Anthony Johnson Quotations

We know where we're sitting. We're right in the thick of things in the conference. Any type of setback can cause us to fall pretty quick. We're floating right around the .500 mark and we don't like that. It's a matter of us taking care of our business and not take any team lightly.

Whenever we're playing teams that don't have good records, we play well for three quarters, but we don't close them out down the stretch.

We were aware of his every whereabouts. He likes to make his moves in transition. We had three or four guys back every time. We took Kobe out of his sweet spots by running guys at him, and their other guys never got going.

We were in control of the game. We started the fourth quarter pretty well, but for whatever reason as a team we fell apart. Our aggressiveness wasn't where it needed to be.

I was guarding Tony Allen, who was kind of indecisive about where to go on the play. With it being a three point game, I knew Paul was going to be aggressive. (Stephen) Jack(son) did a good job riding him and I was able to stick my hand in for the steal.

I don't know what it is. For whatever reason, they find ways to beat us. They're just a very athletic team. I'm not quite sure if there's another team in the NBA as athletic as those guys. They're all 6-8 and they all block shots, they all rebound, they all get out on the break, they all handle the ball, they all make shots. You have to give those guys credit.

I feel my offensive game is coming around, and I'm trying to be more productive.

I don't think anybody in this locker room expected to be one game under .500 at this point. I don't think anybody expected to be one game under any time this season. We can talk about it, but now it's time to just show up and play ball.

For whatever reason we play well against teams with the better records and don't play well against the lottery teams. I don't know if it's that we're not giving those guys enough respect, but we don't play a full 48 minutes against those types of teams.

Guys couldn't make shots and we weren't able to get into a flow. We let this one get away and it's very disappointing with two tough road games coming up.

We looked stagnant and out of rhythm and they took advantage of it. For whatever reason, we play well against the teams above .500 and not so well against the lottery teams. I don't know if we aren't giving them enough respect, but we just don't play a full 48 minutes against those type of teams.

He lets you know how he wants it done and he expects you to do it that way. If you improvise, you better get a basket or a hell of a play because if things don't work out, he's going to let you know about it.

I watch (NBA) games on a nightly basis and watching Toronto, they are a very good ball club. Their record (21-41) doesn't indicate how good they are. Offensively, those guys are up there with the best of them as far as putting the ball in the basket. You have to respect that.

It feels good to have that monkey off our back. It's a joyous locker room.

It felt good when it left my hands. I held up my hand and thought it was the bottom of the net. But tonight all of my shots ended up a little short.

We had just lost eight of nine, or something like that, and now we've won three in a row. It's important to go into the playoffs with momentum. We're feeling good about ourselves. It's important for us to finish these three games out playing well so when the playoffs come, we do have some momentum and we're ready to play.

We haven't had much success against losing ball clubs, and being on a five-game losing streak, it feels good to finally get a game in the win column.

We know now we can't take any team for granted. The energy level wasn't where it needed to be against those teams earlier. They would come out and play hard, and we had a tendency of putting ourselves in a hole and found out we couldn't just turn it on. . . . Due to the fact that we're short-handed, it's definitely going to take a full game for us to come out with victories.

When you're on the road, you have to focus on the task at hand. You can't worry about the crowd and you can't worry about the referees or anything that's going on besides what's between the lines.

When you see (Detroit) on the schedule, you kind of circle those dates because our fans and their fans really pay attention to this game. There was a lot of excitement out there.

We'll have our hands full offensively and defensively. We need to get it going as soon as possible. We're at .500 now; we need to get back some of those games.

We saw Milwaukee lost last night, so we knew we had to come in and take care of our business. We wanted to avoid Detroit. They've shown what type of team they are.

We're relishing the opportunity to right some wrongs from the regular season. If we do well in the playoffs, all is forgiven. We feel good about what we bring to the table. All talk is out the window and it's time to play.

We were teetering on not putting those guys away but we were able to put together some stops there in the second half.

We've got to do a better job of getting him on the move and coming off screens. Tonight he showed us that he can get the job done coming off screens. So from now on, when the game's on the line those are the play calls that we're going to make and hopefully he can take us home.

We've had the lead at halftime, but then come the third and fourth quarter, we just get away from what has made us successful. Tonight we were able to put some plays together in the fourth quarter and extend the lead and get a nice win without having to fight for it.

We were playing for each other. That's something we haven't done in a while.

We had them on the ropes and on their heels once we got up by 12. You could tell they were a little shaken. All we had to do was play tough for another three, four minutes and things would have probably swayed our way.

We feel very good about our chances of making the playoffs. I really don't think that's a concern in this locker room. It is a concern that we are playing well going into the playoffs. We don't want to stagger in and barely make it.

Everyone wants to label guys, label me as a backup point guard, a guy that can't get it done. Those are the opportunities where you have to step up and make it happen.

It was a broken play. When it's a broken play, you've just got to do your 1-on-1 thing.

After backing him up for two years I know him pretty well. I feel pretty good about my success against him the last two years, but now it's the playoffs.

Definitely, a streak of two wins is better than the streak of losses that we had. We must work on our defense and keep playing together and looking for the open person. When we play like this, we're going to win ball games.

You see the trash on the road every day, things like McDonald's bags, ... It's because of ignorance, people, near-sightedness and ignorance. It's a serious problem. It's going to cost money to solve, and it's going to cost more the longer we wait.

A lot of people look at the glass as half empty. It's half full. We're playing with great intensity. We've just got to keep it going.

They make you play their tempo. If you don't make shots, they can dominate you. We would put up a string of baskets and you look up at the board and you're still down by 12.

This is what you think about as a kid in the backyard, hitting big shots to win big games. We're a resilient bunch. We played a hard fought game and got a much needed victory.

It's exciting. There's a time you either step up your play and help your team win, or you go home crying like a little baby.

It's not much fun losing, especially five in a row. I thought we played with more confidence, and our defensive pressure helped our offense. ... We were just trying to be more aggressive.

It starts on defense for us. Whenever we're getting stops like we were in the second half, we were able to run and get things in transition. If you're constantly taking the ball out of the basket, it makes things difficult. It makes it difficult to run. As long we're able to defend we'll be fine.

It means a lot. This gives us a lot of confidence. If you lose the first game it's like you are fighting from behind the whole series. We wanted to get a leg up on them, put the pressure of being behind on those guys.

It's good to put two together. Our defense wasn't up to par, but at the same time, we shared the ball and made timely baskets. It was a much needed win.

That made a big difference. They come out there, starting it up, and everyone else picks it up.

Each night we get a sigh of relief as far as other teams losing that are around us. Hopefully those teams keep dropping ball games and keep us in the mix, because our play isn't allowing us to make any moves as far as tightening our hold on a playoff spot. You have to consistently put together some ball games. Well, not even ball games. We have to put together the next ball game and get a win.

I've had pretty good success against J. The times that I have been able to get him off-balance, I've been able to get by him. J is still a great defender. But if my number is called, I have no trouble stepping up to the challenge.

It was a great win for us. That's the type of game that had been going against us this year.

They hit a big 3 and we went down five and never got back in it.

Once they cut the lead to 91-90, it was time for somebody to step up and make some plays. Guys were finding me in some good spots and I was able to knock down shots that helped us win the game.

I'm not sure if it's the records or not being able to finish ballgames, whenever we're playing teams that don't have good records we play well for three quarters, but we don't close them out down the stretch.

I knew it was coming my way, and I just waited on it.

He threw me a perfect pass. It felt good. I thought it was bottom of the net, but it ended up short.

All that brawl stuff and playing the Pistons, everything that went on last year, we've kind of shut the door on that as far as the organization, as far as the team, as far as individuals.

The first three spots are pretty much out of your hands. It's pretty much keep your eyes out on four through eight and you just have to take care of your own business. Right now, it's still a ways away and we just have to take it one game a time.

The member is suggesting that the public will have an opportunity - which really is the issue. Could you advise us what mechanism you propose to adopt to get the views of the public?