Avery Johnson
Avery Johnson
Avery Johnsonis an American basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. Johnson spent 16 years in the National Basketball Association as a player, and subsequently served as the head coach of two NBA teams: the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets. He led the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance and to three consecutive 50+ win seasons. During his playing days, Johnson was known as the "Little General" for his...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth25 March 1969
CityNew Orleans, LA
Hopefully the next game. I'm hoping that if this were a playoff game, he'd be playing.
We looked like we were a little tired. But our guys have been battling. I'm on the train with them, whether it gets rocky or not. Right now we are just sputtering.
Our first quarter defensively really set the tone. We worked on a lot of stuff this morning. They (Atlanta) missed a lot of shots but the defense was better than it was in that last game (against Golden State). We just threw out that last game.
Overall it was a good team effort and we were fortunate enough to be able to rest some guys in the fourth quarter.
If the commissioner changed the schedule and you had to play three or four games in a row, championship teams still find a way to win. So we don't use tired as an excuse. We didn't deserve to win. We weren't very efficient offensively. And give their defense credit. They did a good job of limiting Dirk and Josh's looks late in the game. They have a lot of pride in their locker room.
He's got to play more minutes and be more responsible. That's why it's team game. You can have a 10th man in the starting lineup. We have guys one through 12 that we feel good about putting in games.
He's coast to coast, one of the quickest guards in the league. He causes havoc when he gets in the paint, and he's a pretty good passer. He's a one-man fast break, all by himself.
He's a young David Robinson with a better jump shot.
He has been a big part of what we're doing. He's a guy in our starting lineup that I don't have to call a play for, (a guy) who just plays defense and rebounds. That's good for us. We needed a guy who doesn't want the ball. We wouldn't be here without him.
He was one of the first coaches that came in and started talking about winning a championship and winning it with defense and don't even make apologies about it. Don't blink. Don't even blink when you talk about it. That's the goal. Don't be ashamed about it, otherwise you're just selling tickets.
He wanted to play a little bit more tonight, but I told him we're looking at the big picture.
He can't seem to get it fully healed.
He just still doesn't know all the ins and outs of the game. He started playing basketball so late in life that he's still catching up.
He knows it's not permanent. Stack has been one of our best hustle players. He's wrapped up in that mode of being an offensive player. Sometimes you don't notice the hustle plays.