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
basketball chance forgotten guy holding instead looked mavericks mentally movement player pounding shots step team teams win
I think the Mavericks -- our team -- we've kind of forgotten who we are as basketball team and what made us successful. It wasn't shots on the offense. It wasn't holding the ball. We've kind of looked like some of our old teams with one guy pounding the ball instead of ball movement and player movement. We haven't been physical. Is that because we've been fatigued? I don't know. I know we've been a step slow. I can see that -- mentally and physically. We just need to get back to being who we are, and I think that will give us a better chance to win some of these games.
effort fortunate fourth good guys overall rest team
Overall it was a good team effort and we were fortunate enough to be able to rest some guys in the fourth quarter.
call defense good guy needed plays starting
He has been a big part of what we're doing. He's a guy in our starting lineup that I don't have to call a play for, (a guy) who just plays defense and rebounds. That's good for us. We needed a guy who doesn't want the ball. We wouldn't be here without him.
finish guys healthy matters mentally season seemed
Even the times we were in their face, they still seemed to make some shots. Our season is not over ... but we know where we are going to finish now. The only thing that really matters is to get guys healthy mentally and physically.
guess guys injured pleased trying
For us to be injured and trying to get some guys back, I guess we've got to be pleased with the results.
fortunate games goal guys heat honor mavericks nice shows won
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.
expected fight guys
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.
body care guys john league liking outlast people pitfalls stay student talked took trap year
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.
basketball defensive fire guy hope physical playing points seem since special sure team
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.
concerned guy hit injured time timetable
You're concerned any time a guy is injured and you have a timetable and are not able to hit those kind of goals.
guys pick southern
I told the guys if they have any guts, they'll pick Southern to get out of that region.
crazy excited games gotten guys obviously positive
I've never really gotten excited about games too much in February. But at the same time, obviously the guys are doing a lot of positive things on the court. You'd be crazy not to think so.
anybody ball guards guys next passes people reading spot standing three
It's those guys reading each other, Damp getting in the right spot and our guards making passes and getting him the ball. Spacing is a key. You can't get anybody the ball if three people are standing next to him.
guys matched means obviously playing starter tonight
It means a lot. Those are two guys who obviously can be starting. Damp's been a starter and Stack's been a starter, so hopefully, we can get those guys matched up on some of the other team's second-team players. We like to go to Damp, and we went to him tonight - and he delivered. He's been playing really hard.