Rick Carlisle Level Quotations

He's fit in well. He's a proven NBA player who's played at a high level for many years.

Our point guard position was really tremendous, especially in the second half. That's the kind of production we need at all our positions. Let's face it, we're the kind of team right now where we're playing eight guys (Friday). We need six out of eight (players) playing at a high level to beat a team like Sacramento.

Jermaine is a top player in this league and we all know he's missed a lot of games. Fortunately he's hitting his stride at a good time. We need him to continue to play at that kind of level for us to have success in the series.

We're excited to move up in the standings by winning. I wish I could say we are playing really good basketball, but we obviously have struggled. It's been a tough road. We've got some things to do to look more like a team that can really compete at a high level in the playoffs.

We're in a situation now where we're starting to get a little healthier and that's light at the end of the tunnel. The group that we have is really making a great effort to do what they can to help us win. Right now, win or lose, I know our fans know what's really important to them and that's the energy level and the unselfishness on the court. We had that for the last six or seven games and that's something we have to build on.

At this point, he's going to make a full recovery. He's actually doing very well, but the high level of exertion and the contact has sort of re-introduced a couple of symptoms that the medical people, from a precautionary standpoint, feel he should shut it down for awhile.

It was a deceptive final score. It was obviously a very difficult game. Our bench struggled, but the guys that started held it together. Anthony Johnson played just a tremendous all around game. He's really playing at a high level right now. He is getting the job done, simply as that.

They certainly competed on a higher level than we did, and that was probably the most disappointing part of it.

His abilities as a player are breathtaking. He's brought his game up to another level since he's come to New Jersey. I know Jason Kidd has had a lot to do with that. This isn't any news flash. This guy is a great player, he's been a great player and now he's a great playoff player.

A.J. again was terrific. A lot of guys did good things. We need to have five or six guys play at high level to win, whether we are at home or on the road.

It's about winning games, and right now, we have to focus in on the guys we have and doing our best possible job at playing at a high level to give ourselves a chance to win.

For the last 10 days, we've spent a lot of time on fundamentals, individual work, screening and footwork. We know that doing the little things at a high level is going to be key for us winning some games.