Maurice Cheeks

Maurice Cheeks
Maurice Edward "Mo" Cheeksis an American retired professional basketball player and currently an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. He was the head coach of the Detroit Pistons from June 10, 2013, to February 9, 2014 and has also served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth8 September 1956
CityChicago, IL
basically bit certainly grew lived portland someplace spent time
Certainly when I got the Portland job, there wasn't as much hoopla as there is here, ... I've spent time here. I've lived here. I grew up basically here. There's going to be a little bit more hoopla than there would be someplace else.
bit certainly defense game gets needs overall team unfolds win
That part of the game is better than the overall game. We'd like our defense to get better for 48 minutes. But I think as the game unfolds and when another team needs a basket, I think our defense gets a little bit better. Certainly if you're going to win games, it has to be better down the stretch.
ball bit discredit effective gets jump people plays rebound skills stronger toughness work
Shavlik is a little bit stronger than people think. He can rebound the ball in traffic. Offensively, he can put the ball down on the floor. Once he gets a 15- or 16-foot jump shot, I think he can be an effective player. I think people discredit his toughness. I think as he plays a little bit more, the toughness will come out, the ball skills will come out. Right now, he?s got to work on that jump shot.
ball bit gets half open second sleep somebody teased turned
The second half they just lured us to sleep and made open shots. Once we turned the ball over, they were into the break, somebody gets a wide-open three, and somebody gets one to the basket. It was like they teased us a little bit and then they go up 16 or 17 points.
attention beginning detail ready
a lot of things ... about energy, getting out and being ready to play from the beginning. From the start, our attention to detail was great.
samuel steven
I just like the way Steven has been playing. At some point, Samuel will be starting. No rush.
challenged defense defensive game great memphis night quality team
This game was a quality game for us because Memphis is a quality team. The other night I challenged our team on the defensive end and our defense was great tonight.
chicago
I thought Chicago had more energy, that's for sure.
factor losing obviously offense
Our turnovers obviously were a big factor in losing the game. We had 14 turnovers at halftime, but our offense went astray.
hit pierce
(The game) got away when Pierce hit those two threes.
allen allow ball hands player three trying versatile
He's a very versatile player that can play the one, two or three positions. You're trying to put the ball in his hands and allow Allen to come up and make a play.
allen certain chris continued drive guys jump needed open penalty score shots stretch wide
I thought down the stretch of the game, when we needed those two guys to score the points, that?s what they did. That?s what they have to do. We got to the penalty at a certain point, Allen continued to drive the ball, and Chris had wide open jump shots because of it.
allen
Having Allen back rejuvenated us a little bit.
half helped reason second slow step win won
I thought the second half was the reason why we won the game, because it was just the will that helped us win the game. We were down, we were a step slow in the first half, and I thought our will got us back in the game.