Dwane Casey Came Quotations

My heart came up into my throat. That's why you only play your superstar between 20 and 25 minutes in the preseason. Those are situations you want to avoid.

I watched him work out right before his rookie year and I remember how raw he was when he first came out of Alabama. Just to see him now, how polished of a player he is, how smart a defender he is, how he plays the passing lane, how he kind of lays in the cut and surprises the defense - he's just come such a long way and he's the heart and soul of his team with the way he plays.

I thought we came out in the first half in a nonchalant way.

Earl came in and changed the game. He has the speed and the ability to push the ball after makes and misses. He pressured full court and did all the things that you want your point guard to do.

Rashad came in at the end and turned it up. He got to the free-throw line, made some hard cuts without the ball. We all know he can shoot it, but him playing without the ball is another focus.

In the first half, we came out with too much respect. We were back on our heels instead of attacking the way we have the last couple games.

Anytime you have a playoff team on the ropes and (lose), it's disappointing. We came out in the second half and started settling for jump shots and you can't do that against a team like New Jersey.

They could have given up and they didn't. There was no pep talk, they just came out and fought.

In the second half (Denver) came in and established the tempo of the game and the way they were going to play. They were more physical than we were. We had a six-point lead and took some ill-advised shots. We have to be more disciplined down the stretch, especially on the road.

You've got to have a mental approach that's got to be as tough as nails because of the way they play here. I thought earlier in the year we had that when we came in here and won. In Minneapolis I didn't think we had that same approach when they brought the game to us.