From Gregg Popovich:
“It takes character strong enough to handle the fact that in the beginning, nobody loved you. It’s important to believe in yourself and keep going.”
Good story on Simmons:
JONATHON SIMMONS
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Monthly Archives: February 2016
MARY BABERS-GREEN
“There is no crime in getting after it on the court, playing like a team and playing the game the right way. Isn’t that what they are supposed to do? It’s not their fault nobody else can take them down!”
KEVIN OLLIE
After a recent loss:
“We didn’t play with any heart, and that’s the summary of the game. It comes down to toughness and [saying] ‘I’m going to stop my man.’ And the lack of effort that we showed out there was very disappointing, but it has been like that the whole year. Get up high. Go down low. It’s a lack of focus. A lack of leadership. I love Daniel to death, but I don’t care if he scores 40 points. You can’t give up 60 percent shooting in the second half. Yeah, I’ll clap for Daniel, but we couldn’t guard nobody in the halfcourt.”
DAVID LEE
“A lot of my stuff is decision-making, so when you’re out there thinking rather than just playing, it makes it a little more difficult. The important thing is to go out there and play hard and makes up for most mistakes you’re going to make.”
BRAD STEVENS
On his rep as a high-IQ coach:
“I think that’s all overblown with me. I don’t think I have anything to do with that. I think we’ve got really good players that are really smart players. They [were] high-IQ players long before they got here. You look for high-IQ players, and savvy players, period. Because it’s a long year, you see a lot of situations – you have to change on the fly, you have to tweak on a dime.”
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Focus: By Andre Iguodala…
“I think you have to build that culture, and if your leaders have focus, and if you have some veteran pieces, it trickles down to the rest of your team. We try to keep everything in perspective. Individual goals will come with team success. You need to have your five or six top guys understand that culture. Then, when you go out into free agency, you’re conscious of getting guys who fit in.
“Talent is great, but when you have talent, you have a tendency to get away from the small things that the hard workers do, and those usually are the not-so-talented guys. So you need guys overall who are very professional, locked into what they’re doing and have that focus.”
JAMES HARDEN
“It is not about where we are in the standings, it is about us continuing to fight and play the right way.”
TYUS JONES
“I just have to make the most of it. I keep trying to get better every day, keep learning. It’s a process. I just hope to apply what I’m working on into game situations. It’s definitely been a season of learning. I’ve learned a lot about game management, how to run the offense. On defense the assignments, where you’re supposed to be when your man has the ball and doesn’t have the ball. Just different small stuff. You have to stay positive, stay ready. Just try to get better every day. That’s the goal.”
D’ANGELO RUSSELL
“I just want to play the right way. If that’s coming off the bench or starting, I just want to make an impact right away. I just want to get better.”
MAURICE HARKLESS
“Now when I’m out there, I’m not gonna give them any reason to take me out of the game. Just play hard on both ends of the floor; just try to make plays, make things happen, change the game. I’ve been in this league long enough to know that’s just how it goes sometimes. It’s up and down. I just had to keep working, I knew it would turn around eventually and it did. I’ve just gotta keep going out there and just playing every night.”
PLAY THE RIGHT WAY 