http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Game_Quotes_Rockets_102_Lake-204405-34.html They Said It ... Game Quotes: Rockets 102, Lakers 77 ROCKETS HEAD COACH JEFF VAN GUNDY (on the Rockets' 2nd half defense) "I thought it was a low-energy game by both teams in the 1st half and in the 2nd half, we found the better energy and, obviously, they're playing back-to-back. I thought we had some good stands defensively, and Dikembe (Mutombo) in particular, and they missed some dead-open shots, so I think it was both." (on the play of Dikembe Mutombo during Yao Ming's absence) "He's at about 450 minutes total for the year now, so he played very little with Yao (Ming), so he's well rested but I think he showed much better production than any of us could hope. That's a testament to his pride and enthusiasm that he still has for the game." (on whether the crowd's reaction to Dikembe Mutombo surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the All-Time Blocked Shots list helped pump the team up during the 2nd half) "I thought it was a very low-energy game. I thought we were just a little bit better. I just think that we didn't have any energy at either end of the floor. We're not a team that's going to play well unless we're high energy, so throughout the 2nd half, Juwan (Howard) running out at a couple of fast-break lay-ups, Dikembe's (Mutombo) blocks I thought were good plays. I thought Mac (Tracy McGrady) got in the lane a little bit more, I thought Rafer (Alston) looked good. We had some more energy." (on the play of Shane Battier) "I honestly never look at his line. I don't have to look at his line to know he's good. You've just got to use your eyes. When you use your eyes, you can watch out there and he completes every play, he makes minimal mistakes, he's a low-turnover, high-efficiency shooter. I don't know what you'd term that except a hell of a player, a hell of a player." TRACY McGRADY (on the play of Dikembe Mutombo) "I told him, I had to pull him to the side and tell him how great he looked. Night-in and night-out, the big guy is playing great basketball for us and we need him to. With Yao (Ming) going down, the old man is getting it done out there at both ends of the court. He's knocking down baseline jumpers now. He's got the defense working and now he's working on offense." (on the overall play of Dikembe Mutombo during Yao Ming's absence) "To do it night-in and night-out, I knew he could do it in spurts, but to be consistent the way he has been, is unbelievable. It really is. And it's a great thing to see." (on the Rockets' confidence) "Just because we're without Yao (Ming), we still have 11 or 12 guys in this locker room that believe. When one guy falls down, that gives somebody the opportunity that wasn't getting the opportunity to play when Yao (Ming) was playing. Dikembe (Mutombo) and other guys are being very productive in their minutes on the basketball court and that's what you have to do in this league to be successful. Injuries happen in this league and it's just a matter of how you bounce back and who is going to step up." (on Luther Head's dunk late in the 2nd half) "Oh my God. That was amazing. I hope somebody got my facial expression when he dunked that ball because I forgot all about running back on the basketball court. I didn't care about defense in that point of time; I was just in awe of that play. It was a great basketball play. I think he surprised everybody on that play and everybody in the arena. That was his 1st dunk of the year and for him to dunk on somebody (Ronny Turiaf) was pretty impressive." SHANE BATTIER (on the play of the Rockets in the 2nd half) "We came out with a much better spirit and much better energy in the 2nd half. We were a step slow in the 1st half and we knew if we wanted to win this game, we'd have to pick it up. And we did a much better job with our energy coming out of halftime." (on the play of Dikembe Mutombo) "Wow. He is playing like a young man, a young man with something to prove. It's really fun for all of us to watch." (on trying to defend Kobe Bryant) "He's tough. He didn't make as many shots tonight, but he always has the capability of getting into a zone any given night. The good new is his average came down from 50 points to only about 45 in the 2 games that we've played them this year and I will take that, I guess." (on the Rockets as a team trying to defend Kobe Bryant) "I didn't have my best defensive game; I was in foul trouble early and I felt Luther (Head) did a great job on him (Kobe Bryant) and Mac (Tracy McGrady) did a great job on him (Kobe Bryant) when I was out of the game. He is so tough that you have to concentrate every single time he catches the ball because he has the potential to really get hot and put a lot of buckets together." DIKEMBE MUTOMBO (on his surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become #2 on the All-time Blocked Shots Leaders list) "Going behind Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the things that inspires all of us as young Africans who came to America to follow the dream of playing basketball. He opened the door to show that you could come into this game and dominate. And that's the reason why I'm going out today and buying champagne and toasting it to Hakeem Olajuwon for leading an example for me and inspiring me. He was a great role model for me." (on his legacy in the league) "When I came into the league 16 years ago, I told myself that if I walk away from this game, I just want to be remembered for one thing. Just to be one of the great defensive players to ever play this game. I never saw myself as being part of the offense and the time has come now for the history to be written that I was one of them. Whether I decide to walk away next year or not, I have played the game the way it's supposed to be played and I have accomplished my goal." RAFER ALSTON (on Coach Van Gundy having faith that he would break out of his shooting slump) "He knows. He has played before and he has coached for a very long time. He understands what someone can go through, but he also understands that you can't let that affect the rest of your basketball game and affect the team. He really wanted me to continue to do things I'm capable of doing like penetrating and dishing, defending the ball, getting some steals and running the team." (on his frustration during the slump) "It's tough because I'm not a guy who forces shots. I always take good shots and when you're missing like that, you find yourself taking more shots because the other team is going to keep giving you shots because they know you're going through a tough time. Each night my shots attempted was going up because other teams were giving me wide-open shots. You need to take them." (on his relief at playing better tonight) "There's definitely a relief factor. I need to stay with it and continue to go into the gym and get some more shots up. I need to keep my confidence in shooting the ball. The good thing is I was able to drive and finish some shots and I got a few lay-ups tonight." LOS ANGELES LAKERS HEAD COACH COACH PHIL JACKSON (on the Rockets) "The Rockets played good defense and Mutombo had some big blocks and we couldn't shoot the ball in the second half. Mutombo had a great night. He is very capable of doing his thing inside." (on the Lakers play) "Our passing failed us and we didn't shoot the ball well. We have a young team and we need to stay positive and get back to what we were doing well. You want your guys to carry a philosophy and these back-to-back losses are a learning experience for us." (on getting ejected from the game) "It was one of those situations when one of our guys drove the basket and got knocked into the first row of seats. I really don't want to talk about it. It's not worth it." (on Kobe Bryant's injury) "I could see he couldn't move as well in the second half and once he sat down in the fourth quarter, that was it for him. I think it happened on a defensive play and we will have to wait and see if he will be ready for the next game." LUKE WALTON (on the team's recent play) "That's just the ups and downs of the NBA. We had a four game win streak and now we are hitting a low (back to back losses) and we have to get out of our funk. It sucks that we are not playing well and we have to get this thing together." (on the Rockets' play) "The Rockets are a very good team and you're going to beat some teams playing like we are but not the Rockets. Dikembe Mutombo was kicking our butts tonight. He's been doing that for 15 years so I am not surprised. VLADIMIR RADMONOVIC (on the game) "There was nothing positive about the game. We got our ass kicked and that is all there is to say." ANDREW BYNUM (on Dikembe Mutombo's finger wag) "I had a couple of blocked shots too but I didn't wave my finger. That's his thing." (on the Lakers play) "We missed from everywhere. We missed wide open jump shots and from everywhere we shot from. I didn't get any offensive rebounding and I am working on that. I don't know what's been happening because we weren't ready to play and that can't be an excuse." KOBE BRYANT (on how his groin strain occurred) "It happened in the second quarter when I got an outlet pass and tried to take off and I pulled it. It feels tight and I will let it chill and I should be fine to play on Friday." (on Phil Jackson's ejection) "I really didn't see much. I was surprised because it hasn't happened often." (on the Lakers' play) "We are not executing well on the offensive end. We didn't come out and play well in the third quarter and that really hurt us." (on Dikembe Mutombo and what Andrew Bynum could learn from him) "Dikembe is masterful in what he does and he knows how to play the game. Andrew needs to learn from him and talk to him when he can to get some pointers. I always went out of my way to talk to the great players when I got in the league to learn things from them and he can do the same."
Hmm...isn't Bynum taking 'pointers' from Kareem? Is Kobe taking a subtle dig at Kareem or is it just me? Even Kobe thinks Deke >>>>> Kareem
I'm surprised you guys didn't notice Deke called himself a young african He sure is playing like one though.
just got home from work an hour or 2 ago...i havent seen this mentioned anywhere but my Yahoo fantasy league notes states McGrady injured his back in the first half and is doubtful for the next game!! WTF? Anyone know anything more on this? Link http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3179/news News and Notes Jan 10 - McGrady was held to eight points and appeared to aggravate his troublesome back late in the first half of a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. His status for Friday's game at Denver is uncertain. Advice: McGrady topped the 30-point mark in his previous six games. If McGrady can't play Friday, Luther Head will likely take his spot in the starting lineup.
i don't see any indication that he hurt himself. he played late into the 4th quarter and even when he came out he was standing and joking with the players on the bench. he looked fine walking to the lockerroom as well and he makes no mention of it in the postgame quotes. i suspect he's fine.
Its also mentioned in the ESPN recap McGrady, who missed seven games last month with back spasms, was fouled on a drive by Brian Cook in the final minute of the half and winced in pain as he walked to the free-throw line. He missed both shots and had only six points at the break, though he also had six assists. Houston also snapped a four-game losing streak to the Lakers with little scoring help from Tracy McGrady, who'd topped 30 points in each of his last six games. McGrady had only eight points and appeared to aggravate his troublesome back late in the first half. He also had 12 assists. link http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270110010 call me a worry wart
I think he meant when he came to America to play at Georgetown as a 22 (maybe) year old and later in the NBA. Hakeem was in his fifth year with the Rockets in '89, so he had already provided a role-model for the young Deke to follow.
No worries mate, TMac was playing all the way till the last 2.5 minutes of the game. When he went out of the game, he was hamming it up with Deke on the bench, rubbing Deke's head( . Besides, we got the ultimate back healer on our side:JP
Suprised no mention is made about Kobe running off the bench with 3.5 minutes or so left, once again quitting and bailing out on teammates. If T-Mac had done that everyone would be bashing him for having no heat and not being a leader.
He did not quit and bail on his teammates. He had a groin injury and decided to go to the locker room. You guys will grab at anything to criticize Kobe
I don't think he said it to be a sore loser.. I think that was a "why would I mock the guy and disrespect the iconic nature of his finger wag" but maybe I am wrong ... I have the tendancy to give people the benefit of the doubt.
He is an arrogant dick of a rapist. People can mock him for whatever they want, real or imagined, as far as I am concerned.
