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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS v HAWKSMay 20, 2015David BlattATLANTA, GEORGIA: Game One Q. David, you had that eight‑day layoff in between the first and second round, six days between the second and third round. Based on the first layoff, did you do anything differently in the second layoff? If so, what did you do? COACH BLATT: Well, I thought the fact that there was time to rest but less days is beneficial‑‑ was beneficial. And we had a chance to practice pretty good. We, probably all the teams, have to be very careful to avoid injury during practice time, but at the same time, I thought we were active and we got a lot done and kept our guys sharp. The shorter time period actually saved them some of the impatience and stress of waiting so long than we had in the previous series. Q. David, J.R. Smith before he got to Cleveland had somewhat of a checkered reputation in the NBA. When you first were made aware that the team was ready to make a move to acquire him, what was your level of openness to that? What was your attitude about bringing on a player who at times in other situations had possibly been disruptive for chemistry rather than helpful? COACH BLATT: Well, I was very supportive of the move to bring J.R., and immediately upon his arrival, we had dinner together, and I knew that we had a good kid and a guy that was happy also to be coming to our situation and wanted to contribute and wanted to help us win. And he has done that and more. He's been great for us, and he's been a great teammate, and he's been a great guy to coach. And no question, he's one of the reasons, one of the main reasons we're here. Q. Coach, rebounding has obviously been a big part. I want you to talk about the physicality of the Bulls game and what set you up to be physical on the boards, which should be a big part of this game. COACH BLATT: Well, obviously, both of our first two series were very physical, and if it we're not ready for a physical series now, then we never will be. You learn from everything. You learn from every game. You learn from every series, and I think that we've made progress in a lot of different areas over the course of the season and during these playoffs. Certainly being able to play physical basketball is one of them. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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