Bernie Bickerstaff Quotations

We still lack the maturity that when you have control of the basketball game, you can't let anybody take you out of it. We had a lead and things started to go awry. We lost our focus.

When we come to Miami, we need to just mail it in. We don't even need to stop.

When we come to a decision, we make that move regardless of when it is. Some team could pick Kareem up at a nominal cost and still have the right (to pick up the option on his contract for next season).

What a game, historically, to be a part of.

We want to build a team that has ability to sustain itself, not just an ability to win a few more games right away. We've studied all the expansion teams. We're working under the idea that it's a marathon, not a sprint.

The only question I have is whether I'd like more of a contrast ... That's nothing personal against Bernard. Bernard is a great athlete who plays defense. But we need a contrast, too.

We're good listeners and good facilitators, ... We have to make a decision not to do anything that is vindictive, but just to try to do something that we can derive some benefit from...

We need a scorer. It doesn't need to be a shooter, but it's got to be a scorer. There's a lot of help out there. I'm comfortable with that. ... What we project as our needs, (the 2006 draft should be) strong at that.

Seventy-four points at the half - that's like being at the South Pole for us.

Most teams that you have, they have one or two go-to guys. They've got a go-to team.

Most teams have a go-to guy. Detroit has a go-to team.

My hat's off to Keith. He really played well for us tonight. My conversations to Keith have been to be patient and to be a good teammate.

Obviously it's always very difficult. It has its benefits because we watch guys evolve and they get an opportunity. But where the difficulty comes in is all the things you've implemented you can't do, especially offensively. That's the tough part when you're sitting there and you're wondering what to call and how to call it. That's the challenge.

Obviously, if you've only got nine or 10 guys that play a lot of minutes over two nights, you're not able to rotate the ball as well to your shooters. When it was winning time we didn't get it done, but I'm proud of their effort tonight.

Phil has that ability (to judge). He was in our locker room ? at our games.

Peoria, Connecticut, Atlanta, ... I've got the Big East tournament on Thursday, the ACC on Friday, the SEC on Saturday. Then we've got the NCAA tournament. We've had guys out for the past six months. We've seen all the consensus top high school guys. We've been to Europe. We've ranked all the NBA players from all 29 teams. We've got guys everywhere.

I would be wrong if I said I hadn't thought about it. There's been some thought that this could be the last game. But it's not that big an issue to me because it's not that important.

I don't have the courage to inquire right now.

I am sure it's difficult for him. Out of loyalty to his teammates, I am sure he wants to be out there and be a part of the franchise that is being built around him.

I can't divulge that. My credibility's on the line. There's a good possibility they made the right decision.

He had to really work for it tonight. He didn't really get anything in bundles. He had to really work for it, but being the consummate team player that he is, he was looking for his teammates.

He had to really work for it tonight. He didn't get anything in bundles.

He had no lift and his quickness was affected on post-up stuff.

He has been very efficient. His shot selection has been much better and he's finishing going to the basket.

He doesn't want to take time off, I know. But I have to issue some kind of edict where he doesn't show up.

He made some very difficult shots. That ball basically didn't touch the rim and that is what they pay him for.

He needed to make those plays in the end to make up for some of those things he didn't get done early.

We are fortunate that this was a minor injury and caught early. Sean has a great work ethic and we know he will work extremely hard to be back to 100 percent when the regular season begins.

What you saw was a team that was fighting for their life in terms of the playoff situation. We didn't match their intensity on defense. We weren't stopping anybody on the other end. They were penetrating and getting easy shots.

He's 7 feet. He can shoot. He has a great work ethic, ... If he falls on his face, I can live with that.

He's been terrific for us. As an athlete, he's off the charts. He's up there with anyone in the league. He knew he had to work on his game to get better, and he has.

He's dedicated to getting better. I might be selfish or biased, but I think legitimately if you look at his stats, he fills up the sheet with his steals, blocked shots and rebounds.

He's had to do a lot of things because we haven't been making shots from the perimeter.

He's going to the battleship? Well, I guess he's getting mentally ready, huh?

We have to ad lib, which is basically what we've been doing. The group has done a nice job adjusting. We have to do different things with different personnel.

We make it hard sometimes. We sit on top of the mountain and don't recognize what you need to do.

We made mistakes and paid for them in the third quarter. We had our opportunities and we just didn't get to the loose balls. Guys get tired and when they do, they make mental mistakes. We just ran out of steam playing a good team on their home floor.

He was really grimacing. Primo needs this break as much as anybody here. We need to lock him up in a house somewhere so he can't get to a gym.

The only thing that never wavered was his teammates and the coaching staff,

Kevin is a big guard who can defend both positions on the perimeter, ... We liked the effort he put forth during summer league play and wanted to take a second look at him.

I thought the disruptions and the turnovers that we forced, we got baskets off them.

I think we played well. Our small lineup really helped us.

I thought our guys played hard and played terrific. They did everything that they could to win the basketball game. The one concern I have is with Gerald and Raymond, is that I don't want them to get discouraged. I want them to keep taking that basketball to the hole, but they get discouraged when they don't get rewarded.

I thought our defense was superb on the last two possessions that Atlanta had. They couldn't get a shot off. I thought we made them earn every possession.

I think all the credit needs to go to New Jersey tonight. They're playing well, that's 14 in a row. They're a team that if they play like this, they're going to be very dangerous in the playoffs.

It gets down to the free throw line and making free throws. The opportunity was there.

Our guys did everything they could to win the basketball game. Our guys played hard. They were terrific. ... I don't want them to get discouraged.

It all boiled to down to decisions. I think at critical junctures we made some pretty good decisions. In our last four games we had deficits and then we took the lead, but we haven't made good decisions when we've had the ball.

The 11 guys in that room are giving it everything they've got and their decisions are good. And guys who have not had an opportunity before are stepping up and performing.

That was ludicrous that he wasn't in that game. If you see Raymond play, there's no way he shouldn't have been on that team.

That was an eye-opening move. He said 'welcome,' ... To not miss a step on that crossover and continue to go straight ahead at full speed. Raymond did the right thing. He just turned around and came back up court.

Well, it's important and what it does is help our players. That there's an appreciation for what we do. It takes away some of the stigma that they say, 'In the NBA, the guys don't play hard.' I don't agree with that. Teams play hard in this league. You get out there and try to play 82 games. I just think these guys make it look so easy because of their skill level that people think they're just going through the motions.

We had it, we just didn't secure it. We had a possession there, all we had to do was pick the basketball up. It was a mistake of commission. They (Milwaukee) went and got it and I don't think anybody feels any worse than the guys in that locker room.

We had two good looks in the last few seconds. You had guys who shoot the ball from the outside, and shoot it well, that took the shots. Call it the bounce of the basketball.

We have been very cautious with our players. That is our policy. We try to look to the future.

We can sum it up real easy. Coaches, players, we were just real bad. It's just that simple. There's nothing we could have done. It was one of those days where we just kind of fumigated the place. We were not very good.

You know what he's good at? He can make shots, and boy he must have a strong chest.

You know what he did first tonight was get his teammates involved. I had a conversation with him before the game and I told him I wanted him to play with passion. You have to be who you are.

We got tired and we started to make mistakes. And we just didn't make shots.

We gave up 25 points off those 21 turnovers. And our backcourt was 5-for-29 from the field.

We made it hard again. We're sitting on top of the mountain again and we don't recognize it. We allow little things to take us out of it. We have to be above those things.

The problem was that the group that was getting the stops wasn't very good offensively.

We are in a posture where we want Sean (to get healthy), and we kind of insisted that he get everything taken care of. We want him to take his time. There will be no rush to him coming back -- he's too important to our franchise.

Well, not to take anything away from Miami. But guys, that was a gift.

We played about a quarter and a half tonight. But we played the fourth quarter with some fight to get back into it. The shot Brand made late in the game was a big-time shot and he made it at a very critical time in the basketball game.

We are happy that Gerald will continue his career and development with the Charlotte Bobcats. He is a quality young man and has considerable upside,

We had some good shots. We had some point-blank shots at that time. I think what happened was on the other end, they went to Hamilton and he made some big shots. Their execution down the stretch was really, really good.

We can't rush him, he's going to take his time and do it right.

We have five (big men) out, they have Jermaine.

We're trying to cover all the scenarios, all the possibilities, ... The one thing we've had is time. That's been the great thing. We've got scouting reports on everybody.

When you play here in the Garden, it always has that special quality to it. The ghosts are still here. We try to remind the young guys that this is a great stage to perform on.

We've hit the wall as a team. Our guys have played a lot of minutes and were having mental lapses, and the common things we just didn't get done. It was an indication of a basketball team that has hit the wall. We were giving it up on the defensive end and we were really lacking.

When we looked down during the national anthem and saw nine guys, we anticipated trouble. That's what I was afraid of all day. They played like we've played when we've been down and just have eight or nine. They made some unbelievable shots with a hand in their face. There were a couple of possessions that we just couldn't come up with the ball.

We are excited that Matt chose to return to Charlotte and continue to build upon last year's start, ... Matt added several dimensions to our team with his long-range shooting, toughness, strong work ethic, rebounding and ability to get to the free throw line.

The good news is that this is a different injury than we originally thought, but it is still an injury we have to let take its course in recovery. Gerald is having a tremendous season and we expect him continuing that when he returns, but we will be patient in letting his bone bruise heal fully and keep the long term in our minds.

The opportunity was there. Offensively we were lethargic.

Those three guys are pretty good. When you've got three guys who can score, you can put the ball in their hands.

We finished this one. We made it hard though. I told the guys that they are kind of hard on their coaches.

This year is getting ridiculous. I've never seen anything like this. I guess I won't be able to say that again because we're experiencing it now.

What a resilient group. They just reached down, dug it out and overcame a lot of odds. What a great game historically to remember how it was done.

What a resilient group. I don't know where they got it (energy) from. The just reached down and dug it out. I'd say they surmounted a lot of odds.

What a resilient group. After last night, all the fanfare today. ... I don't know where they got it from.

What they did tonight was make shots. I think it's significant that they would hang in there and not surrender because that was a concern of a lot of people.

What's the bottom line? We made shots. That's what it's all about.

We didn't have to force anything. We had great shots. And we've got to make shots. It's that simple.

Brevin has earned the starting spot. But guys have to maintain that status with commitment to effort and with consistent effort. We think we'll have that kind of competition throughout the lineup next season.

Everything in this basketball game was pretty much even, but they shot 33-of-39 (from the line). Everything else was pretty much even. It gets down to the free-throw line and making the free throws. The opportunity was there. That's no indictment on anyone but ourselves for not making free throws. It ends up really being the difference in your basketball game.

At this point in time I don't think it's a possibility.

Dirk has been great, but what Steve has done is just unbelievable. We tried to get the ball out of his hands, and he still picked us apart. He's made everybody better.

There's only so much he can do after being out three games. Fatigue makes cowards out of all of us.

I understand the historical significance of this. This building is terrific. ... You know what I'm pleased about? When the guys walk through the building they see things that please them. They're happy they have something that belongs to them.

Detroit played with a purpose. They've been struggling a little bit; if you can call 50 wins struggling. They just have too many pieces.

That was a big defensive breakdown on that last shot. No one helped out when T.J. split the lane. You put yourself in a position to win, but games are won and lost on little plays like that.

That's my fear. I don't know what to expect. I'm concerned about the necessary distractions.

You've seen guys when it gets to this point of the season, the wagon has already been backed up to the door. We're going to close it out like professionals.

This is getting ridiculous. I've never seen anything like this.

The way we are, we just can't match up with the athletic big guys like Howard. I don't care how much you fight, those guys are just too athletic. Those are the guys we have had problems with.

This game is humbling. When you start to levitate, it will bring you back to earth.

They've been struggling a little bit, if you can call 49 wins struggling, but they just have too many pieces. I'm proud of our guys. That was about the most competitive that we've been with Detroit this year.

They say the X-rays are negative. But every ... X-ray we've taken has been negative and all the guys have been out.