http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/rice_pressconf_010817.html?nav=ArticleList Rice Conference Call Quotes The Houston Rockets conducted a media conference call with Glen Rice on Friday, Aug. 17, moments after completing their trade with the New York Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks. Following are excerpts from that call: Q: What did it feel like waiting for the trade to be finalized? Rice: "I was fine. I understand what the process of the owner (Leslie Alexander) was. He wanted to find out the extent of the injury. I didn't have any problem with that at all. Once I found out that Houston really wanted me to come there, I figured that it was just a matter of time for the deal to get done." Q: What does your rehabilitation consist of and when do you expect to be in game-playing shape? Rice: "I'm doing a lot of stretching and workouts to get the strength back into my foot and my ankle. As far as when I'll be back on the floor, that depends on how well the rehab goes. It could be two or three weeks, but I'm pretty optimistic about being there when training camp starts." Q: Did the trade delay surprise you? Rice: "When you bring in a guy with any type of injury, you have to understand that if a team wants to do their homework (on that injury), then you have to give them room to do so. That didn't bother me at all. I was pretty sure that the deal was going to go through. Plantar fasciitis is an injury that will go away with hard rehab and patience. I'm doing both of those things, and I feel pretty good about bouncing back off of it." Q: Do you look forward to being one of the focal points of the offense with the Rockets? Rice: "I think it's going to be good. It's a role that I'm very familiar with. I feel that my talent has not diminished in any way. The last couple of years have been a role reversal for me, where I had to be more of a complementary player than the one out in front. But we have a lot of talent here (with the Rockets) and there's no way in the world that I can come in here and carry the load myself. But at the same time, I definitely feel like I will be a lot more involved than I was with my past two teams." Q: How much did your injury hurt your offense last year? Rice: "It affected it a great deal. Being a shooter, you have to get your legs up under you and you have to be able to get that lift. I wasn't able to do that but, at the same time, told my team that I would try to give them whatever I could. It was an unfortunate situation with the injury, but I still went out there trying to give my best performance." Q: Do you expect to return to scoring 20 points per game? Rice: "I definitely think that I can do that. There's no question about that. I just think that, in order to have such a high performance, you have the opportunity. I think that in Houston I'll be put in a situation where I'll have that chance and I'll do my best to take advantage of it." Q: What are your thoughts on coming to a younger team? Rice: "I look forward to that. I think that, with my experience of being in the league for so long and my playoff experience of winning a championship, I can help these guys. I think I can point each guy in the right direction and give my advice on what's needed to get to that next level. I'm sure the guys on the team are going to respect what I say."
I think it had more to do with the questions he was asked, but any guy is going to want to believe that.
It's not just you, I sensed the same thing. But I sort of expected it anyways. Great shooters are usually the most cocky, confident players. This is a good thing and a big reason why they are such great shooters, but I just hope RT will able to keep all these players happy.
Seemed to me the questions were asked to try to get him to say he was going to be the man. I thought he handled it well. The quote says what he meant, I believe. Compared to how he was treated by LA and NY his role will be more important.
If he can play like the Rice of old, the one who carried the hornets on his back, I say let him be the man... of course, that is easily said than done.
Anyone who has played hoops regularly as an adult knows that there is no big falloff between the ages of about 30-35, but when you hit 38 it's like 5 years JUST GET PILED ON!
I would like to see him come in and take over kicking Catos butt into gear! He handled the interview well. The interviewers always hope you will say something that they can stir up crap with!
I agree. He did seem to always end his "I can still score 20" type statements with a "I want to fit in and do my best for the team" line. That, to me, shows that he really is excited and thinks he can significantly contribute, but that he also is congnizant of the other players and thier roles. I definitely agree that we should give the guy a chance.
Hey just out of curiosity, has anybody heard what Steve and the rest of the team thinks about the trade?
Your owner's instincts were correct all along. This is probably too much money to commit to a player this old with a serious injury. But we Mav's fans are glad this deal went through so we could get rid of Eisley. Now, we're gonna pursue an older PG in Hardaway, but he will be a backup at a LOT less money than the Rockets committed to Rice. WildArkieBoy
Trainers say he MAY be ready for the season's start,he says he will be ready for training camp (almost 2 months before).Who to believe?It would be great if he had some time to adjust to the way steve and cat play.
DallasRocket answered most of the questions on a number of threads concerning Rice's medical diagnosis and the treatments for it. But I will reiterate somewhat .... he needs tons of foot rest coupled with strict rehab. It will heal well and the prognosis is good if he does not get overeager. Mild stretching excercises progressing to more controlled strenous movements will be the likely order. Rehab can be reversed to further injury very quickly if he pushs the tendon beyond resonable lenghths. The problem is that the tendon has contracted acutely and thus strains the entire planatar complex. It is painful. The solution is to stretch it so that it becomes more supple, but not tear or damage it. Therefore the training staff will be wanting him to slllllllooooowwwwwwly reneter the game with calculated daily regimes of stretching and applications of stress to realize its natural elastic function. Rice, being competitive, will want to push the envelope. That's what got him in trouble in the first place.
