Magic Vs. Wizards Quotes: John Wall Defends Jordan Crawford And Much More

WASHINGTON -- Here are your postgame quotes from the Washington Wizards' 93-85 win over the Orlando Magic last night. Apologies for not putting these out sooner, but I was working on a feature on Kevin Seraphin that we decided to run on SB Nation D.C. tried to make up for it by posting more quotes. Here they are:

RANDY WITTMAN

On how the game was won: "We withstood that first quarter, which was really critical for us. They came out and blistered us with three or four threes that got them up 10, 12, 13. To get it going into halftime tied [was big]. Then, in the second half, I think defensively, we covered the three-point line as well as we have against them. That's what you got to do."

On James Singleton and Cartier Martin: "They've been good. We might have to go to all 10-day contracts next year. Some of our guys might not like to hear that." (He was kidding)

On Jordan Crawford: "He's attacked the rim a little more off the dribble instead of just settling for long shots, and that's gotten him to the free-throw line a couple times, which always kind of gets you going."

On Kevin Seraphin: "He was big tonight. Kid's playing with confidence and growing every night. I told him I'm going to stay on him every night. I don't want him to get satisfied with where he's at. I think he has a lot of room to still improve, and I want him to stay hungry. I talk to him a lot on the sidelines and will continue to."

On Seraphin's improvement: "He gives us someone who can get points in the paint. Tonight, we had 46 points in the paint. Obviously, it wasn't all Kevin. Some of it was John [Wall] getting to the rim and in transition too. But to be able to throw the ball in when things slow down or the shot's not going, to be able to throw the ball into the post and get something on the inside makes a huge difference for us. We don't have to live and die with our outside shot."

KEVIN SERAPHIN

On going against a team without Dwight Howard: "I [thought about] it, but no. I wasn't sure he was playing tonight, but he got a back injury, I was told. I just play. It doesn't matter."

On defending Jameer Nelson in the pick and roll: "We tried to show, but that's was tough because he's good in the pick and roll. That was tough. But we just tried to keep our defense tight, keep playing solid like that."

On if he was surprised by not being double-teamed more: "Sometimes, they tried, and I just gave the ball to my teammates. So afterwards, they stopped trying to double-team me. So I wasn't surprised."

On what has helped him improve: "Playing in Spain before helped me, because I played Euroleague. So that helped me a lot how to read the game, how to see the game. The more you play, the more you gain experience and the more the game slows down for you."

On how the game slowed down for him: "That's not really something you can work on. You just have to wait [until] you play a lot. When you play, you just have to play to become like that."

On Wittman being on him during games: "I think it's a good thing for me, because it helps me when he does that. I can't just let up on the court. I have to play, because he knows I can never be satisfied. I just keep playing hard when you have people pushing you. I have my teammates, and I have my coach. They all help me."

On tips Sam Cassell gave him before the game: "He played with [Hakeem] Olajuwon, so he tries to give me some stuff to help. I appreciate that. That's a player who has done it well. I watch him a lot. He shows me that you have to know who you're playing against. Some guys, I'm quicker then, so you have to face up. Some guys, I am more physical then, so I have to post up. It just depends. He gives me good advice because he played with Olajuwon a lot. He knows. So he gives me some pointers.

JORDAN CRAWFORD

Potential quote of the year, on why he didn't smile after hitting a three to put Washington up eight late: "I don't ever really smile when I get buckets. I've been doing that since I popped out."

JOHN WALL

On Jordan Crawford: "I think Jordan's doing a great job. A lot of people criticize him for taking bad shots, but that's just the type of player he is. Some shots are going to be bad, but he makes those tough shots. That's just how his game is. With him being a scorer, we really need that right now, especially at the guard positions. It really helps us when he's more aggressive attacking the basket also. I think he learned this year that he doesn't need to take jump shots all the time when he's attacking the basket."

CARTIER MARTIN

On why he became better at driving to the basket: "During the offseason, you put in the work trying to work on your weaknesses. Then, getting a chance to go over to China, being a two-guard there allowed me to be able to put the ball on the floor a little bit. I just got back from China, so I now feel like I can put the ball on the floor a little bit and make a couple moves when I need to."

On how he actually made that improvement: "It's all off experience. You can go through drills and stuff all day, but until you actually get into it and doing it, that's when it really counts. Being over there in China, actually doing it, coming off screen and rolls, putting the ball on the floor more actually helped me coming back here to expand my game."