Doug Collins Team Quotations

A closing team is so important in the NBA. The last seven minutes is what you are always coaching to get to. Now you have your team set, you have the match-ups you want, you have your time-outs, your chance to finish the game, and that's my job, to get us to that position during the course of the game.

The great thing about basketball is you work as hard as you can to individually get better so that your team can win

To change a team you must change their comfort zone.

Work as hard as you can to become as good an individual player as you can to help your team win

Boston is a very proud franchise. The NBA misses them when they are not in the mix. They, along with teams like the Knicks and 76ers are a big part of the heart, soul and history of the league.

I remember when I went to try out for the Olympic team in 1972, Coach Iba told me he didn't care how many points I could score because if I couldn't guard anybody, I wasn't going to make the team. I knew to make the team I had to become a better defender. If you can play offense, you can defend. It just comes down to competitive will.

When hired three years ago, I willingly accepted the challenge of leading the Bulls back to the type of team this city richly deserves. I'm proud of the fact that each year the team has taken another step toward an NBA championship, and played with intense pride and determination.

This Miami team has a long way to go if they want to get back to the Eastern Conference finals.

The 76ers hold a special place in my heart and I am intrigued by the opportunity to return to Philadelphia, where I was part of a rebuilding program, joining the team the year after it went 9-73 and going to the NBA Finals just four years later.

I'm a numbers guy, and I think numbers sometimes tell stories and sometimes they don't. When you look at the NBA, when teams shoot 45% or better from the floor, what is their record? And if they shoot under that what is their record?

I think there's a lot of different ways to win. You've seen teams that win championships with a super-duper star like Kobe Bryant. Those championship teams with Michael Jordan certainly had a great, great player.

I think every time you coach a certain team, when you leave that franchise, I think you continue to grow. You take a look at the things that you did, the things you wish you had done better. You analyze your strengths and your weaknesses, and then when you move to your next job, you continue to do the same thing.

That comes down to veteran leadership. It's also coming down to we don't take any team or any game for granted because even though we're having a successful season we've lost plenty of games over four years to always keep it fresh in mind of what it takes to be successful.