Additional Quotes >> USA 106, Germany 57

Aug. 18, 2008 - Beijing, China

NOTE: Approximately 20 members of the USA swim team came out to Wukesong Arfena to watch the USA men's basketball team play tonight. Michael Phelps was invited to join the USA basketball team in their locker room following their 106-57 victory over Germany.

Michael Phelps, USA Swimming
What was it like hooking up with the men's basketball team tonight?
It's cool. When we're swimming and we look up and see these guys, it's awesome to see them in the stands.  We were all so excited it was like we can't lose in front of these guys, we're not losing a single race in front of these guys. Just being able to sit in here and hang out with these guys, it's cool to sit in here. These are the guys I'm always watching on tv.

It's cool to sit in here, hang out and be one of the guys.

Whose idea was it to come over and watch the men play tonight?
I actually wanted to come and see one of the games before I left and this worked out perfectly in our scheduling, so I was able to come down here.

How many of your teammates joined you here tonight?
About half our team came over tonight. We had a pretty big showing of the crew to cheer these guys on.

Did they put on a good show for you?
Oh yeah. We destroyed them. It was a fun game to watch.

USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski (Duke University)
On the game:
We're excited about finishing pool play undefeated and getting on to the medal round.  We're healthy.  I think our team has played well.  We're very excited about getting in the medal round.  It's time to try to win a gold medal.

When do you know the team understood the importance of talking on defense?
I think we really saw that last summer.  That was one of the benefits of qualifying is that we played all those games and we had a chance to develop as a team at a higher level, especially LeBron on the help side.  His voice last summer helped other people talk more on the defensive end and he's continued to do that and quarterback our defense.  Probably, the guy who's done a terrific job in this has been Chris Bosh.  Our big guys are talking well now too, but especially Chris Bosh.  He's been for us probably as good a defender as we've had.  The guys want to help each other.  It's been a good process.  We know we have each other's back on defense.

Can you talk about what LeBron has brought in terms of leadership and how he's played on the floor?
LeBron, if he's not the best, he's one of the top two or three best players in the world.  Over the last three years, his game has just developed in all aspects:  his leadership, his defense, obviously his offense, he's shooting.  He's really embraced the entire game.  I think he's going to be one of the great leaders in his particular sport.  He just has a presence … keeping guys loose, knowing when to get on them, making sure we have good practices.  He's been a great ally for the coaching staff as far as getting our message across.

Bogut said he hasn't seen an American team dominate like this since '92. Do you think that's a fair comment?
First of all, we don't feel like we're dominant.  We feel like we're playing real well and that each game is it's own entity.  You don't win the game because of cumulative stats.  You win it by playing 40 minutes each time, three consecutive times.  So, that's how we've approached it and dominance is not what we've thought because we know we've played hard.  We just want to play hard and do that again for 40 minutes because what we've done … everybody is 0 and 0 … the eight teams in the medal round … and you've got to get back to square one and we're a good team getting back to square one … but it's still square one for the medal round.

LeBron and Dwayne seem to be playing with an edge.  Is that something you've welcomed and do you think it's carried over to the rest of the team?
They've played so well.  I hate to say just two guys have done it because our team has played real well.  Dwyane coming back from his injury has shown everybody that he's kinda of on a mission to show everyone that he's really good again.  And, I think that's been accomplished.  LeBron has just continued to get better, but each of the guys has given stuff.  But, those two guys are playing at the highest level really right now.

How is the exhibition game vs. Australia going to help you for the quarterfinal?
Well, it does help us when you are familiar playing the personnel.  Their coach is an outstanding coach … well-conceived offensive system.  You know in the last three ball games, they averaged about 102 points a game and scoring about 40 points from the 3-point line in those three games.  So, they can put points up.  I think they're playing their best basketball.

They played us very well, probably will have a good level of confidence because they did such a good job against us two weeks ago, I guess.  You lose track of time in this tournament but it wasn't too long in Shanghai that we played them.

Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
Both you and Phelps are Baltimore guys, do you feel any connection to him?
It's good to hopefully have a gold medal. I mean he's got 14 of them, hopefully I can bring one back to the city. It's just real good to see somebody else from Baltimore participate in one of the biggest events in the world.

How do you gauge your leadership. I mean sometimes you look at the stat sheet and it doesn't pop out, especially after a game like this does it?
Oh yeah. I don't worry about scoring in a game like this or any game on this team. On any given day anyone can have a go. We won by almost 50 points. I don't worry about what I'm scoring or anything like that. We had an overall great win tonight. Any time we can win by 50 points, I'll take that any night.

Are you ready for the medal round now. Is this team ready?
I've been ready for the whole tournament, for a long time. Yeah, I'm ready to play Wednesday. It's finally here. We're knocking at the door. It's time to get down to business right now. We've got three games to accomplish what we've been waiting to do for four years.

What did you learn in the game against Australia a couple of weeks ago?
That game I think we were kind of looking forward to coming here and getting the Olympics started. They're a physical team, a tough team and I'm pretty sure they're going to take that game and take some confidence out of it.

Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz)
What can you bring to the team in the time you're on the court?
Yeah, I'm only out there for five to nine minutes. So when I'm out there I'm just trying to be aggressive, get rebounds, play D. If I get the ball, try to score. For me, Mike and Tayshaun, our role is a little bit different. When we get in there we just try to make an impact in a short period of time. I think we get out there, we're a little stiff, we try to get loose and make something happen. But the rest of the guys are out there for about 20 minutes so they can get loose a little bit, mix it up a little bit. I think we're doing a great job. We're supporting our team, we're doing a great job when we get in there of being aggressive and making an impact and we're winning. All that matters is that we're winning.

You're pretty new with this group. What do you feel is due process
Coach K sent me a tape after the FIBA Americas (Championship) last year and said to watch this tape. So I watched this tape and it was LeBron James, Carmelo, Kobe, J-Kidd, they were all talking on defense. They were moving the ball offensively and that's what he wanted me to get ready for. He sent me that tape and I already knew that this team was already together, they were cohesive and I'm just going to add to it.

How big is communication out there?
It's huge. Communication is big on D. That's been the key to our whole success, we're doing a great job of talking to each other on the defensive end. You can hear it every game we play, no matter who's on the court, no matter what the score is, guys are talking defensively. That's been the key to our victories and that's going to be the key to our gold medal.

Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
Talk about the adjustments you've had to make to talk more on defense:
It was a small adjustment.  I mean it is something we're not used to because of three seconds in the key.  We had to get out of what we're used to normally, how we normally play in the league and everything.  And, I think that's to our advantage.  It's just different guys have to help, the very bottom guy has to be more of the help man.  You have to limit team's threes and make guards finish at the basket.  We've been real receptive and it's helped us out.

Can you talk about LeBron consistent talking to the team?
That's always good and it's contagious.  That challenges other guys to speak up as well.  When guys do that, we're always attentive … we know what's going on, we talk on defense, we pick each other up when we make mistakes.  We just cover for each other.

How do you stay focused in blow games like this?
We haven't won the gold medal yet.  We still have to win three games to win the gold medal.  We're not getting ahead of ourselves.  We don't feel like we deserve it yet.  We just have to keep playing, keep pushing.  If we pay attention in every game and every team, we'll be where we want to be.

Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
Are you playing as well as you can right now?
We're playing extremely well right now. We feel that we can play much better. We feel like we can improve and that's what we're going to try to do.

Was it important to come out strong against Germany?
It's important for us to continue to play hard and play well. That's what we've been focusing on, trying to get better every game.

Now it's win or go home time:
That's it. This is what we came here for. Now it's go time.

All we're trying to do is get better every day and the last few games we've been getting better. Hopefully we can do that Wednesday.

Can you explain why you are so popular here in China?
To be honest with you I don't know how to explain it. I've been popular here since 1999, but this summer has been...I don't know how to explain it.

Are you going to watch the soccer game between Argentina and Brazil?
Yes, of course. I'll be there tomorrow night. I get to see Messi and Ronaldinho go at it tomorrow at 9 o'clock. I will be there.

Was Phelps in your locker room tonight?
Yes, after the game.

What did you talk about?
We were just talking, shooting the bull. Nothing of substance. We had a good time.

Can you talk about your 3-point shooting, yours and the teams and how much of a focal point was it?
We're getting better at it. It's a game to game thing for us We're starting to understand our rhythm, ehen the shots are coming. We're getting more comfortable and knocking them down.

Anything you worked on tonight in preparation for Australia?
No, you know Australia plays a completely different style of game than we faced tonight. They run a continuity offense, they're very proficient at it. They run hard cuts, set hard picks, they're very smart. That will be a different ball game. I expect them to play hard, to play tough, they're not intimidated. They won't back down. They'll come ready to play.

What about the chemistry on the team?
We all get along extremely well and that helps. Outside of the game, we go out to together and hang out and we normally go out as a pack. I think that helps a lot when you have guys that get along together

Can you talk about LeBron? I know he loosens everything up in practice, he likes to clown around.
Oh yeah, he's a talker. He keeps it going nonstop. When he's on the floor he's extremely versatile. I mean his style of play fits this style perfectly because we can put him in the middle of the zone. He can make passes, he can make reads and he can play all five positions. His versatility helps us tremendously.

Are you out there to intimidate your opponents? It seems like there's always a dunk or something that really seems to crush them.
No, we just play the game the way we know how. That's what we do. We're not out there to embarrass or intimidate anybody. We just go out there and do what we do best. No matter what the score is, you still have to play hard, so that's what we have to do.

Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
On the game:
I think tonight's game was very exciting for me.  I talked to Coach K earlier today before the game and he really told me to get myself going and get myself back into how I know how to play basketball.  I had a lot of fun tonight … got a chance to meet Michael Phelps and got the swimming goggles right here (pointed to goggles on his head) … they kind of helped me out too.

How approaching the medal round?
I think every time we play from here on out, like Coach says, it's going to like a Game 7 in the playoffs.  We really got to stay focused, stay humble. You know we came here on a mission and that was to win a gold medal.  So every game is very important.

What did you learn about Australia in the exhibition game:
They execute very well.  They play extremely hard.  They're a big physical team.  We really got to not give them a chance to run their sets.  We need to play our game and do what we've been doing the whole tournament, which is winning, playing great defense and making teams rush.

Was Michael Phelps here tonight?
Yes, he was actually in the locker room before I came out.  I told him I was going to do the 100 meter medley next year.

Do you think the games have been too easy for you so far?.
No.  Each game we've played is tough.  Each game we play presents us with a new challenge.  The main thing is staying motivated and knowing we want to accomplish one goal which is to win a gold medal.  So, each game we learn something new and we try to get better each night.

They went to you right from the beginning.  Is that what you and Coach talked about?
I just have to get myself going.  Running the floor, trying to get deep post position in the paint so I can go right into a shot.  Just being a big presence for my team.  I think the first three games, I didn't play as well as I wanted to, but I think I just got to get myself going every night.
Coach K talked to me before the game about doing that.

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
You've been pretty much dominating opponents since the first exhibition game:
It's going to be like that for the next three, too. We're trying to play with a chip on our shoulder. We go out every night and try to get better. Going against Greece and going against Spain were easy to get up for. We could have easily had one of those games where we came in and made excuses, but we didn't take a step backwards today and that was good. It was really good.

You said you wanted to continue to get better. What represents getting better?
Taking a step forward every game. Like I said, it's easy to get up for Spain and for Greece. But can we go and play Germany and play even better than Spain and Greece? Which we did. We got better today and that's a good thing.

You've got Australia coming up. You beat them by only 11 in exhibition play. What will you expect?
They play a real physical game. It's a real physical team and we're looking forward to it. We're going to have to get a lot of rest and take care of our bodies because it's going to be one of those physical games. One thing we're going to do is to try to get up and down and try to wear them down a lot.

Coach was calling you the quarterback of the team's defense. What does that mean to you as far as what you're supposed to be doing?
Me just being the vocal guy and being the quarterback of the defense, I take that responsibility. Every night we go out there I know I have that responsibility, which is okay.

Do you recall the first time having to get on a teammate for not playing defense?
I don't know when it happened. I can't tell you when it (first) happened, but I've said it to almost everybody. I went to Dwight before and told him he needed to be a little tougher, a little bit more vocal on the defensive end. I went to Kobe and told him he didn't need to gamble as much. They come to me too and tell me I need to be more vocal. That's when I took that responsibility, when they were saying we hear your voice all the time but can you lead the charge on the defensive end and that was a good thing for me.

How much does your previous bronze medal finish here motivate you out there?
It's motivating me a lot. Knowing that being in the Olympics last time wasn't a great experience for me as an individual. I wanted to make this the best. This is the best right now, that it's ever been in my NBA career. I'm taking full advantage of it.

Do you ever think back to '04 and how bad it was?
Not really. For me as an individual it wasn't good. I was 19-years-old, I thought I was good enough to be playing but I wasn't playing. Being 19 and being away from home for 37 days and not doing what you love to do, it was kind of tough on me. But I think that at the end of the day it made me who I am today.

Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)
On Michael Phelps:
We didn't see him until after the game.  Just (told us) congratulations and best of luck and go get the gold medal.  He's really cool.  We were more asking him what his plans are for upcoming and when he's going to swim again because everyone wants to see him swim again.

Was it hard to stay focused in a game like that?
It's easy.  We just play one way.  No matter what we've accomplished or clinched, we got to fine tune the machine.  We wanted to come out and continue to play as if we are playing Spain or Greece or Argentina.  No matter who our opponent is, we got to play at a high level.  We don't want to have a game like this where we just go through the motions and think we can just turn it on.  It's easier to play hard and just keep it going.

On comparisons to the '92 Dream Team:
I think the biggest thing is when you look at the blowouts, the first Dream Team, they scared guys before they ever got to the floor.  For us, the world's gotten better, so it's not about intimidating.  It's about playing the game the right way and that's what we have done for the last five games.  So, now we have to concentrate on Australia.  We've got three games to the gold medal and now this is where it starts.

How much has LeBron grown since 2004?
Since '04?  He was 19 years old … now he's 23.  Leaps and bounds.  His game has totally, I think, changed because he doesn't force anything.  He takes what the defense gives him, he's unselfish and he plays at a high level every night.  He's an easy guy to play with.

Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets)
Was that an enjoyable game tonight?
Very enjoyable. To know that we had first place locked up and still come out with the emotion and the energy that we played with, that's the kind of intensity we have to continue to play with.

On Australia
They are a team we have played against before, and they know what to expect from us. We are going to come with the same energy we had as when we played against them last time.

What is the key to beating Australia?
That's the key every game we play, is defense and intensity. We're so good in transition and the open court that if we defend and we get steals, it's really tough to defend us.

What has this experience been for you so far?
Unbelievable, words can't explain it. This is the largest stage of basketball that myself and many of the guys have ever played on, and we are playing for the best team in the entire world. It's not about the best the team in the NBA, that's a small scale compared to this.

What about meeting Michael Phelps?
He's unbelievable. I've know him for a little while, we are the same age. I don't think what he did will ever be done again. We play games every night, and he swam twice a day every day for that length of time, that was unbelievable.

Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons)
Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks)

Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Do you ever look back to the differences between this Olympics and '04?
No. It's not even in the same book. It's not even the same at all. It's two totally different fields. Of course I look at this as a team. I look at that as a bunch of individual guys who were good individually, but didn't get a chance to really become a team. We got beat, we got beat pretty bad. We're so focused and we have to understand that we have to win eight games to win this thing. We have five down and we have three more to go. Every game now is going to play like it's Game 7 from this moment on.

What did you take away from the post-game Michael Phelps visit?
First of all, that's legendary right there. Him coming in and sitting down, chillin with us.  We got the opportunity to see him do his thing and I'm glad he got the opportunity to see us do ours. USA is sticking together. We enjoyed it.

What's it feel like to get to this stage, heading into the medal round?
We're excited. This is what we've been preparing for. We've been preparing for these three games right here. We had to play these five games to position ourselves the right way. We did that, we played well. Now we have to take it up a notch and play even better. Some people say, ‘well, how can you all do that?' Well, we feel that we're hungrier now and we're going to look at every game as a Game 7. If we continue to play defense the way we've been playing, if we continue to move the ball, it's going to be tough to beat us. But we know teams are going to come at us very hard. This is what we live for.

On Chris Kaman and Dirk Nowitzki:
They're two good players, NBA players. We played good defense on them tonight. I thought Carmelo and LeBron did a great job on them tonight. We didn't let them get into their sets and put pressure on everybody else and got ahead with an early lead.

Is there a team out there that you are looking forward to?
No, we are just going to take it one game at a time. We know that is all about us and how we play first of all on the defensive end. If we play well on the defensive end and give ourselves a chance and then offensively start clicking, we're going to be a tough team to beat. We are not really scared of who we are playing; we are going to just play whoever comes up and try to do our best.

Who do you think will give the bigger cheer if you go all the way, the Chinese or the Americans?
I think it is going to be both. A lot of Americans back home are really behind us 100 percent. They are waking at five, six, seven, eight o'clock in the morning watching these games, so that's great. And these Chinese fans have been great, and China has been great for us. We're really enjoying it.

Can you tell me how the team has gelled the last couple of weeks?
We're getting better and better. That's the thing. From that first game in Vegas to now, we're so much better and I think by the end of this thing we're going to be even better. We're getting to know each other a lot more, we're starting to see things more, we're getting comfortable with all our roles. It's getting a lot easier for us to go out and do our jobs.

Deron Williams (Utah Jazz)
Obviously nothing needs to change with the playoffs now:
Yeah, we're just keeping it going. We're keeping our energy and intensity level up, which I don't think we'll have a problem doing. We'll just keep pressing the heck out of teams. We're disrupting everything they're trying to do, not letting them get into their offense. Just really not letting them relax on offense or defense.

Would it have been fun to play Andrei Kirilenko in the Olympics?
It would have been great. We got to play him in the warm-up games. But that's just how it is, that's how it goes.

You played Australia in the only close game you had so far. How is your team different now than in exhibition play?
We've had a lot more games under our belt. I think you can tell that we're playing a lot better than when we were then. Also, in that game we were trying a lot of new things. We had worked on a couple of things, worked on trapping in the post and we hadn't really put it in in practice. I think it was a game where we were just ready to get into these other games, we were ready to get to Beijing and start the Olympics. The way we're playing right now, we're happy with how we're playing and look to build on that against Australia.

What do you remember about that game?
We let them have too many easy baskets. Especially early in the game. We let (Patrick) Mills get to the basket, take it full court, coast to coast. That's something we really haven't had happen to us since we've been here.