Sarunas Jasikevicius Quotations

I don't know what it is. I can't answer it. The emphasis going into the game is to start aggressive; in a way to send a message we're going to play hard. I don't know what the deal is. We're a team that really needs some wins.

We're short of players, we don't know what's going on with the trades so it's not the most perfect situation for this team, but tonight it was truly a great win.

Mentally, you're preparing yourself for the higher pace and things like that, but you can't know about it until you experience it. So I'm looking forward to it.

Jackson hit a lot of big shots. I thought that everyone stepped up. This was a big win for us.

I don't think it's anything serious. It just adds more to the bad experience of losing.

I felt like the Pacers . . . they've already been there,

I feel that when we get everybody healthy and everybody gets settled in again, we will win games and show our fans what good things can happen here. I thought we had a great effort.

We can give up talent for team chemistry. Team chemistry is more important than talent. We definitely have enough talent to go very far.

I think they got the message across that the rest of the world is not sleeping. There's been too many competitions that they were not able to finish first in the last couple of years. . . . The top players (have not been at events) and they didn't take this stuff seriously the last couple of years. They should have been punished already for it in Sydney.

I think there's a lot of uncertainty about the trade, let's be honest. It's not helping us out, that's for sure.

I think I'm going to have to adapt to the team much more than they're going to have to adapt to me. I'm a rookie. I might be very old for a rookie, but I am one. So I'm going to adjust to the team.

I think we are searching. We went into the season with a certain identity, and obviously things are changing right now. We have one of the best players in the league and a good coaching staff and good veterans. It's a tough stretch right now.

I was more aggressive. I was looking for my shot. I didn't go into New Jersey (Tuesday) and do many things. I was just trying to get my first game under my belt and move on. The season is very long. The most positive thing for me is I'm more comfortable with every minute. That's the only thing I can ask for right now.

I would like to have some kind of role on this team, there's no question about it but ultimately we help Pacers to win, ... Don't get me wrong. I would like to play. I would like to play a lot. That's not a question. But we're one month away from the season, and there's so much more important stuff than your role on the team. If you're in shape, if you come ready to play, if you take care of your body, then that other stuff will take care of itself. I really believe that.

Whether I'm right or wrong, we can talk in one or two years.

We're realizing we're not in a very good situation. We showed some life in the past two games and now we have to keep it going. Guys are playing hard, practices are very good and guys are together as good as it's been all year.

We've been a team that when we get a lead, we sort of stop playing as hard. For us, it's a matter of playing at the same level that we can for 48 minutes. If we can do that, we're going to be all right.

We all collectively have to know we can't have any letdowns because we're playing good. It seems like we're developing something good. The schedule favors us from the standpoint that we're home and we just need to keep it going because we can make a move on some teams.

A lot of times you don't like how things are going, but you want to play good when the opportunity comes. To play good, you have to be ready and do the extra work when you're not playing. When I'm not playing, I try to simulate game situations as much as I can.

Sometimes we are very good, and other times we are very bad. Hopefully, we can get in the playoffs and do well.

Sometimes we prove we're a resilient bunch and get through all these problems and show how good we can be. Sometimes we're not so good. Lately we've been all right. Lately our attitude and how we approach the game has been much better. We just have to keep fighting and hopefully we can get the guys healthy and make a run.

You're doing so bad, you lose four in a row, you're not playing well, then you come in and you're thinking you'll have a good practice and start turning things around somehow and the first news you get is that. It's just crazy. But, hey, that's the way it is.

I like the way that team plays. They seem to play hard and play the right way. The players really play hard and to best of their ability I believe. They don't seem to make a lot of mental mistakes or force many things. For some reason they play us tough every single time.

I'm not the guy who will take many shots, ... Some games I might, just because of the way the defense will work. I haven't really been the one who's shooting a lot. I much more prefer to get my teammates involved and make sure the team is running properly. I would like to take 20 shots, don't get me wrong, but it might not happen.

I'm not worried; it's something everybody goes through. I'll be fine. It's not the first time that I've been in this situation. The thing that matters to me is that the team is playing good basketball and we're turning things around now.

In the fourth quarter, the Spurs were just better.

I'm really running out of things to say. It's not about the losing; it's how we're losing. You can lose fighting, but we're not even doing that. It seems like we're taking the losing very lightly.

I mean, you've lost four in a row. You hear good news in the trade. You think you can go in and have a good practice, but then the first thing you hear is that. It's crazy.

I want to be a point guard; I believe that's my position. I don't mind playing two-guard, but I wasn't very comfortable there, and it was noticeable in my play.

Hopefully I'll be a small piece of the puzzle and contribute.

They were there from day one. They did it in a very classy way.

I remember a lot of guys saying in the NBA everybody just sort of plays and then the last six or seven minutes you decide the game. Well, to tell you the truth, the team that shows up to play earliest normally wins. I totally disagree with that. So many games are lost in the first quarter. You get down 15 and it's such an uphill battle.

It's the same struggles. The days we play hard, we're shorthanded. The days we're full, we don't play hard. We can't put two and two together; it's as simple as that.

It's a nice feeling, probably a feeling we haven't had since the beginning of the year. We just need to concentrate and be professional about it and keep it going. I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but it's better to win three in a row than to lose six (in a row).

It's strange, but I wanted it, ... This is exactly what I was expecting. I have to learn the system and learn the way of playing here.

As a group, we have to stop saying we have to do something and do it.

We hung in there, gave ourselves a chance to win, but didn't take advantage of it. We fought together and showed that we could be a good basketball team.

It's going to be a big development for me. I've never played at this level. Hopefully I can make it quick. I am still a rookie. It's going to be an adjustment, no doubt about it. I just hope it's going to be a quick one.

I could really sense (a swing). We were grinding and we were grinding and then they got a couple of breaks, but we were still right there. Then at the end we were able to make a couple stops and get a run. It was a big win for us.