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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS v HAWKSMay 22, 2015David BlattATLANTA, GEORGIA: Game Two Q. David, what went into the decision for Kyrie not to play tonight? COACH BLATT: Medical evaluation and a decision on their part that it was best to hold him out. Q. Reading the release, did Kyrie and Dr. Parker, did they actually go to Alabama to see Dr. Andrews? COACH BLATT: I didn't read the release. I don't know. I honestly don't know. Q. I believe you said this morning at the very end, if Kyrie says he can go, then he'll go. Is this decision taken out of his hands, or did he tell you guys that he could not go tonight? COACH BLATT: No, it was a decision on the part of the medical staff that it's best to hold him out. Q. Is it worse? Did something occur in Game 1 that made his knee tenderness worse than it was going into the series? COACH BLATT: I can't say it's better or worse. I can just tell you that the medical staff made a decision that it was better to hold him out. Q. Coach, does this mean you're going to be going deeper into the bench? Are people like maybe Marion or Mike Miller going to see time because of this? COACH BLATT: Well, we're down another guy, so it could happen certainly. Q. He had eight days between the first and second series and six days between the second and third. So how optimistic are you that a couple days at this point will make much of a difference? COACH BLATT: Hopeful as always. Anything about the game? We're going to play the Hawks tonight, second playoff game. Q. I'll give it a try. COACH BLATT: Thanks, Jeff. That would be nice. Q. David, we've asked before about your improved defense. I know a lot of it started with the January trades, but outside of a stretch where you were 16‑2, you weren't very often in the top ten in defensive efficiency, even since the trade. What's happened maybe in the past four weeks, six weeks, end of the season that's allowed you to be better defensively? COACH BLATT: I think it's a few things, but mainly I just think that, particularly in the playoffs when you have time to prepare, that's really helped us. And I do think we were pretty good defensively beforehand. Regardless of what we were rated, we were winning a lot of games. But certainly in preparation time and the emphasis that we're placing on it and the emphasis that our guys are putting on it, seeing the value and the return on their investment, so to speak. Q. How much did being ahead 1‑0 have any impact on the decision with Kyrie? COACH BLATT: None. Q. Strictly medical? COACH BLATT: Absolutely none. Q. David, who are you going to start at point guard in the game tonight? COACH BLATT: I'll tell you pretty soon. Q. Coach, tell me a little bit about how you feel you did defending Teague in the first game and maybe what kind of strategy. Because it seemed like you were challenging him to beat you, to a certain extent. COACH BLATT: First of all, Jeff's a really good player. He's an All‑Star point guard. We try to focus in on team defensive scheme that would allow us to limit the Hawks. You know, it wasn't about limiting one guy necessarily. He's a tough guy to guard, as are many of the Hawk players. The important thing for us is the sum total as opposed to the individual guys. Q. It seemed like you took specific points, like keep Shumpert on Korver, and do other things to take away some of their other players, more so than maybe throwing a trap at Teague or some of the other things you can do to make him give up the ball, like maybe you did againstRose. COACH BLATT: We use different defensive schemes during the course of the game. We had a plan, and our guys executed it very well. Q. Has any decision been made on Kyrie the rest of the series? Could he miss additional games? COACH BLATT: We're evaluating as we go forward here and hopefully we can get him back in. Q. Will Kyrie's absence affect maybe how much you can put LeBron in the post against them if he has to, in theory, initiate more offense? COACH BLATT: Yeah, it could. On the other hand, we hope to be able to play as much of a normal game as we can. Obviously, Kyrie gives us things, in terms of his skill set and his talent level, that are tough to replace, and it will force us to find other ways to score the ball and play offensively. But I think you'll probably see a lot of LeBron in different situations, it's fair to say. Q. As you may know, DeMarre Carroll is a game time decision. If he can't play, are you more tempted to stay with a bigger lineup so that Paul Millsap can't try to guard LeBron? COACH BLATT: Well, first of all, we'll have to see if he's playing or not, and we'll adjust to that. Obviously, he gives them certain things at both ends of the floor. They're not easy for them to replace, but they do have other players that can step in and do good things for them‑‑ Bazemore and Mike Scott and Mike Muscala has taken on a lot of minutes recently. All of those guys have a particular skill set that you have to deal with as well. So we'll adjust to it if he's not playing, and hopefully, we can find a way to play. Q. Did you learn anything more in the last couple of days about what play specifically Kyrie aggravated it in the third quarter? He mentioned the third quarter but wasn't quite specific about the play. COACH BLATT: No. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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