"The thing about me is, I've never been a frontrunner. I win with pride, lose with pride. If I don't win the whole thing I'm disappointed in myself, so if we don't make it (to the playoffs) I'll be disappointed. The good thing about me, I always come back hard and I always come back stronger. Last year they thought I couldn't play again, but I had a great season this year and it's only going to make me stronger. I've been blessed to go six times to the big dance. I realize you can't win them all, but as a player and a guy that likes to compete, if we don't make it I'll be very disappointed. Nobody feels sorry for me, so I definitely won't feel sorry for myself."....
...."The game has to be played a certain way and everything has to be done right. The times that I've made it to the big thing, everything was done right. This year we went through different athletic cultures and then changed and went back, one of our guys (Amar'e Stoudemire) went down, so a lot happened. Not that we're using it as an excuse, but a lot has happened. When you want to make it to the big dance everything has to be done right. When you look at the teams that are playing well, everything has gone right for them. You can't have that many athletic culture changes during the year and expect to win."...
......"There are two types of business owners. Do you want to win or do you want to save money? Period. Do you want to win or do you want to save money? (Mark Cuban) spends money. I don't think he wants to save money. I've been around 17 years and that's what it is. You either want to win and don't really care about the salary cap, or you want to be under the salary cap. At the end of the season, I'm sure everybody will be prepared for whatever happens."
...."I've got one year left," says Shaq. "At the end of the season, I've played hard, I've done well, and whatever happens happens."
