Brendan Haywood playoffs interview
InsideHoops.com | Apr. 22, 2008
The Washington Wizards are battling the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs. Here's Wizards center Brendan Haywood speaking to local media after game 2:
On fouling LeBron James:
“There was no harm meant. He said it himself...he is 6’9”, 260 lbs. If you go out there and try to foul him lightly he is still going to score. There was no malicious intent. I apologized to LeBron after the game and told him that I never meant to hurt him. It’s just one of those things.”
On playing at home:
“I think we can definitely take care of business at home. We need the fans to come out and support us and give us the energy that they have. I think we can get it done. Coach gave us one of his better speeches today and addressed some issues that have been lingering underneath the surface for a couple of months about ball movement.”
On what it will take to win the series:
“It starts with ball movement. When one guy stands with the ball they can load up. Then we get bad shots which translates into easy transition buckets for them. Second, we have to try to cut off LeBron’s easy drives to the basket. Third, we can’t let the other guys beat us on the perimeter.”
On the 0-2 deficit in the series:
“A lot of guys, like myself, Antawn (Jamison) and Gilbert (Arenas) were on that team a few years ago that came back from down 0-2 in the Chicago series. We definitely feel confident in our skills and know we can get things done. We watched the tape and saw that we made so many mistakes that really aided them. When you make mistakes that help the other team, you feel like you cost yourself the game. When the other team comes out and looks like they are making a highlight tape and you can’t do anything about it, then you feel demoralized. But we don’t feel demoralized. We feel like we have a lot to give and we have played the worst basketball of the season so far.”
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