"I think we're beginning to learn more about individual performances by perimeter players who have the ability to do what he does... We have to do something different at times to take the ball out of his hands, force him into areas it's not as easy for him to get done what he gets done."

"If we had come back with the same team as last year, it would have been a disaster. We didn't have the firepower to sustain what we needed in this conference. Last year was a honeymoon year. A couple players had career years. I didn't believe we had the core of players like the core we have now. We have a lot more versatility now."

"We didn't play the game with a lot of focused energy in the first half. I thought we were a little slow, we looked tired and (Cleveland) looked sharp and they were good."

"This is the time of year the enthusiasm should be coming to an all-time high."

"I don't think I ever had any enjoyment in the playoffs until you won."

"To have long term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way."

"You have no choices about how you lose, but you do have a choice about how you come back and prepare to win again."

"Management must speak with one voice. When it doesn't management itself becomes a peripheral opponent to the team's mission."

"There can only be one state of mind as you approach any profound test; total concentration, a spirit of togetherness, and strength."

"Being ready isn't enough; you have to be prepared for a promotion or any other significant change."

"Don't let other people tell you what you want."

"Discipline is not a nasty word."

"You have to defeat a great players aura more than his game."

"You can never have enough talent."

"People who create 20% of the results will begin believing they deserve 80% of the rewards."

"This is about an experienced, savvy, talented team which I believe we have taking advantage of the opportunities out there. But one thing they cannot neglect is just how hard (Chicago) is going to play and the kind of effort they're going to have to make to stay with them."

"A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning."

"A particular shot or way of moving the ball can be a player's personal signature, but efficiency of performance is what wins the game for the team."

"When a great team loses through complacency, it will constantly search for new and more intricate explanations to explain away defeat."

"Giving yourself permission to lose guarantees a loss."

"If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges."

"The Ten Commandments were not a suggestion."

"Great effort springs naturally from great attitude."

"Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better."

"Each Warrior wants to leave the mark of his will, his signature, on important acts he touches. This is not the voice of ego but of the human spirit, rising up and declaring that it has something to contribute to the solution of the hardest problems, no matter how vexing!"