Josh Howard Quotations

I don't even pay attention to that any more. We're just going into the playoffs trying to get ourselves better. We want to keep playing great basketball like we've been doing and hopefully end up playing in June.

I don't think we're in their heads. But we're real confident right now. We haven't played our best defense yet, but it's coming.

That comes with that communication and the defensive scheme we've been working on all year. It's just been great team defense. If we communicate and do the things coach wants us to do, we win.

I think we're a great team. Whatever people are saying, thanks for the compliment.

We need to improve. We need to get better.

My community needs me a lot more than the country right now. I'm going home to do that for the kids.

We wanted to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible. Through this whole winning streak, we've been playing great team defense. The last two times we played the Lakers, we didn't play great defense and let them take advantage of it. We got tired of it.

We're just trying to hold teams under a certain percentage. It's a challenge for us and we take it out there every game. We study film, we have goals we set before every game and we try to reach those goals. We do reach those goals. As a team, we go out there and play hard every night on the defensive end.

We had some good looks. Guys were finding each other, we were just playing great Mavericks basketball. We came out and put them away early.

We're going to take the win no matter what. It was a good win for us and it kept the streak alive.

It wouldn't have been a good feeling because we wouldn't be able to get into the gym tomorrow and get that bad taste out of our mouths.

With Damp coming in, he's bring a lot more energy. That's what we needed from him. I think that's going to get him his drive back.

We did a great job with our team defense on him. Everybody who had a chance to guard him did a hell of a job.

As long as we've got a team of guys that like being around each other, on and off the court, it's a good thing for us. I mean, we can take this thing to another level.

A lot of people still don't think we play great defense. We let that go in one ear and out the other.

We didn't execute well. (Davis and Richardson) really hurt us in the fourth quarter. We just didn't communicate.

I'm coming along. It's still a day-to-day process.

I'm not pushing him to return. And he's not pushing me.

It's cool. I still roll like we've been doubted all year long. We just have to prove people wrong.

It's big when you hit free throws. That's a free opportunity to get points so you want to take that opportunity and run with it. That's a good job for us to make that high a percent.

I don't really know what it is. It's just tight. The last game, I got a little tightness in it when I came out of the game, and it got tighter when I sat for a while. It was worse by the time the game ended and when I got home.

It was just me being a little more aggressive. I was in a little foul trouble in the first half and really didn't get to play like I really wanted to so I came out there in the second half just trying to do what I wanted to do in the first half.

It was just a little tweak, but I'm feeling better. I'm going to get treatment so I'm 100 percent.

It was a great play. It was something coach (Avery Johnson) drew up, we used it in Memphis too. That's two for two for us.

It's always good to win, no matter how you get it. It's tough to get back into the mindset after almost a week off.

It's not as bad as the last one.

They have great players on their team and they don't quit. We had them up by 10 twice and just couldn't put them away. It's hard like that when you have a great team like that your playing against. We finished it out when we needed to at the end.

It's a big motivator. We've been a good defensive team and don't want to let that happen again. We're conscious of who can score the ball on the other team. We take that as a personal challenge.

Through this whole winning streak, we've been playing great team defense. The last two times we played the Lakers, we didn't play great defense and let them take advantage of it. We got tired of it.

We're going to be doubted when we come back like we've been doubted the whole year. We just have to know when we come back, we have to keep playing great basketball.

It's a conference game, it's two of the best teams going against each other. Who would want to miss that?

It's a great compliment. All I do is come here and work hard and try to do whatever I can to help us win. Hopefully, that makes his job easier.

This was a tough game. These are the hardest games when you come off a break. We're getting back into the swing of things. Guys went out and had a good vacation, but it's always good to get a win no matter how we get it.

It's a pretty bad one. We have to turn this thing around if we want to have a good showing in the playoffs.

He's got a championship under his belt. I want to get one, too. He knows how to do it.

I'd say we are at about 80 percent right now. I still think there's a level or two that we can still reach, especially on the defensive end. Our offense has already been clicking and doing a great job. We showed that during the win (13-game winning) streak. Our defense is improved. We just have to continue to grow and learn each other and do what coach asks us to do.

I'm glad I stayed in school four years. It matured me as a man and as a basketball player.

It took me a while to realize I'm an NBA player.

As long as we keep winning, I'm happy.

I haven't really reached my peak yet.

I love taking the ball from other people. It's like taking their manhood.

When I make exciting plays, it's usually because I was in the right place at the right time.

A lot of teams made a mistake in the NBA draft.

I'm pretty athletic. I do things sometimes even I can't believe.

I wasn't expecting to do what I'm doing now...I've grown as a player and as a man.

A lot of people think Utah is a bad place to play, but hell nah,

Most of the players in the league use marijuana, and I have and do partake in smoking weed in the offseason sometimes.