Rick Carlisle Plays Quotations

I'd like to keep him in the mid-20s if there's any way possible to do that, because that gives him enough energy to really pursue the ball and finish off plays on the inside. I thought the fact that we had to play him 37 minutes the other night in Houston had an effect on that one play late where he got to the rim, but couldn't quite get it in.

Jamaal plays a big part of our success. We're going to have to deal with it. It's tough. We got guys that can step in. We'll re-evaluate where he's at after three games.

He's at the point now where rookies are still rookies, but they have a veteran sort of confidence about them, and he should. The other thing he has learned this year is that when he plays well, it's going to be tougher to keep playing well because teams are going to keep getting ready for you.

He made a couple of great plays at the end. Great players are going to make great plays. In the grand scheme of the game, the third quarter was our undoing.

We'll look at it (in preseason games) and see how it plays out,

We knew they were going to make runs. We knew Wade was going to play big down the stretch. When that happens, we had to keep our poise and composure. We did that and made the plays we had to make to win.

With him, it usually comes down to the kind of shots he's getting. We have to work to get him high-quality shots. When he gets good quality shots, he plays very efficiently.

As long as he plays with this kind of energy and force, he'll get minutes and make things happen.

Danny had a great night. We're a different team when he plays the way he did tonight. We need him to continue to play at that level.

The key part of the game was the end of the second quarter. They did a great job finishing plays and giving themselves a chance to win. ... We couldn't get over the hump.

It's just one of those plays great players make. When he took it, I just turned my head.