NBA: 02.09.05 Post Game Quotes

02.09.05 Post Game Quotes: "Rockets.com" (Hope these are available after every game)

(Hope these are available after every game)

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/020905_Post_Game_Quotes-131752-822.html

HOUSTON ROCKETS HEAD COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY

(on the play of David Wesley) "Like I said, I'm trying to devise a defense where (David) Wesley can guard everybody on perimeter, and if I come up with that, I know we'll be good defensively because he's a hell of a defender. He can guard point guards, then he's over on (Ben) Gordon, then he's on (Kirk) Hinrich and (Ben) Gordon, then I wanted to get him on (Chris) Duhon, so he set a great tone for us defensively. He really has."

(on the defensive play of Tracy McGrady) "I thought Tracy (McGrady) was very energetic defensively tonight as well (as David Wesley)."

(on the recent play of Yao Ming) "I think whatever criticisms there are of Yao (Ming) are ridiculous. You sit there, and everybody's got an opinion on Yao (Ming)...I know this. In 31.3 minutes that he averages right now, he's averaging over 18 (points) and 8 (rebounds), and there are very few people doing that. If you prorated that out to what normal starters minutes are, that's a hell of a number. You can't convince some people once they get their mind lock in, so we're very, very happy with how Yao's (Ming) playing, played and continues to play."

(on the play of Dikembe Mutombo) "Well, I think again, this is a better night for him, obviously because they're playing big versus overly quick, but he's really done a great job. It goes right to his pride and professionalism, which he's got a tremendous amount of. He understands who he's playing behind and some nights it's going to be a lot, and some nights it's going to be little if any and he accepts both in the spirit of the team. You won't hear him speak out like you see some other players about 'I'
all the time."

TRACY McGRADY

(on the Rockets's winning streak) "The last, I don't know how many games, but it's been awhile, we've been doing a great job of sharing the ball, executing our offense, making the right plays for the team and limiting our turnovers. Also, I think we're opening our fast breaks (opportunities) as well. The offense is definitely clicking. If we can get our defense on that same page, then we'll really be a hell of a team."

(on the Rockets's defense tonight) "I think tonight we did a pretty good job of stepping up our intensity on defense. We did a great job of helping each other. Sometimes we make a good first effort, but we don't make a good extra effort and tonight I felt like we did a good job of doing that."

(on the performance of Dikembe Mutombo) "He really did a great job defensively. I think when he came into the game, that's when everything really turned around for us because he did a great job of not only just changing their shots, but also he was blocking shots and getting rebounds.
He played big for us tonight and to see that out of him, going up against those young, athletic guys was pretty amazing."

BOB SURA

(on the offensive success of the Rockets tonight) "It makes our job a lot easier when guys get rolling. You try to look for them and feed them which is really easy when you've got guys out there making shots and making plays.
Our offense is going so smoothly."

(on the Rockets's progress) "We're getting there. We're making strides and we're continuing to get better every day. Our offense is doing well, but our defense has slipped a little bit. If we can get both going, then we can be pretty good."

YAO MING

(on the Rockets's slow start tonight defensively) "I thought we had no problem on offense, but to let them score 29 points in the 1st quarter, that's pretty bad. We definitely need to do better on defense and rebounding the ball. I thought that our second team came into the game and did a great job in the 2nd quarter and that set the tone for us overall. Dikembe
(Mutombo) and Jon Barry played really well, which helped us."

(on the Rockets's progress during their current winning streak) "The last couple of games, we've been pretty good on offense, but also we haven't done as well defensively. For some reason we've loosened up on the defensive side and when you learn something on offense, you can't pick up something and then drop something else."

DAVID WESLEY

(on how he prepares defensively for opponents) "I think every night I prepare to play, even odd match-ups, whether it's a big guy or a guard. If I get in that mind-frame, and if I play a guy a little bit different(ly), then at least I'm going to be ready. At some point throughout the game, maybe I won't start on him (opponent), but at some point I may end up on him and I would try to give some different looks. I've taken a lot of pride in accepting the challenge that he (Coach Jeff Van Gundy) has given me every night to play different guys. I try to get in people's face and make it tough for them to score."

BULLS HEAD COACH SCOTT SKILES

(on the game) �If you look at the numbers, I could say that we struggled defensively and we had trouble finding the basket. We couldn't put the ball in the basket. We could tell from the beginning of the game that we were a half step slow. It took the wind out of our sails and we were fighting from behind all night."

(on defending Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady) �We were not very good against Yao, but we did a respectable job against Tracy. Yao seemed like he could have scored at will all game."

(on the Rockets) �Houston is a better team then us and we would have had to play an error free game, like we did against Dallas last night, and we just didn't do it. Houston came out and executed and made plays, and that was the game."

(on the Bulls's play) �We didn't play our best. We didn't make our shots, and our rotations were slow defensively and that cost us the game. We got good shots, but they didn't fall.

TYSON CHANDLER

(on the Bulls's play) "For some reason we were having trouble executing the small things. Our offense was out of sync. Our guys came out and played hard but we didn't execute. I try and set a tone but it didn't pick us up.
You can't try and play catch up against a good team like Houston."

LUOL DENG

(on playing against Tracy McGrady) "T-Mac is an unbelievable player. He makes it look so easy out there. It is something I have to prepare for and learn against one of the best players in the league."

(on whether the team tired after playing last night) "We'd love to deny it but it is true our energy wins games for us and it just wasn't there today.
We might have been tired from last night's game. Everything was falling for Houston but not for us tonight."

BEN GORDON

(on the game) "We were a half-step slow and we weren't making our shots. We have to manufacture easy baskets for us to win, and that starts from our defensive pressure. It just wasn't there."

(on the Rockets's play) "Houston played pretty well. They have two great players in Yao (Ming) and (Tracy) McGrady, and everyone else plays their roles, and it's really hard to stop them."