Coach Jerry Sloan, on the Rockets: "Very powerful."

You can tell there is alot of mutual respect between Yao and Stomile from their comments regarding each other below:


ROCKETS HEAD COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY

(on the game) "I thought we did some good things. I think we're shooting
ourselves in the foot with turnovers, but there were some good plays. I'm
still concerned about our level of energy. Other than that, everything's
fine."

(on the play of David Wesley) "I thought David (Wesley) played better
tonight. He was uncharacteristically turnover-prone tonight, but he shot it
well and I thought he played very well."

(on the play of Jon Barry) "Jon (Barry) is a great shooter, a great passer
and we know he'll do that for us. He was playing with a better lineup to
play with for him. He's not going to create his own shot, so he's going to
play off others. Jon (Barry) will play well offensively."

(on the play of Stromile Swift) "He does some really good things. One thing
all of our big guys, including him, have to do is to start reducing their
turnovers...our big men have far too many turnovers. Defensively, I think
he's grown every game...the more repetitions he gets, I think the better
served he'll be as far as cutting down his mistakes. Certainly he does some
things that are not able to be taught."

STROMILE SWIFT

(on his current role with the team) "I'm just playing my role and trying to
do the things that I can do to help the team win. That's basically making
plays, knocking down shots, getting rebounds, and running the court. Also,
in transition, I'm trying to help the team out. I will do whatever it takes
to help the team win."

(on playing alongside Yao Ming) "He makes the game easier for me and other
players, too. He draws so much attention, and that leaves everybody open. I
just try to feed off of that."

DAVID WESLEY

(on his off-season surgery recovery) "With having knee surgery and not
playing much basketball this summer, it's just taking me a little while to
get that rhythm and the last couple of games, I've just been working on it.
My shot felt very good tonight and I just made some baskets. I feel like I'm
ready to go (for the regular season)."

(on the team's progress to date) "We're not rebounding the ball as well as
we should; we're not taking care of the ball because we're averaging about
20 turnovers per game in the pre-season. There are certainly some things we
need to get better at; there are some defensive breakdowns out there. We
want to get out to a quick start like everybody else does, but the way we
played in preseason, we have to put more energy into it."

YAO MING

(on the Rockets' progress toward being ready for the regular season) "The
first half tonight, we were playing with very high energy on both sides, on
defense and offense. If we can play like that for 48 minutes, then I would
say we'd be ready. Right now, we played like that for 24, but we're not
quite there."

(on playing with Stromile Swift on the floor) "He is a high energy player.
Mentally he's out there trying to attack. He always attacks the ball,
whether it's offensively or defensively. That takes a lot of pressure off
of me."

JON BARRY

(on the areas that need improvement) "You can't really look at it like we're
6 and 1. That doesn't mean anything. I don't think we're playing the right
way...we're playing well in spurts. We're making a lot of mistakes
offensively executing our plays. Defensively, I thought we did some things
better, but there's been a lot of slippage. I think we're in a mode right
now where we are just going to turn the light on on Wednesday night (regular
season begins) and start playing well and that's not the right path to be
going down. It doesn't happen like that. I'm hoping that we have a great
last 4 days here (in pre-season) before we get going and start playing the
right way."

UTAH JAZZ HEAD COACH JERRY SLOAN

(on his team's play) "We had our moments but we had too many turnovers and
we can't afford that. We have to suck it up and keep the other team from
getting momentum. We have to know what is going on defensively and everyone
has to know what they are to do as a team. We have to learn how to play
together and not just as individuals."

(on Kirilenko's play) "I thought his shot selection was terrible. He has to
be more focused as to what we are doing as a team and if he takes those type
shots, he has to make them. I thought he played better in the second half.
He needs to do what we want him to do in the team concept of the game. We
have to all work for everything we get and be determined as a team."

(on Andre Owen's play) "He's done it every time he's stepped out there. He's
played very hard although he has made some mistakes as all rookies do."

(on the Rockets) "Very powerful. They are a real good team that will be up
on the top. They are very athletic and have very good shooters and they will
get better and better as the season goes

GREG OSTERTAG

(on his return to Utah) "This is a very good situation for me. I know what's
going on and I know Jerry (Sloan). We have a familiarity together. I respect
him 100%. There are times when we will butt heads together but I feel he
also respects me."

(on the Jazz) "We are a very young team and have to concentrate as a team
that works together as a team to be successful. One on one is not going to
work but as a team when we execute, things work out."

DERON WILLIAMS

(on the game) "I had a decent game but we lost and all I want to do is get
more wins."

(on playing against his college teammate, Luther Head) "It felt good. I'm
happy to see him here in Houston. He's worked so hard and he is capable of
being a very good player in this league. It's all business when we are out
on the court and we are always enemies on the court but we will always be
good friends off the court."

ANDRE OWENS

(on his play) "We lost and that never feels good. I just go out there and
execute the offense and do what Coach Sloan tells me to do. It feel great to
have this opportunity. I don't know (if I'll make the team) but I just try
to work as hard as I can and then let the coaches make their decisions. I'm
an energy guy and try and focus on my defense. I'll do whatever the coach
wants me too."

 

Forgot to add the link above:

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Post_Game_1026-155144-822.html