Jeff Gundy Guys Quotations

One of the things I really do believe is - and it would've affected our two guys this year, so it wouldn't have been good - I don't believe anybody on sub-.500 teams should be in the All-Star game. It should be all a reward for winning. Now that would affect our guys which, I'm glad no one took my advice for this year.

Right now, I'm very uncomfortable with my bench. You play each day to try to improve and that's what we're going to try to do. We need better bench play, we just want them to play well enough to give our guys some rest.

I don't care how hard you play, if you don't shoot the ball competently, you're going to have a hard time. We do just enough good to lose close. That's what we've been all season. It's mind-boggling. I know some of our guys killed themselves out there tonight and while that should certainly be complimented, this is about winning.

We're obviously trying to build around Tracy and Yao, and just as important as getting those two guys has been to get guys we feel best complement their strengths and compensate for their non-strengths, ... We still have a long way to go to get the roster we need to take us where we want to be taken. By no stretch do we feel we're there yet.

My thing about numbers is that people who write about the game should never look at Yao Ming and reduce what he stands for to numbers. Some other guys will maybe play better in the playoffs at times. But he is the best regular-season center in basketball. And the reason is he comes to play every night.

Our guys try hard on defense. Any time a team goes 1-for-18 (to start a quarter), they are probably going to hit some of those shots most times. We got back and made things difficult for them.

Our guys competed really hard for the most part. It's wasn't like we overwhelmed them with talent, that's for sure.

I think he is the best regular-season center in the NBA now. Some other guys may play better in the playoffs, but he's the best during the season because he comes to play every night.

I talked to him about (that) we need to pick up a point guard, and also he had an opportunity out there to go and I think play for Denver. We talked about it. I think he decided it was not something he was interested in doing. We told him we were going to waive him. He decided I think to retire. I hope something works out to where he can stay in the Rockets organization. He's a great guy. Even though we were only together for a little more than a year, I was as fond of him and (Bob) Sura as any two guys I've ever coached. Personally, it hurts a lot that both had injuries that impacted them and us.

We realize they weren't playing their best guys out there at the end. But you feel a lot better about yourself when you win than when you lose.

There are some things we could have done better, I think, that could have changed the result. Our guys are competitive and are playing a lot more minutes than they probably should. There's a lot of things that we can be proud of.

We have good enough players, but there are very few guys in this league who can draw a second defender to them. Those are the guys who make your offense good, whether it's a post-up guy, a dribble penetration guy or a pick-and-roll guy.

(With their) team speed, in general, they cause us some problems. When they play both point guards ( Chris Paul and Speedy Claxton ) together it makes it doubly difficult to try and keep them out of the lane, because you've got two guys who are trying to catch-and-go or pick-and-roll, multiple pick-and-rolls.

The starters did a good job to start the game. The bench, inexplicably, is bereft of energy and intensity, and we have all young guys who are trying to carve out a career. I don't get it.

A lot of our guys are at the crossroads of their careers. Some know it, and some don't. Individually and as a team, we have a lot to play for, regardless of where we stand in the standings. But more so, we owe it when people pay to come see us.

This isn't new. It's the same old, same old. We have to put in young guys to compete, so it starts with competing hard. As we compete hard, we make far too many mistakes and that's why we have the record we have. We're a mistake-laden, inconsistently competitive team.

I'm not surprised when (Yao) plays well. He is prepared every day. He works hard every day. He's one of the few guys who doesn't need outside motivation. He is without question the best regular-season center in basketball.

I think our guys can make (shots). We haven't made consistently. I think we could make.

These guys are professional guys and they're all professional basketball players so we should expect to play well and play hard.

It starts always with our two best guys and their energy level. McGrady obviously was very efficient tonight. Yao is a long way away from being in the type of shape he was in prior to his injury. But that he is in as good of shape as he is in is a direct result of his incredible dedication.

It starts always with the two best guys (Yao and McGrady) and their energy level. Tracy McGrady obviously was very efficient tonight and when he is efficient, we as a team have a better chance of being efficient.

We cannot shoot the ball. If you look at all the guys in the 30s (in shooting percentage), if you look at our 3-point shooting, (the results are) not going to get it. Last year, we rode the wave of great shooting. That brings passion and energy. When you're not shooting well in today's NBA, it's very deflating.

They really showed our other guys absolutely no regard. I've never seen a team just leave small guys wide open behind the three-point line, but that proved effective.