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
I believe we're going to be OK. Fortunately, it's not the best-of-1. This isn't the NCAA Tournament. You have a few more games to play before it's over with. So we just have to do better.
My first three years here is all about team and having lots of players around me. So you had to learn how to maximize your few opportunities. I was never a volume shooter. You look at my second or third year, I shot about 50 percent from the floor.
We are getting there. You can't do it over one season. It takes a few seasons to get it done. He is in his prime, I am coming into mine. So it can really carry over.
Our second quarter we've really struggled the last few games. I don't know what's going on with that or why we've struggled. We have to figure it out. We had some success in that first quarter (in Minnesota), but again, we went away from it.
They have an unbelievable crowd here. But for us, it was, 'OK, they hit a few shots, let's calm down. We felt confident and it worked for us in the end.
Cliff is the ultimate professional. He's not just here to play games, just to say, 'Hey I'm here in my 17th year.' He's out there to compete, to play at a high level, and the last few weeks, he has.
In the past few seasons, have we had some good playoff matches? Yeah, we have. Are we looking for an opportunity to have another one against them? I think that would be a lot of fun..
In the past, a few years ago, it might have been cool beating them. But now it is just another game.
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.