned the game around.

The guys were tuned in. We knew we had to be ready for them from the beginning. ... These guys don't forget. They realize New York came out and played us hard the last time.

You understand if you don't win, the season is over. It's as cold and as blunt as that.

The game was determined in the second quarter. We had a 19-point lead then we had some critical turnovers that gave them energy.