Ray Allen Quotations

We started the first half tonight with that same muddy approach. We were lethargic and didn't have much enthusiasm. The attitude was there in the second half.

When I was open, I just knew it was time to make a shot.

We have to focus on the next (few) games before the deadline. Our production is ultimately going to decide what decision we need to or don't need to make.

Mike would spend the night at the house. We'd stay up late and then get up in the morning and go to practice. Everything he did just emulated exactly what I was doing out there on the floor and you see what he can do now.

Mentally it just got worse, ... And physically, you're just running up and down the floor and it seemed like everything just went their way. Again, I know we'll recover from this.

Right now everything needs to be pretty perfect for us to win a game, ... Last year, early on we won some games that we probably shouldn't have won and won in different ways. Right now, we're building a different makeup for this team.

I would give it to Nash. No question about it. I don't think anybody in the NBA is playing the way he's playing and his team is doing what they're doing. Take him off the roster and they would not be where they are.

I don't know, you'll have to ask the coach about that. I just sat there and tried to cheer on my teammates.

I am all for it. I think it does make my job a lot easier. I have been around long enough; 20 points for me is easy to come by. I have to be more efficient, making sure Swift gets the ball and forcing him to play.

I feel like I am an All-Star. You have to feel like that. But you never know how these things are going to go. It's not in your hands.

For most of us, when we see them scoring fast, we feel like it's all right to do the same thing on our end. It doesn't get any better.

If I tell a kid to read, I think they'll be more likely to read than to sit there on a computer and play video games.

I always thought Bob, he seemed like the guy who knew it all. I have no doubt in my mind he has the ability to do the job and do it in a fashion that everybody will be pleased.

He has an NBA game, ... He deserves to be at this level. You see him out there, and he looks like he belongs.

He is going through a phase now where he's learning or he has to learn what it's like to deal with pain. And to be able to play through it and go out and still be good with that pain, because at some point we've all had to face it.

He's a guy that's going to rattle some cages. Whether guys like it or not, that's what they are going to have to deal with. This is not a country club.

He wants to be better. He wants to be the best. But don't worry about that. Those things will come.

He didn't play the last time we were down here, so he was the new X-factor thrown into the mix and I'm sure they weren't prepared for that.

I thought as the game went on we wore down a little bit. I don't want to blame anything, they just beat us down the stretch. In the fourth quarter is where the game is won or lost.

I think you have to be very observant and be able to pay attention to the letters. You have to be quick because those letters come up and go fast.

I thought we didn't create rhythm offensively. And we played really tough defense on the strong side all night long, but you can't beat this team playing that way. Just playing strong defense on that side.

I think we've had a perfect complement of learning basketball and getting in shape. My description of Bob is he's the head coach, he respects us out there on the floor and we do our job.

I think we all believe we're a good team.

I think that is ridiculous. Sometimes, getting on the plane, with the distances we fly, you need to be comfortable. I think there is a way to be classy and dress up. I think the dress code should strictly (enforce) what guys wear on the bench when they are not playing. That is when guys are most visible. But when we are on the plane, that is when we are most leisurely. I don't think that should matter. Wearing a sweat suit with a team logo on it? What sense does that make?

I was just off. I'm not going to make any excuses. I just didn't make shots.

I think there's a growing realization or acknowledgment in the Legislature that we simply can't afford to get tougher and tougher on penalties every session. Enhancing penalties may have been politically popular in the past, but we simply don't have the money or the (prison) space now to do it.

Jason Kidd throws funky passes all the time. He has a lot of assists, but he also has a lot of turnovers. You've got to take some chances.

Our track record hasn't been good. We've lost so many close games in this building this season. We're learning some things about ourselves.

Records are always made to be broken. I have a long way to go, games to play, threes to hit. The key is getting to playoff basketball.

I won't wear a watch all summer. It's nice not to have to worry about time.

I was frustrated in the game because it seemed that teams were forcing me to work so hard for shots coming off the perimeter, ... It got to a point where we started off having to take too many long shots, too many tough shots.

I think his career in basketball has come to the pinnacle at this point where he can celebrate everything he's done with his former players, current players, the players who will come after all of us. This is a testimony to how great of a coach he is, but as a person first and foremost just by the simple fact that he has this much support from everybody he's been around and everyone who's been under his tutelage.

I think the team showed a lot of resilience. Even throughout, when the trades were taking place, we had guys in the game that wanted to be out there and played. I think we proved to ourselves we are a good team.

We were making good plays for each other and then I think we spread apart. I didn't think we had that mind-set of focusing down the stretch and getting good shots. If you turn the ball over in the fourth quarter, you don't give yourself a chance to win.

We got caught sleeping. We were so focused on the pick-and-roll coverage. Everybody turned and we said, 'Oh, you know what.' We got out to contest the shot, but it was too late.

We got away with one. That was something where I was like, 'Well, what can you do?' I can recall plenty of games in my career where I was on the opposite side of that.

Tim did what he did for us this summer in Puerto Rico, and what he's done for San Antonio all these years. He's just solid down the stretch. You get him the ball and he gets you a basket.

We know we are a better team than what we have displayed over the last week, ... Every night is an opportunity to prove that, and tonight we got on the same page a little bit more than we have.

We forced them to take shots on the perimeter. We kind of took what they were trying to do away from them.

When a person is gone, watching the montage, you realize how long he was here in a Sonic uniform. He did a lot of great things, played in a lot of big games, and played with some of the best players to put on a Sonic uniform. He definitely left his mark on the city.

We're learning some things about ourselves being steady down the stretch. You know me, I try to just take one game at a time, but I can see progress. Guys are in better shape. We practice harder and things are coming together.

We shot ourselves in the foot. I thought we were so close to busting open, but we gave it away.

Whose team is this? It's everybody's team. The guys that make this team are the guys that work. I might have a bigger responsibility, but in that responsibility it's my job to serve as much as I'm needed.

The only thing I could think of was going back to Arco Arena. I didn't want to do that,

There are a lot of things I could have done better to help this team. I take full responsibility. I feel I let Bob Weiss down as a coach. He was a guy you could trust and count on. My heart goes out to him.

We all know what our jobs are, ... That line was crossed. Now fans and players know there are repercussions.

Tonight I was just off. I can't make any excuse. I just didn't make shots.

We knew he would get his shots; it's just a matter of making him take tough shots, staying in his face and rebounding his misses. I think we did as good of a job as you can do against him.

We kind of separate when teams go at us. Recently, when teams go on a run at us, we don't respond to it. We drop our heads, and it affects us in a negative way. We're all guilty of it. We splinter apart.

You hate to see something like that happen to a good person. Unfortunately, in this situation it's not about being good people in this job. In this line of work, it's about wins. And that's how we'll all be judged.

You guys make way more out of it than it necessarily is. I believe he has had a retort to (the March 26 incident). But I won't have a conversation with him about that. It just wasn't there tonight. When you compete, you don't try to force something.

When you lose it's easier to just divide. Having something to say after every game so far when you lose, I have a sense guys don't want to hear what I have to say. Something needs to be said because a team is still a team. It's easy to sit and be a team when you're winning. Character is being built in these situations and we've got to come together.

You have to stand up and be heard. You have to make a coach see you.

We did a good job of taking away some of their strong points. They (usually) move really well without the ball.

Everything has been very amicable. There just hasn't been any movement, and movement is me signing a contract.

Everything's blurry on the right side. The light getting in it aggravates it.

At the end of the day, what brought me back here was my players, the guys I've played with. That meant more to me than anything.

There's nothing shooting wise that I focus on. I just try to take what I'm given. As many threes as I've taken, I don't think there's a three I've taken that I didn't think I could make.

The shots were there for me tonight. It was a fun game to play because it went back and forth.

The teams that do the best job of putting personal agendas aside are the successful teams. It's not easy. That's why it's hard being a good teammate, but everyone has that choice.

I wanted someone to say something to knock me off my feet. And I was very disappointed. This organization, I knew what it was all about.

Sometimes it's like I have to remind myself that that really happened. We were a good team ... Not a long time ago, but last year. It's funny how things change so fast.

People decide if they want to be led, they'll be led. If they decide they don't want to be part of the system, they'll buck it.

After the first half, I thought we were in great shape. We were only down two, and we should have actually been up. We were in the game. I just think everyone was one step behind.

That's not a cure, ... That's something that treats the symptom ... I feel like I would breathe a lot easier and sleep much better if I didn't have this swelling under my eyes.

You see that, there? In this league, you're always on the clock. And it's always ticking.

You monitor those things and if something needs to be said, then you say it, keep it in house and move on. For the most part, this is a veteran group and we know how to act.

The way we played in the last game (a 99-74 loss to Memphis on Wednesday), it was just a difference in attitude. We started the first half tonight with that same muddy approach. We were lethargic and really didn't have any enthusiasm and we got chewed out at the half.

They (Rockets) jumped us pretty good and we didn't adjust to what they were doing. Offensively, we didn't have anything going the entire game.

They still have some strings on you. You can't get hurt. Some guys have gotten hurt before they signed the big contract. I'm out here making sure, very gingerly, that I don't get hurt.

They got a lot of good production from their bench and we didn't have an answer for them.

There were a lot of blatant fouls missed, but I just have to adjust to it. The touches that I am getting are sufficient. You figure six or seven free throws does wonders for me and for the team. I feel like I am going to the hole, but it's not like I'm getting the benefit of the doubt.

At certain times, the whole 'Let's play hard and leave it all on the floor' conversation is corny. I hate saying it, but I have to because that's what we do in sports. That's how we exist. That's how we motivate each other to be better every night. If you don't believe in the team system, that's the look guys gave me a lot of times. 'This is corny. I'm not going to be part of it. This is just me.' And that attitude isn't going to help any team.

As much as I see how he goes about his job, I know the other players are watching me and want the same type of work ethic. I see how much he puts into his job and I see how much I put into this job and so we have to be two positive role models for this team.

It's just dirty basketball. It's plain, outright, dirty basketball. I don't mind the competition, someone going at me on both ends of the floor ... but when guys start throwing elbows and kick you when you're down, that's dirty basketball and I don't respect guys like that.

It's just dirty basketball. It's plain, outright, dirty basketball.

It seems like teams always get off to a slow start here. But we practiced pretty well for it and we were able to run and keep the ball moving.

It seems the referees take these preconceived notions about what he's going to do. It's ridiculous some of the calls.

It was similar to when George (Karl) came to Milwaukee,

It was such a contrast between halves. The first half they had us on our heels and it seemed like the ball was in their court. In the third quarter it turned and you could see the difference. We started getting loose balls and were able to run.

It was a very weird feeling, I'm not going to lie to you. My emotions were torn a little bit.

I told Reggie he played a great game. He didn't respond. But I told him, 'Win or lose, man you played well.' Hopefully he feeds off that. He's young and has a lot of basketball left to play.

I tried to get my hands away from it so they didn't see or think the ball was in my hands. It's one of those calls, it seems like they never go in our favor. I was just hoping the whistle didn't blow.

It's nothing I haven't known, ... It's just a couple of the parties involved came forward.

It's those small little plays and we can't get over the hump. That's been typical of how things are going. It gets frustrating because it seems we've been hit with a 'bad luck' stick.

It may sound like a small thing, but I think Bob is less concerned about things that don't have to do with basketball,

It's hard to really judge (the Spurs) because I don't think we gave them much of a challenge. They played their game and beat us. And that's all there was to it.

It's been a long time since we've won, period. Just winning a game is paramount around here. We haven't played that poorly, we just haven't put together four quarters. Tonight we were wavering a little bit but we hung with it. I liked the fight that we had out there, and that carried us through.

Don't be afraid to call a T on Allen.

That's Reggie. I don't think he was playing any different because it was us. He's always one to get in the game and play hard. He knows how to play us, he knows what we're going to do.

It's something we have known that has been going on, ... It's unfortunate, because every story written has my name tied to it. And he feels bad about it as much as my mom does, and she doesn't want me to be tied into it. But I am connected to it.

It's something I had to deal with and however I can keep my family safe and allow them to live a comfortable life that's what I try to do,

Everybody ran. We got buckets in a lot of different ways. We kept running, we kept pushing it.

Everybody stepped up and they play big for us tonight. When everybody plays well, these are the result. Tonight was a sonic effort.

It seemed as though it bounced the right number of times to where they really couldn't get a shot off.

It was good to see Nate, but we were trying to win tonight. There's a lot to be said for his time here, because he did a lot of great things.

They just came out on fire. In the first half of the season we would kind of hang our head when we got down, but tonight we didn't hang our heads. We kept fighting. We kept our composure.

They just beat us down the stretch. In the fourth quarter is where the game is won or lost. I thought we missed a lot of easy shots.

They jumped out on us and we really didn't adjust to anything. Offensively, we didn't have anything going and that seemed to feed them offensively.

It's no fun to think about individual success when as a team you don't make the playoffs. I don't really take pride in what I did because the team didn't do well.