milky_way
01-23-2003, 01:26 AM
Mr. Isiah Thomas! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: the guy i wanted fired at the beginning of the season!! :eek: :banghead
Thomas Wants East Stars to Play to Win
By Conrad Brunner
Indianapolis, Jan. 22 - Now that his position as head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Stars is secure, Isiah Thomas has a message for whoever makes the roster: be prepared to play to win.
The Pacers' 101-98 victory over Toronto Wednesday night in Conseco Fieldhouse pushed their record to 30-12 and, coupled with Detroit's loss in Philadelphia, built a 2½ game lead over the Pistons (27-14). The coach of the team with the best record in the East through Jan. 26 earns the honor, and New Jersey's Byron Scott was not eligible because he filled the All-Star position last year.
"You want to win the basketball game," Thomas said. "I want to go there and make sure the players understand that. There was a time when all those guys in the locker room sat and watched me play in the All-Star Game, and I went out and competed. They watched Bird in the All-Star Game and they watched Magic Johnson in the All-Star Game. We never tried to cheat the game. Even though we wanted to have fun and we wanted to have special moments in the game, we wanted to play good basketball.
"If we had the opportunity to do something nice or flashy, we tried to do that but for the most part, you always want to be true to the game. I hope our players stay true to the game and come out and give a good performance."
Thomas seemed genuinely enthused by the moment, acknowledging that he let out a little celebratory shout in his office.
"When Detroit lost, I was more excited about them losing and us putting a little more distance between us and them as opposed to the All-Star moment," he said. "It's going to be a great moment and I'm looking forward to it. It's a great honor. Not many people get a chance to coach an All-Star Game and I'm very happy and excited about it.
"It says a lot about our franchise, it says a lot about Donnie, it says a lot about our players and our coaching staff. Everybody's worked extremely long, hard hours."
Thomas, a 12-time All-Star and two-time MVP of the game, becomes the second Pacers coach so honored, following Larry Bird in 1998.
"That's fabulous," said Reggie Miller. "In my tenure here, I was glad to get Larry (Bird) there and I'm glad to get coach Thomas there. It's a big achievement. He's stated all along it would be a big honor for him to coach in that game. For all the thrills and excitement he did as a player, for him to have the chance to go back to the All-Star Game, hopefully lead the East to victory and have Jermaine there, hopefully this is a big plug for the Pacers franchise.
"There's going to be a lot of blue-and-gold in Atlanta and we're going to be dominating the headlines and we're happy about that. We put a lot of hard work over the summer to put ourselves in this position and we're opening a lot of eyes. I'm happy for coach. It's a wonderful honor."
Sacramento Kings' head coach Rick Adelman will coach the Western Conference in the Feb. 9 game in Atlanta's Philips Arena. Thomas is expected to be joined by at least one of his players, forward Jermaine O'Neal, who was in position for his first All-Star start in the most recent fan balloting.
All-Star starters for both the Eastern and Western Conference will be announced on Thursday, January 23 and the All-Star Reserves will be announced on Tuesday, January 28.
Thomas Wants East Stars to Play to Win
By Conrad Brunner
Indianapolis, Jan. 22 - Now that his position as head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Stars is secure, Isiah Thomas has a message for whoever makes the roster: be prepared to play to win.
The Pacers' 101-98 victory over Toronto Wednesday night in Conseco Fieldhouse pushed their record to 30-12 and, coupled with Detroit's loss in Philadelphia, built a 2½ game lead over the Pistons (27-14). The coach of the team with the best record in the East through Jan. 26 earns the honor, and New Jersey's Byron Scott was not eligible because he filled the All-Star position last year.
"You want to win the basketball game," Thomas said. "I want to go there and make sure the players understand that. There was a time when all those guys in the locker room sat and watched me play in the All-Star Game, and I went out and competed. They watched Bird in the All-Star Game and they watched Magic Johnson in the All-Star Game. We never tried to cheat the game. Even though we wanted to have fun and we wanted to have special moments in the game, we wanted to play good basketball.
"If we had the opportunity to do something nice or flashy, we tried to do that but for the most part, you always want to be true to the game. I hope our players stay true to the game and come out and give a good performance."
Thomas seemed genuinely enthused by the moment, acknowledging that he let out a little celebratory shout in his office.
"When Detroit lost, I was more excited about them losing and us putting a little more distance between us and them as opposed to the All-Star moment," he said. "It's going to be a great moment and I'm looking forward to it. It's a great honor. Not many people get a chance to coach an All-Star Game and I'm very happy and excited about it.
"It says a lot about our franchise, it says a lot about Donnie, it says a lot about our players and our coaching staff. Everybody's worked extremely long, hard hours."
Thomas, a 12-time All-Star and two-time MVP of the game, becomes the second Pacers coach so honored, following Larry Bird in 1998.
"That's fabulous," said Reggie Miller. "In my tenure here, I was glad to get Larry (Bird) there and I'm glad to get coach Thomas there. It's a big achievement. He's stated all along it would be a big honor for him to coach in that game. For all the thrills and excitement he did as a player, for him to have the chance to go back to the All-Star Game, hopefully lead the East to victory and have Jermaine there, hopefully this is a big plug for the Pacers franchise.
"There's going to be a lot of blue-and-gold in Atlanta and we're going to be dominating the headlines and we're happy about that. We put a lot of hard work over the summer to put ourselves in this position and we're opening a lot of eyes. I'm happy for coach. It's a wonderful honor."
Sacramento Kings' head coach Rick Adelman will coach the Western Conference in the Feb. 9 game in Atlanta's Philips Arena. Thomas is expected to be joined by at least one of his players, forward Jermaine O'Neal, who was in position for his first All-Star start in the most recent fan balloting.
All-Star starters for both the Eastern and Western Conference will be announced on Thursday, January 23 and the All-Star Reserves will be announced on Tuesday, January 28.