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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS v HAWKSMay 21, 2015Kent BazemoreATLANTA, GEORGIA: Practice Day KENT BAZEMORE: I had nothing to lose out there. Down a bunch. DeMarre just went out, and I hadn't played much, so I had a lot of energy left in the tank. I went out there and emptied it all. Q. You're usually the guy out there on the bench cheering. What was it like watching DeMarre go down? KENT BAZEMORE: It's unfortunate. I've had numerous interviews where I've spoken highly of him. Very unfortunate that he had to go down with such injuries, especially this time of year with what's next in his future for basketball. DeMarre's a strong guy. I've seen him this morning. His spirits were high. Very optimistic about it. Q. Does it play on you all's psyche, watching a guy like that go down? KENT BAZEMORE: We've had tribulations all year. Thabo being the biggest one recently before DeMarre last night. We've battled numerous things, and we've been a resilient group all year. We've handled it pretty well. Q. What was the level of relief seeing him walk back in? KENT BAZEMORE: It's always good to see a guy walk in on his own power, smiling and laughing and cheering. So that's always good news. Q. I know it's day to day, but what's your optimism that he can play tomorrow? KENT BAZEMORE: He's a warrior. At this point of the year, it's all or nothing. If it's up to him, he's going to be out there tomorrow night. Q. Did he give you any indication when you saw him? KENT BAZEMORE: He gave me a poker face. But that's DeMarre. DeMarre, like I say, is a warrior. He's going to give it his all whether he suits up or not. He's going to be there to root for us. If he does play, he's going to give us 100 percent. Q. You said you look forward to the challenge if you have to pick it up with LeBron. Just kind of a baseline, what are your things that you look for in terms of individual matchup with him and within the team defensive concept? KENT BAZEMORE: We're going to pretty much stay the same way, guard him like we guard him. He's a very special player. Great passer, so the biggest thing is trying to limit everyone else. He's going to get what he's going to get everyone else. If you can kind of keep everyone else in the bottle, you have a better chance. Q. How difficult is it with his size because he can see over you anyway? KENT BAZEMORE: It's super hard, especially when guys come in with their hands down. With me coming in 200 pounds soaking wet, he's massive. I've got my hands full, but I'm going to try to use other ways, my hands and feet and poking at the ball and hopefully throwing his rhythm off. Q. Is there a way to defend‑‑ he gets his arm out in front of him and ever so gently maybe pushes the defender away. Is there a way to stop that? KENT BAZEMORE: He's a guy you can't really get your body on. Once he feels you, you're pretty much at a disadvantage. He gets his shoulders square, and it's pretty much a layup from there. Q. Is walking away from this game the end of the world? KENT BAZEMORE: No, not at all. We still have our chances. Last night we got away from our principles, and we paid for it. Coach Bud and his staff did a great job of getting us a scouting report, and we didn't follow it, just plain and simple. We're very optimistic about tomorrow night and hopefully get the win. Q. If you have to go up against (inaudible), what are the principles? KENT BAZEMORE: In the heat of the moment, J.R. Smith gets going and kind of like, oh, snap. It happens. We have to learn how to absorb those blows. Teams like that, a big run team are explosive offensively. That's our next step as a group, take that big step in embracing our resiliencies and absorbing the punches. Q. Looking at the film, any other adjustments you feel you need to make? KENT BAZEMORE: No, we've got a chance. I like our chances. I liked our chances even coming into the series. Even with DeMarre out, I still like our chances because we're still a team, a basketball team, and defensively we're going to play it together. It's going to be a collective effort. Q. If you have to go against him for extended minutes if DeMarre can't go, did you learn anything going against him last night knowing you have such a size and weight disadvantage? KENT BAZEMORE: I'm a fighter, man. I'm going to give it all I can. They brought me here to defend. That's what I'm doing. The bulk of my life is guarding the best players. I know I got my hands full, but it's just all effort. It's all energy and effort. Who wants it more at the end of the day? Q. You guys had a 16‑point quarter last night. What's important when the shots aren't falling? KENT BAZEMORE: Defense. As long as the team gets stops like we did last night, when those shots aren't falling, that's what keeps you in the game. That's what the team has to learn not to do. When shots aren't falling, we can't give up too many easy shots on defense. I think, if we do that, we have a good chance. Q. How difficult is Thompson just generally with his activity? KENT BAZEMORE: He's an animal down there. We watched him today. We're going to get a little more bodies on him, have some guards to come in and help, rebound a little bit more. But he's a man. Paul Millsap had his hands full trying to box him out. So it's up to guys like myself, Korver, Teague, Dennis, to get in there and grab some rebounds. Q. What was the biggest thing (inaudible)? KENT BAZEMORE: We've got to play hard. We've got to want it more. They moved us around a little bit. They were a little bit more physical last night, and we've just got to figure out the physicality, especially this time of year. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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