Chucky is a veteran point guard, and he fills our need for an added leader in the backcourt. He will be a great addition to our team, and we are happy he was available and eager to come to Memphis.

In the playoffs, the key for us is how tough we are and are we going to go get the rebounds.

I know what those guys are going through because I've been there,

Any time you can hold a team like that on defense, it makes the game easier for everybody. We count on the defense to make plays. That's what's going to win us games in the playoffs. We just have to keep playing hard and finish games and we'll have a chance.

Dallas played smarter than us. They played harder than us. It seems their will was greater than ours. Everything snowballed from there.

A shorter rotation is to be expected. Every team and every coach does that. Every team wants its seven or eight best out there.

Teams (like Minnesota) that aren't playing for anything are always dangerous because they play loose. You always want to jump on teams like that and not give them a chance. We knew we had to put the heat on them quick.

The second quarter was the difference. Our second unit gave us great energy to open the second quarter. When this team gets in sync quick and we're locking down on defense, it creates a lot more opportunities on the other end for us.

The Wizards can shoot themselves in a game, and they can shoot themselves out of a game. At least that's the way it was when I was there.

You gotta be a guy that really wants it. You gotta be a guy that's willing to take constructive criticism. You gotta be a guy that's resilient. A lot of things aren't going to go the way you want them to go in this league, so you gotta take that hit and be even stronger the next time.