Richard Jefferson
Richard Jefferson
Richard Allen Jeffersonis an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. He was a member of the United States men's national basketball team at the 2003 Tournament of the Americas and the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, and won the NBA championship as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth21 June 1980
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
We would drive and kick it to guys with wide-open looks but couldn't get anything to fall. For the most part we played good defense, but you have to be near perfect on the defensive end to have a chance the way we were shooting.
We didn't do a very good job of playing through each other or through the people we should have been. And then we got cold. They were hitting shots and mainly it was a lot of defensive problems. But sometimes your offense is a part of the problem.
Coming into this series, he wasn't really known as a defensive stopper. But he's been coming in and giving us unbelievable minutes on Stevie Jackson. He's been in the passing lanes. He's been a great defender for us.
I was a defensive specialist ... I had to guard whoever Gilbert was supposed to be guarding, too. I'm telling you, Gilbert did not play defense.
It would have made things a lot easier on Vince (Carter).
Right now, the team is struggling, I've struggled. And I think it's a direct correlation.
Realistically, I haven't played well since I came back. Nobody plays perfect in this league but I haven't played a good game since I got back. Tonight it was turnovers and missed free throws. I need to figure this out if I'm going to help our team.
Our expectations are high. But we're just like a lot of teams at this time of the year. We're going to try to win 16 games.
Opinions, right or wrong, aren't going to help or hurt the situation. They are what they are. (NBA commissioner) David Stern will do something and you have to live with it.
We had plenty of good looks, especially close around the bucket. We missed some easy shots.
Bosh posts up, but he likes to shoot jumpers, and we were able to take that away from him. You need to crowd and use your quickness on him.
Everybody was to blame. You have a chance to win on the road, and the last 10 possessions, you don't get many stops. That's what it comes down to. Forget everything that happened the first 40 minutes of the game. The last 10, 15 possessions, that really determines how this game adds up.
You got to want it more than them. When the ball got loose, I thought I might have gotten fouled but I am not going to look around, I am not going to complain. I am going to grab that ball and keep going until they call it. We had more of that tonight.
You give them credit. They played good defense. Some shots didn't fall down for us. Fortunately, it's not the best-of-1.