Maurice Cheeks on Pistons defensive win vs. Knicks, Rodney Stuckey

On Rodney Stuckey at point guard position (via NBA.com): "(Rodney) Stuckey did a nice job. He played some back-up point in Sacramento and I think we have to get him more comfortable at playing that some more because obviously for couple years he was the point guard. Clearly he knows how to do it. He knows when to do it. (We) put the ball in his hands and he was able to make plays for us. It wasn't so much that he was at the point, it's just that we kept the ball in his hands and he made plays for us."

On Rodney Stuckey's versatility [via Freep]: "He's so versatile. He plays a full game. He's an old-school kind of game where he has a mid-range game. Nowadays you see a lot of guys either shoot the three or go all the way to the rim."

On Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's defense (via NBA.com): "He was good defensively, the way he guarded on the ball. He guarded J.R. Smith pretty good and he is a very good offensive player. He's seeing a lot of these guys for the first time. So for him to be able to defend them the way that he defended them, it's pretty good for him, seeing him for the first time. But he guarded on the ball extremely well. That's the reason why he's able to be in the game at the end of the game because he can move his feet and he can guard one-on-one as well as anybody on our team."

On team's defense [via Pistons.com]: "Defense was better. Something we talked about, tried to focus on a little bit more this game. We realized we have to get better and we took a step, but we've got a long way to go."

On Josh Smith's return to Atlanta, heh [via MLIVE]: "He's not a guy that tries to go out and get 30, 35 points anyway." --So is there a possibility that the Pistons' coach endeavors to run more offensive plays for Smith early to position him for a big game? -- "Yeah, possibly. But I think he'll facilitate that a little bit for himself."

Video via Freep: