Saturday Practice

Posted on April 26, 2008

Hey everyone, I'm at the arena about to head down to practice. I will give you whatever information I can on Gil and just a general perception on the team. Just got back from practice. Two major things to note. 1. Gilbert went through practice today and according to the players and coach Jordan he looked very good. I would say as of yesterday his status for Sunday's game looked like he would play minimal. As of today, barring any major change, he will get a pretty good amount of playing time and he will start. 2. The players kept mentioning the white-out and how much the home crowd helped them. Multiple players have said its the best crowd they've seen since they've been here and they kept reiterating that they want the same type of crowd tomorrow. So if you come be loud and get there early!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just to respond to a couple questions in the previous topic, The game is at 1:00 on ABC it will NOT be on CSN. It is also going to be a white-out with shirts and towels! Eddie Jordan On Arenas “Gilbert (Arenas) practiced and he looked pretty good out there today. I even was trying to slow him down so he could save his legs, but he looked good. And it looks like he’s ready for tomorrow. He is starting†� On Haywood “He has sustained his efforts. He has sustained his effectiveness. He’s been very consistent probably one of our most consistent players. Our success has been based a lot on what our two best defenders have done. DeShawn and Brendan always being their and playing great defense for us.†� On the Crowd “You could feel the crowd. They were great. We need to bring our fans with us. We need to show them that we are working hard, closing out, getting rebounds and playing physical. When you do that your fans start coming with you and they really came with us.†� Antonio Daniels On the keys to Game 4 “We have to come out with the same energy from Game Three. That was big. In my three years here that is the loudest I heard this arena by far. It was electric in here. Those fans were amazing. We have to come out with that same energy, that same enthusiasm. We have to use home to our advantage.†� On the playoffs “This is the best time of the year. It’s warm outside, there’s great weather, and then you walk in here and the crowd is going crazy like that. Also, it’s great because everyone isn’t here. You don’t have the opportunity to play in the playoffs all the time. So when you have the opportunity to do it you have to take advantage of it. The moment you walk into a playoff game it’s completely different than when you walk into the gym for any of those 82 regular season games.†� On the crowd “You really feel the effect of the crowd. When you walk in there and that crowd is going crazy like that, you fell as a team that you can accomplish anything. That’s why home court is so important.†� On his role off the bench as opposed to starting “There’s such a difference between starting and managing the game, and coming off the bench and changing the game. And coming off the bench and changing the game is something I’ve done for 11 years in my career so it’s something I feel comfortable with.†� Antawn Jamison On Game 4 “The most important thing is defensively we need to bring the same intensity and the same urgency we had in Game Three. Offensively we need to continue to move the ball and get everybody involved and trust your teammates.†� On not being overconfident “We have a level head. We aren’t going to get ahead of ourselves just because what happened in Game Three. Just because we came out and did what we were supposed to do in Game Three and get a win nothing changes. We don’t think we are guaranteed to win Game Four. We know they are going to be more aggressive. We need to match their energy and do what we did in Game Three.†� On the crowd “This is good basketball. The atmosphere really means a lot. We saw that in the first two games. For us we got to come home and get some home cooking. We saw the crowd cheering for us and believing in us and it really says a lot and makes a difference. It was a homecourt advantage and we expect the same thing tomorrow. It really gave us the extra energy we needed.†� Brendan Haywood On taking away Ilgauskas “It’s important to take Ilgauskas away because he is their second option. LeBron is so good he is going to get his but if we can take away “Z†� that can help us a lot.†� On the White-Out “I thought the crowd was a major factor in Game Three. We rode their energy all game. They were great. They were live from the opening tip and we are going to need that on Sunday.†�