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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS v HAWKSMay 21, 2015David BlattATLANTA, GEORGIA: Practice Day Q. David, how frustrating to you think it is for Kyrie to get rest, feel good, go out there, and at some point in the game tweak it again? COACH BLATT: Well, you know, obviously he wants to be at 100 percent, and this is a great time of the year. Ky's been such a big part of everything we've done this season. He wants to be out there at his best, and he's dealing with the situation. It's not easy for him. On the other hand, he's still out there contributing and giving us things that we really need and battling through this thing with heart and with courage and very much a part of us being at this point right now in the playoffs as well. So I'm sure it's frustrating, and it's not easy for him because of the things he's normally capable of doing. It's not fun to wake up in the morning and not feel good and going into the game and not feel physically 100 percent. Anyone that's played the game knows that, but he's still out there, and he's still helping us. Q. Coach, along those lines, what can be said about the support from you, the staff, the players at this point in time? COACH BLATT: Everybody has got Ky's back and everybody wants to see him healthy. On the other hand, the fact that we support him doesn't change his feeling physically. Mentally he's out there, and he wants to be contributing and helping his teammates, and they want to help him in any way that they can naturally. Q. Is his health at a point where you have a decision to make on him? COACH BLATT: He's going through his treatments, and we hope that he can play. The nature of his problem is one that allows him to do so. It's just a matter of discomfort and sort of having to deal with the elements and play through it. So from my perspective and our perspective, right now we hope that he can go. And I personally think that, as long as Ky feels he can be out there, there's no reason why he can't be. Q. What did you think about the 27 minutes he did give you, both offensively and defensively? COACH BLATT: I thought he contributed to our win, and I thought his contribution was very important, very important. Q. Against Chicago, though, you did cross‑match him to try to save him a little bit defensively. Would that be an option moving forward? At least from my eyes it didn't seem like he had a ton of success staying in front of Teague in the first half. COACH BLATT: We're looking at all times to maximize our matchup advantages or minimize matchup disadvantages. Insofar as that relates to Kyrie or anyone else, we're going to look at it the same way. We defended pretty good last night, regardless of what you saw with what he did defensively or not. He was out there, and he was a big part of what we did last night. Q. David, this is a complicated question. Pro football is such a violent game that careers are short. Peak performances seem to be weighed down heavily. Baseball is a longer career. Accumulation of stats are important. Where does basketball fit in there? How do you rate like LeBron's longevity versus his peak performances? COACH BLATT: That is a complicated question, a good one. You got an hour for us to talk about it? I'd be happy to sit down. Q. We want sound bytes. COACH BLATT: My feeling is that pro athletes, not only basketball but any pro athlete, they're the modern day gladiators. They live hard and play hard and don't always last as long as the rest. But that's part of the business. You have to learn to deal with the physical aches and pains and maladies that come along with putting your body through the stress that these guys do. At the same time, we as coaches and staff look to see where we can rest guys, where we can allow guys the opportunity to heal and do the best we can to manage to take care of them for the long term and at the same time help the team accomplish their goals. This is playoff time. It's a little bit different than the regular season, obviously. Guys, they got to stretch the envelope a little bit more, when possible. That's also what the great ones do. They play through a lot of things that Sunday warriors don't. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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