Danny Ainge Quotes

In my day, defenders played you with two hands and an elbow. You're not getting by a guy, especially if he has an elbow and a hand on you and is a strong defensive player.

The confidence level that Steph is playing with now, obviously, you won't totally stop him. If I'm playing against him right now, I think I'd try to pick him up full court, get the ball out of his hands, try to be a little physical.

LeBron's probably the best player in the world, so you just have to make it tough for him, make him take tough jump shots and things like that.

You fouled a guy who needs to be fouled. If he's going to the basket, you don't give a knick-knack foul and then argue with the ref. You foul him so he knows, so the next guy coming behind him knows, so his team knows you can't go in the lane.

You don't cut anywhere, don't pick down anywhere, don't double screen, no weak side picking. All these things that should happen in a game of basketball don't happen anymore.

There's two sides to the game, and you have to do the ugly side as well. If you're getting beat, and you're conceding the goals that we're getting beaten by, then it's because you're not defending and shutting people down well enough.

You have to make the strikers fear you. Make it difficult for them to get on the ball and go into different areas. That makes my job easier.

I just try to make the right play, stay aggressive and defensively just do what I do. I make sure I talk to everyone and control the paint.

In the NBA they've taken away so much of the hand-checking and the physicality of how guys are able to guard you. So if you touch me, I'm gonna throw the ball toward the rim and get shots.

I like to get physical on defense. I like to get up on a guy as much as possible. I actually need to calm down, though.

Of course the defenders are trying to be physical with me. They look at me, 7-3, skinny, they try to be physical.

Offence doesn't concern me. It's easier for people to get layups than it is to get stops on defence or a block.

That's the only way you can stop a guy like Cam Newton. Hit him. He's unstoppable, so whenever he does try to run like a running back, you got to punish him.

You can't just sit back and think you're gonna pack the paint in and win games. You've gotta guard that three-point line.

I love when people try to be physical with me. They think that's the way to try to guard me and to get physical with me. I use that to my advantage.

The thing that's always struck me about Coach Marinelli's defenses is how fast and aggressive they play.

If you drive right, and your big is standing to the right, dish and keep going to their big - you grab an arm, maybe pull - so that they can't contest. You only get called for it once in a while.

You have to foul me to stop me, period.

When you play defense you have to storm the fort or play cover - you can't do both.

That's how we like to play basketball, is be physical down there in the paint and force teams to the perimeter.

We were able to get after the rebounds. We were able to control the paint. We were able to be physical down there.

Just play hard, compete, energy, hit the offensive glass.

My thing is just cut down the easy baskets. Cut down the easy baskets, and cut down the other guys that are going to score.

With all the talk of the 3-point line, it's still most important to build your defense inside to out.

If a guy is shooting a shot in the corner 70 percent of the missed shots usually come off that other side and 30 percent hits off the front rim so just playing the percentages and kind of studying your teammates' shots throughout the course of the game.