Shane Battier Quotations

We have played well in April (8-1). That hasn't been the case in the last two years. The main focus has been to play well and go into the playoffs with some momentum. Obviously, Dallas is playing good as well. It's a big challenge, but it's a challenge that should be fun.

Now we can enjoy this break and come back mentally refreshed. We have a very favorable schedule in the second half, so we're excited.

I don't think anyone has the answer to guarding him. You've just got to play hard and expect a lot of outside help from your team.

He was a motor-boating son of a gun. He was really going, and it was fun for all of us to watch.

We're playing to win. I've always been of the mind-frame that you've got to play.

Hubie treats Brendan just like every other coach. He yells at him just as much.

I thought we played good enough to win, but Elton willed them to victory.

I think we just caught them on a flat night. When you play a team like that, you've got to recognize it, and you've got to kick concentration up just a notch and kick your energy level up a notch and win the game early.

Last time I looked in the dictionary for 'evacuate' it doesn't mean sitting in bus under the arena. So I left. I went outside. I wasn't going to hang around and wait. I got in a little trouble. I'm sorry for any breach of protocol with security.

Pau is doing a great job. He's carrying the team and had a huge night.

Pau played a man's game tonight. That's what a franchise player does.

Our offensive and defensive execution was poor when it mattered. We couldn't get a stop when we needed it.

I think people really didn't know what to think of me. A couple of kids stood about 5 feet from me and looked at me like I was some kind of statue. A lot of people took pictures with their cell phones. I'm like, 'I'm just hanging with you guys.' It was a mellow scene.

It didn't seem like either team wanted to take control of the game. We made a few shots and got a few stops in the second quarter, and that was the key for us.

I'm happy for him. He's a good dude. He's a hard worker and he has a great basketball mind. He took his last school to the dance. I think it's a good hire for Oklahoma.

We need Pau to be our focal point. Everyone knows that.

The amount of preparation and the amount of time you put in just to win one game is unbelievable. I don't think most people realize that. That's where I give our coaching staff a lot of credit. They put in the time, and we're always prepared. They should get a lot of credit on that front.

Mike has consistently been our second best player behind Pau. He has been fun to watch and fun to play with. He put together a complete season, and I?m glad he got rewarded for it.

We haven't won that way all year long. They're scoring way too many points in the first half. We've done a much better job in the second half but we're tired of saying that. We need to come out and play with more intensity from the start.

We feel good about where we are right now. We feel we're playing good basketball.

We feel good about ourselves. We feel that we have played well in April, which has not been the case the last two years.

We played a team (Tuesday) that really wasn't sharp in their execution, and if we can do that against the playoff teams, then we'll be a lot more excited.

We just didn't have it tonight. To beat Dallas you have to bring your 'A' game and we obviously didn't.

We haven't been a very good team this year when major guys are missing from the other team. They don't keep statistics for that but I know we haven't been very good.

Yeah, but we have eight more games to play.

We didn't have guys like that before, that can look at you and tell you what it takes to get over the hump. I mean, when these guys tell you something, they're speaking from experience. And that means a lot at this time of the year.

We came in here with the resolution to win, and that's what we did. ...We're trying to finish the season off strong.

We did as well as we could have with the group we've had the past few years. We hit a plateau. We just needed new blood.

Every time somebody asks me about making the playoffs, I say you never take it for granted. We were the worst professional sports franchise in the country when we got here. We didn't have credibility or any momentum. Now, we feel we have credibility in the NBA. We're just searching for more by having success in the playoffs.

We all know we didn't have our best showing. They're really good here and they have a lot of confidence here.

This was probably the toughest game of the year. We're proud of ourselves. We could have packed it in when they made a run and just said 'we're going to lose this one.' But good teams don't make excuses. They find ways, and we want to keep this thing rolling.

We've put in a good body of work. It's time to take it to a higher gear.

We showed our maturity. We didn't play our best first half and yet we were up a point. We executed better in the second half. Execution is about making plays.

We turned the ball over too much and after that we had our heads down. We just didn't have it.

Brad is an excellent choice, he can shoot it, pass it and defend on the perimeter. I think if we've learned anything it's that teams that have had success (in the Olympics) have done it with team play. I like that we are picking a team that can play together.

As the guy starting in front of him, it makes you wonder why they are starting me.

Every year is independent. What we did in the past doesn't come in our minds. Obviously, we like to taste a playoff victory this year, but it's not something we go to sleep at night dwelling on or lighting vigils for.

There's no drop off, and that's what you look for in your bench.

The (team) dynamic is less dynamic, less volatile than last year when it was up and down. Our veterans have brought calmness, a steadfast attitude where those guys say, 'Hey, stay with who we are.' This is the best I have ever felt about our team.

A wise man once said that the further you get away from the game, the easier the game becomes. That's probably the truest statement in professional sports.

That's what I was taught. You do the best you can.

They have always had one of the most talented teams in the league, and they're starting to put it all together now. You can't turn the ball over 19 times in Arco Arena and give up 20 offensive rebounds and expect to win. We shot the ball well, but made all of the other mental mistakes.

They're really good here. They get out on the break, and they get the crowd involved. It's tough to beat them, and unfortunately we couldn't get it done here again this year.

It's just one of those games you play in late February. It was a slow, ugly, nasty, nasty game for a long time. ... You just can't turn the ball over 24 times and expect to beat the world champions.

It was awesome. We've had a bunch of guys get real close, but to see him finally get it done is great.

It's not that complicated. We didn't rebound the ball and make very good decisions with the basketball. Now, it's about making basketball plays. Basic basketball plays. The older guys keep telling us it's not the national championship game. It's a series. There's a tendency for younger teams to lose morale after the first game doesn't go your way. We're a pretty positive group and that comes from experience.

It's one thing to play well on a bad team. But it's better to play well on a good team. You have to be a vital cog (to be considered) and Mike is.

It's always good to have one of these games before a day off. We ran the floor well and our defense made them have to take some tough shots.

The novelty isn't there. We have a team that's been assembled that's expected to compete for a playoff position. That's OK. It makes you have a workman-like attitude, and you go out and win games you're supposed to win. I'm very proud of this season.

The bench played well. They would have made a difference had we played well.

It was a bizarre game. I'll leave it at that.

They did a good job of using that as motivation. I think we let up a little bit and didn't take advantage of having their best player out of the game.

They did a good job of using it (Garnett's ejection) as motivation to play harder. And we let up a bit. We didn't do a good job of taking advantage of their best player being out.

Once he's been around the block one time, he'll figure out how guys play. He's doing that in the second half of the season and that means you can put him in more situations.

If you don't feel good about yourself, you're not going to play good basketball. I don't care who you are. We've accomplished what we wanted by playing solid basketball in April. At the end of the day, it's about what you do; if you execute.

If you try to mess with the basketball gods, they punish you in the end. All the talk of massaging and losing games, that's not in our minds right now. We're trying to win every single game each time we step on the court. Wherever we are at the end of the year, hopefully we'll have some momentum and play well in the playoffs.

In reality, we're trying to win every game. That's the bottom line.

He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he does have a fearless streak in him. He has that quickness about him around the basket, where he can finish well, and he's probably the one guy on our team that can ignite the crowd.

I'll save that for Mrs. Battier.

I've always thought that pressure is trying to feed your family, trying to make a mortgage. We play a game...And this is an amazing game.

Sometimes you've got to eat a turd sandwich; makes the ribeye taste better next time.

I don't complain about playing time. My job is to play so well the coach can't sit me.

The city would really be fired up if we can get one of these (games) in Dallas. The reception for Games 3 and 4 would be unbelievable. There's no question that we can't do that without our home-court fans.

The last time I checked the dictionary where it said evacuate, it didn't mean sit on a bus under the building. It means go outside.