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
My point is, what's the argument? There's no argument. It's a no-brainer.
For us to be injured and trying to get some guys back, I guess we've got to be pleased with the results.
He got some big stops and rebounds for us and stopped them from getting some rebounds and that is what he's here for.
It's nothing about me. If we're fortunate enough to be a part of that situation, it just shows that the guys that play for the Mavericks won some games and we're in the heat of the race. It's no goal of ours. It's a nice honor if something like that were to happen.
They made some runs, but we weathered the storm.
Boy, the more you watch them on film, the scarier it gets. It's going to be a very, very tough series.
Nick is so hungry for a championship. I remember when we lost to San Antonio in the Western Conference finals. I had never really seen Nick that emotional. All he had on his mind was trying to get back ... trying to get back. I think that's why when that trade happened he took it so hard.
I wouldn't say it was expected but it's not acceptable. At the same time, these guys wanted to get it right. It was something we were able to fight through.
He can't seem to get it fully healed.
He was one of the first coaches that came in and started talking about winning a championship and winning it with defense and don't even make apologies about it. Don't blink. Don't even blink when you talk about it. That's the goal. Don't be ashamed about it, otherwise you're just selling tickets.
Sometimes, when a player has a lot of pressure on him, you don't always get exactly how they're feeling, because they want to tell you what you want to hear.
John really took a liking to me. He talked to me about the off-court stuff, about the pitfalls that trap some guys. He talked to me about why some guys stay in the league one year and that's it. We talked about how I can outlast people if I take care of my body and be a student of the game.
I sure hope we're different. We seem to have been playing more physical basketball on the defensive end. Again, that was just one of those special games, the guy got on fire and obviously, since that's happened, we're not the team he's scored the most points against.
All you're going to remember is the last shot. That's all that matters.