Rick Carlisle Great Quotations

We're in a situation now where we're starting to get a little healthier and that's light at the end of the tunnel. The group that we have is really making a great effort to do what they can to help us win. Right now, win or lose, I know our fans know what's really important to them and that's the energy level and the unselfishness on the court. We had that for the last six or seven games and that's something we have to build on.

Last year, we went through one of the most difficult years that a team could go through in NBA history. Even in the toughest times, I love coming in and trying to figure out ways to win. When you are able to feel that way about what you are doing, it is a great blessing. My experience at Virginia had a lot to do with being able to get where I am now.

One of the things we talked about was our need to be more purposeful with our transaction offense. When we take quick, it puts us in a poor position defensively. The guys did a great job of decision-making in transition. Our execution on offense put us in great position to guard and rebound.

Nine 3s is going to make it hard to beat you. If you go anywhere around making 10 3s, you're looking at a great chance to win.

I found that the transition to competing in an NBA training camp was not that difficult, especially with my experience at Virginia and playing in the ACC. Fortunately, I kind of caught lightning in a bottle that year, had a great training camp and made the team.

He'll gradually get back to where he needs to be as long as he doesn't get major doses of minutes. It would be great to have more practice time, but he's been in this situation before and he's familiar with it.

He made a couple of great plays at the end. Great players are going to make great plays. In the grand scheme of the game, the third quarter was our undoing.

He's a great young player. He can almost do anything on the court. I can't tell you how impressed I am at how he's played.

He just wasn't able to get enough minutes for us to keep him here. He played well and had a great training camp and was terrific in the locker room. It's just one of those timing-type things.

Kobe Bryant is a great player. Maybe the best player in the league right now. He is that good.

I thought he did a great job keeping his emotions under control in both series. I look for him to build on that. There's nobody in this league that always has complete control of their emotions. I thought he set a great tone in the playoffs and I look for him to continue in that vein.

It is great to be in a situation in which you have great players. You find out pretty early in this business that without good players you will not be a good coach. I have been fortunate to be in a very good situation. My job as a coach is to make sure that we progress every year and we can be a championship contender.

I thought our guys showed a lot guts, hanging and finding a way to claw back in the game. Jermaine O'Neal was great and we had a lot of other guys who stepped up and played big. We had a chance, we gave ourselves a chance.

Jermaine is drawing so much attention now, he's going to have a great impact on what happens offensively. Not only when he's scoring, but when he's passing out of double teams. Seven assists and no turnovers is proof of that.

I see a guy that's working his butt off to get his rhythm back and get his recognition, and he's done a lot of great things. We knew this wasn't going to be an overnight process.

Our start to the game was OK. But the second quarter, they had 32 (points) and we couldn't keep them under 30 after that. They played great offensively. During this 15-game period, we've competed hard on a consistent basis and tonight we had a letdown from that.

That certainly was an important game for us, for a lot of reasons. We were sloppy at times offensively. The effort was really there and it was great to see. We've got some cobwebs to get out.

It couldn't have been closer. A couple of breaks went our way at the end, like the offensive rebound, and he (Johnson) made a huge play. We know we got lucky today because we know Vince Carter is not going to have another 1-for-8 three-point game or 12-of-33 game because he's a great player.

We now have to prove we can put two great games together. Orlando has proven over the second half of the season that it's one of the better teams in the league.

We hoped he was going to be open and have a pocket of space to get an open shot or drive the ball. Bosh did a great job of switching out defensively. I have to take the blame for that. That was a bad call putting a guy in a position that ended up not being a good position.

We've had great execution in the last two games; we won one and lost another. These types of one-possession games come in waves. The way our team is set up, we have players that can make plays.

We know that we got lucky today. We know Vince Carter is not going to have another 1-for-8 3-point game or 12-for-33 game, because he's a great player and he's going to make his shots. We got very fortunate that he didn't have his best game.

We set a great tone early with a great defensive effort, and that sort of carried the day as far as the game went. Tonight we did a lot of things well and I thought we got better as a team, so that's a good sign.

Yao has been playing great for a long stretch. I thought our guys battled him and did a good job in a lot of areas, but we could have done better as a team. You give up 38, that's a lot.

We dodged a hand grenade at the end of the game. That was a great look and I know he's been making those shots all year long. We feel very fortunate.

We had the game going pretty well and we were playing good basketball. They made a run at the end of the half and they got the game tied and I thought that gave them a lot of momentum going into the second half. They did a great job of finishing off plays.

There's a feeling that our players are misinterpreted and a little misunderstood because of various factors. Dress would be one of them. As a league, we know we have good people. We have great guys on our team. . . . I feel like what our team did last year (after the brawl) is a much better indicator of the character and quality of people in our league than anything else people might want to surmise in terms of perception.

Things weren't looking great after the first quarter. But our guys hung in there and got two sub-20-point quarters, and that's tough against a team like Sacramento.

Things weren't looking great after the first quarter.

It was very tight the whole game and it couldn't have been closer. A couple of breaks went our way at the end. We know we got lucky today because we know Vince Carter is not going to have another (game like Sunday), because he's a great player and he's going to make his shots.

Opportunity is available for everybody. I think it's pretty clear that the coaching staff doesn't care who gets the minutes. We have to find guys that are opportunistic, that take advantage when they get a chance and can do it over a period of time. It was great for David to have a great game; now he has to do it again and keep doing it. That's where it's going to get tougher.

Anthony Johnson played a terrific game. He's playing with great aggressiveness and savvy and understanding the pulse of the team he is running.

Any loss right now is a big factor for all the teams involved. Another thing I think is important to point out is Tony Brown did a great job taking over for Doc Rivers. He's a former assistant coach of mine. I'm happy for him. I'm not happy for us. We're in a precarious position right now.

This isn't any news flash. He's been a great player. Now he's a great playoff player.

This game's not a great indicator of reality.

They played great and we didn't give them much of a game tonight. Our margin for error is slim. We can't have any slippage. Our rebounding was a disappointment. We've got to do better.

They didn't do a great job with the coverage, but, hey, the way Tinsley played tonight, he put the defense in a tough situation. That was a huge play because it was so hard for Jermaine to get open looks around the basket. It gave our team some energy at the defensive end.

They are a well-balanced team that has become very efficient at both ends of the floor. I think (coach Maurice) Cheeks has done a great job of figuring out a lineup. A lot of it is going to come back to Iverson and Webber because they are two great players. Iverson, in the last two weeks, he's been playing by his standards at a higher level.

It's just one of those plays great players make. When he took it, I just turned my head.

It was clear to me he knew the situation. He knew to spread the floor and look for an opportunity to break down the defense. He made a great play.

It's going to be a great opponent no matter who we play.

Danny had a great night. We're a different team when he plays the way he did tonight. We need him to continue to play at that level.

It's something I talked to A.J. about. At some point it was probably going to be time to make that switch. A.J. has been great about communicating back with me about it. Jermaine and Tinsley need to be together in the starting lineup on both ends of the floor.

The biggest thing is efficiency, because if you have a lot of turnovers on the road, the opponent is going to convert a lot of them. Jersey is a great conversion team off turnovers.

It's been tough for Fred this year because of the thumb; he's been in and out of it. He played great in the first two games, and I wanted to give him the opportunity to start and play a real significant stretch of minutes. We struggled to get him the ball (Saturday). I have to do a better job of putting him in a position where he can attack the basket and make plays. He wasn't able to do that, that's his game.

It's critical, let's face it. We're in a must-win situation almost every night. We have to win games. I just thought the guys came together as a team and did some really great things. It's important to be a playoff team. We've got a string of years we need to keep going.

This is a very important time for us if we're going to be a team that makes the playoffs. We can't afford to show up and not play a great game for 48 minutes.

I'm sad for him, for his family. A situation like this couldn't happen to a more undeserving person. Jonathan really is a great kid. He wanted to play basketball in the worst way and he wanted to help this franchise in the worst way.

In the second half, his disposition was different at both ends. He made great decisions, he played unselfishly and he made big shots when we had to have them. We couldn't have done it without him.

His abilities as a player are breathtaking. He's brought his game up to another level since he's come to New Jersey. I know Jason Kidd has had a lot to do with that. This isn't any news flash. This guy is a great player, he's been a great player and now he's a great playoff player.

He's experienced, he's a great shooter, he fits in with our personnel and the style we want to play,

He's an important guy on the floor and an important guy in the locker room, too. He's one of our leaders on this team. It's great having him back.

The margin for error for us is nonexistent. You have to really be great in all areas and playing at the highest (levels) in all areas. There were some things that happened that were mistakes that can't happen on the court. From a coaching standpoint, those things are part of the game and one of the things that makes it so difficult.

The key part of the game was the end of the second quarter. They did a great job finishing plays and giving themselves a chance to win. ... We couldn't get over the hump.

A.J. is playing with great awareness and great savvy. He looks like a guy that understands the pulse of the team he's running. The majority of the game, he's making our calls and directing us into things. He's a guy that really knows this team, as well as any player that I've had the opportunity to work with as a coach.

A.J. is playing with great awareness and great savvy. He just looks like a guy who understands the pulse of the team he runs. He knows his team as well as any player I've had an opportunity to coach.

A.J. had a great night. In the second half he did a great job of running the team. His efficiency in shot making and courage to step up in some tough spots put us in a position to win.