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
Boy, the more you watch them on film, the scarier it gets. It's going to be a very, very tough series.
We thought we were pretty good defensively, for the most part, against one of the tougher teams in the Western Conference. We knew we had to be physical.
We thought we had it won in regulation. Carmelo made a tough shot. If we had to do it all over again, we probably would have fouled.
We put out a lot of energy out there but it was a total team effort. It was a hard-fought overtime game and fortunately we came out on the winning end. They're tough when you lose them and they're tough when you win them.
We're making progress, but it was just a tough loss.
Our team is not playing enough of a 48-minute game and that's the disappointing thing. We know it's tough to win road games. This was a hot team team we were playing, give them credit. But you can't play 18-20 minutes of a second half and expect to beat any NBA team.
The more you watch them on film, the scarier it gets. They sit on all your plays. You got to move the ball against them. They can shut down our offense if we don't play well offensively. It's going to be a very, very tough series.
I think we're better defensively and much more physical. We're a little bit more mature and a little bit more experienced and a little bit more tougher minded.
We just made a few shots and got going pretty well. I'm happy with our hustle, I'm happy with our play, but we're not world beaters.
We just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. We're still firm that they're not going to come back until they're ready. And they're not ready. We probably won't have them back in the next game or two.
We just had to make some points about it. We've got to play our best basketball to win Game 1.
We were lethargic physically and mentally. We didn't show up. We didn't have that juice that we normally have off the bench.
We won it with our defense, which gave me some ammunition. We didn't score much in the fourth quarter, but neither did they. To hold them to 18 points, that's the only way we could win.
We got so much going on around here, I don't look at that.