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
I still think this can be a special season, but right now we are sputtering.
John really took a liking to me. He talked to me about the off-court stuff, about the pitfalls that trap some guys. He talked to me about why some guys stay in the league one year and that's it. We talked about how I can outlast people if I take care of my body and be a student of the game.
I'm so happy we went through that little period that we went through, because it seems to have brought our team closer together.
I'm so happy we went through that little period, because it seems to have brought our team closer together. Nobody pointed fingers. At the same time, we played against some really good basketball teams that were really hot.
We've been going pretty hard in practice and in the games. It's something we like to do.
We came up short. They got to the free throw line more and they were the aggressors and they deserved the win. We had too many lethargic situations tonight and I need to address that.
We got off to a good start in the first quarter and set the tone for the whole game. I thought our defense was pretty steady...we tried to contest as many shots as we could.
We fought. This was a playoff atmosphere. We wish we'd have been able to match their intensity down the stretch. But we didn't. We just did not execute. We were hesitant. We didn't get to the foul line. We didn't deserve to get there. We didn't make strong enough moves.
We didn't earn our paycheck. We need to give Mark Cuban a rebate, all of us.
We haven't had a guy who can play that kind of defense,
We haven't done anything. We can win 30 games in a row and what does that mean?
We're really striving to be the top dog in June, not February.
We couldn't be where we are had we not gotten those guys. There's so many little ways, detail things, things that don't show up on stat sheets. You need your stars. But their roles are very significant for our team.
We could have gotten a little lethargic. We won't rule it out.