That's What He Said - vs Clippers 12/11

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Clippers at Celtics
TD Garden, December 11, 2013



Celtics 88
Brad Stevens
Re: Feeling the emotion during the game:
"I honestly couldn’t. I’d be making it up if I said I could. So no I could not. I thought we played really well in the first half. I didn’t think we played well at all in the second half and without watching the film its hard for me to say. I knew they were good and they deserve a lot of credit, but hopefully we can get better and I’ll watch film and see if it was more them or more us."

Re: The effect of missing players:
"We were small. We were out of sync that’s for sure, but you know that happens and we have to have the ability to adjust to that better than we did. They went small as well. They’ve got a couple of guys out and they handled it better than we did. By the end of the game we were reaching a little bit and kind of searching and we got back into it and cut it to 2, and obviously the big 3’s back to back."

Re: Not defending the 3 well:
"Re: Well again you’ve got guys playing unique spots although by that time I think we were a little bit more traditional. We had a couple of choices to make and pick your poison: Dudley (Jared) in the corner or Crawford (Jamal) in the wing one time and we ran at Dudley, which he’s a good percentage shooter from the corner or has been over the courses of his career. Crawford’s the guy that got going so sometimes those things workout, sometimes they don’t. When Crawford gets going that’s scary. When anyone gets 21 points off the bench for your team adds a great deal, especially in a game like this."

Re: Applauding during Doc's tribute video:
"I’ve been asked this a lot this week, about my emotions or my thoughts coming into the game. I respect a good coach and I’m appreciative to the opportunity that I have and I’m appreciative of the time that he spent here. I’m appreciative of the good times he had and I’m appreciative of the tough ones he had that built to those good times. I don’t know him very well, but I admire what he’s accomplished and everyone else was up and I should have been up too."

Re: The Clippers' bench:
"Well they got 34 points off the bench and Collison (Darren) was huge late and when Crawford (Jamal) gets going he’s as good as anyone, he’s hard to stop. They were really good, they were really tough. Their depth will just improve as Jackson (Stephen) gets more adjusted to being around again and he’ll make a couple of those shots that he missed. When they get healthy they’ve obviously got a really deep team. They are 15-8 in the West and the West is loaded and they are one of the contenders for a reason."

Jared Sullinger
Re: Seeing Doc during the tribute video:
"I was so locked into the game I didn’t get a chance to look at him."

Re: The game:
"It was just a basketball game. No emotional attachment, not like my girlfriend was playing on the other side."

Re: Doc coaching in Los Angeles:
"He had to do what’s best for him. Honestly. That’s a business. That’s the NBA and you just gotta respect it."

Gerald Wallace
Re: What cost Boston the game:
"I don’t think we executed. We didn’t play very well offensively or defensively tonight. We didn’t share the ball offensively; we didn’t swing the ball from side to side. We didn’t commit to the defensive end and on the defensive end we didn’t challenge them, we didn’t play them, we let them do what they wanted to do offensively."

Re: Last two losses coming because of talent differential:
"No, I think we’ve played very talented teams and those types of teams you have to play an almost perfect game. You gotta come out and execute, you gotta stick to your gameplan, and we didn’t do that. We didn’t do that against Brooklyn, we got off to a slow start, and we didn’t do that tonight against the Clippers."


Clippers 96
Doc Rivers
Re: Being emotional during the tribute:
"Yeah, it was... I’m still emotional. I thought the fans were... It was just a really nice day. This is, it’s just such a classy place here. So it was really nice when I walked out and, you know I’m not used to walking out on that side, and all those guys, the people, they lined up and I was basically useless for the first eighteen minutes of the game, I thought. It was just nice. It didn’t surprise me because that’s just the way – you’ve got to live here to understand it – that’s just the way they are. It’s an amazing fan base. It really is. And I just want everything to go well for them."

Re: The challenge of coaching against the Celtics:
"That was hard. That was hard. You know, every time they were taking the ball out, one of their guys, Jeff (Green) and everyone talking to you, and you’re trying to keep your focus. And it’s funny, I told my coaches I needed halftime far more than the players. And I think they sensed that, I will say that. You could see at halftime CP (Chris Paul) he was like, ‘We got it. We got it.’ He kept saying that. So I think they sensed that a little bit for me, and that was nice."

Re: It being too late to change his mind about leaving:
"I don’t know. I tell you, boy, this is such a neat place. I tell people all the time – people don’t get Boston, they really don’t. They don’t understand. And I think you have to be part of it to get it. I really do. I don’t think you can get it from the outside. It’s just a special, different place, and people were born here and raised here and they cheer for their teams, and they love their athletes. And it’s just a great place to be. The best decision I ever made was 10 years ago, when I decided to come. That was the best decision I ever made."

Re: Advice to Coach Stevens:
"Just do what he does. He’s coached as long as me, just not in the NBA. He’s going to be terrific. He’s going to be a terrific coach. I think he’s already doing it. He’s just solid, does his job every night, goes home. That’s what you want. Brad’s going to be a terrific coach and he’s going to be here a long time."

Jamal Crawford
Re: What changed in the second half:
"It started with our defense. Whenever we get stops and get out and run that is when we are at our best, we move the ball. I think the second half we had a much clearer vision of what we were looking for. Even the second unit we start getting our groove back. I think that helps the starters and I think it helps the coach."

Re: His chemistry with Darren Collison:
"Yeah, we had some moments like that in Memphis. If we continue to get that chemistry down and continue to play off of each other I think we will be in pretty good shape the rest of the way."

Antawn Jamison
Re: The importance of getting a win for Doc Rivers:
"Oh it was very important. I think a lot of us who have been on a team and been in those situations where you have been traded, you always want to go back, especially that first game and get that win. We knew how important it was for Doc and what it meant for him to get the win. You know it was definitely something we wanted to do. You know we was frustrated with the way we played in the first half but we was able to keep our composure and come out in the second half."

Re: Joining the list of players who have scored 20,000 points:
"Yeah I looked at it. That says a lot. You know it was names like Hakeem (Olajuwon), Charles (Barkley) and those guys. You know guys as a kid that I looked up to and to be mentioned in the same category as those guys I mean that speaks volumes. I am grateful and blessed to still be able to do this."




bob
MY  NOTE:  GREAT answers by Sully.  For a young'un, as KG used to call them, he's a real pro.  



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