Pat Riley Great Quotations

Shaq did a great job tonight. We have to make sure he's not in foul trouble and constantly look to go to him.

He has a great demeanor about it. If he got upset, it would be awful.

He is a very athletic, quick, explosive scorer and has great experience. One of the reasons why we are making the trade is that we haven't had anyone here like that since Tim Hardaway left.

He made the game easy for us. There are nights when there's going to be some real heavy lifting on his part, and there are going to be nights when he has to facilitate. I thought he did a great job in doing that.

He's a great player, there's no doubt about that.

He's a great player. He's one of the top five guys in the league.

He was feeling real free, and we need that from him. That's what we expected when we traded for him, is that we'd have that versatility. Having a great game from Antoine really helps.

He was having a great game and it was a pretty ugly foul. I think he is OK.

I also believe Odom would complement Eddie Jones and Brian Grant, our two veteran leaders. As I have said before, we are committed to winning and will do whatever it takes to give our fans talented players and a great team.

He just got beat down there, didn't he? Phil is one of the great complainers of all time.

I think I read a headline today, 'Great players versus a great team', and I hope we do have great players on the way to becoming a great team. I think a win like this today begins to develop a sense of confidence.

I thought we did a great job at the end of finally closing down and forcing some misses. The Bulls are a drive-and-kick, pick-and-roll type of team. They can stay with you if they get open shots.

I thought we did a great job at the end of finally closing down and creating some misses.

I think they have great respect for New Jersey. They are a very effective team right now and they're developing a lot of confidence.

Our guys had great respect for this team. They stung us.

We just couldn't stop Vince. We put two or three different guys on him. We tried to guard him the best we could. But Vince Carter is a great player. He's a runner and when he elevates, he can get above big guys.

(Wade) was real efficient against Portland. He was 13-for-19 tonight, 11 assists. When they load up on (Heat center Shaquille O'Neal ), it makes the defense guard him or not guard him. He's such a great pick-and-roll player.

We were hanging on, and we have to give him credit. He just stepped up. He wasn't that mobile, but he did have an effect once he got a little bit warm. He had a great fourth quarter.

We didn't bring him here on a gurney. This is not a quick trip to South Beach. He still has the ability to make some big plays, and at the same time he did a great job defending Kobe.

We didn't play with great desire and we got our heads handed to us for the second game in a row. Crossroads No. 1 is where we're at right now.

We didn't do as well as we've done this year, but it was just really great to be there, ... There's a lot of great golfers there and we'll be back next year.

When you are getting your (butt) kicked you take it and move on to Game 4. They were doing a great job of kicking our (butt) and then we started looking at the officials. Our guys have a lot of pride, but to me that is not what it is all about.

We had a great fourth quarter defensively. We did not get into foul trouble early and made some really big defensive plays. They shot the ball extremely well tonight. We were down going into the fourth quarter and really raised the level of our defense.

What people don't understand is, last year we had two great players, but you need more talent. You can never have enough talent.

We got a break tonight. Bobby Simmons is a great player - Mo Williams - those two guys would have created a lot of problems for us. The thing about a speed team, if you can see them walking up and down the court, you've done something.

We just had a great first quarter. I mean, it was just incredible. I don't think I've ever seen this team play like that.

Eddie's always been the kind of guy coming off the bench with great energy, a real pure heart. It's hard to find guys like him.

Strange things happen when you think things are at their worst. I thought Gary (Payton) did a great job of running the offense and making some big plays in the fourth quarter. James Posey had timely shots and two big offensive tip-outs. We had other players step up when we had to.

This is an entirely different basketball team than I've ever coached. The personalities are different. There's a lot of great things. There's a lot of things that have to be purged. It's just a whole different view. There's a lot of good parts, so it's going to take some time to figure it all out.

They played an absolutely great game. They did what they had to do defensively. It didn't help us that Shaquille got in foul trouble. Any time he gets in foul trouble and has to sit down, it sets us and him back.

They got great individual play from him. And now they're finding the spirit and camaraderie to play together.

They're a great team. They can score. They can stop. That's why they're who they are.

It was an absolute eye-opener. I've seen a lot of great quarters. I don't think I've ever seen one exactly like that where a team hits nine 3s (actually eight). We didn't play well, we didn't play with great desire and we got our heads handed to us for the second game in a row.

It's almost a crossroads for me right now, to find the competitive warriors and the competitiveness of those guys will transcend the talent and reputation. I'm going to try to find the guys who are going to try to play the hardest and best in support of our two great players.

Great effort springs naturally from a great attitude.