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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS v HAWKSMay 25, 2015Mike BudenholzerCLEVELAND, OHIO: Practice Day Q. Does the message stay the same despite where you are in the series right now? COACH BUDENHOLZER: I think it's a similar message. It's not that different than things we've been talking about all year and the habits we've been building. So we'll be ready to go tomorrow. Q. Do you think the Horford call last night, A, was unfair and, B, one of the worst you've ever seen? COACH BUDENHOLZER: I think the officials in our league have a difficult job. We obviously see it a little differently. But that's part of the game and part of those difficult situations. I think we're moving forward today. We're getting focused on Game 4. I'll just leave it at that. Q. You go to painstaking measures to not say things that are going to get you fined? COACH BUDENHOLZER: I think you guys think I go through painstaking measures to not say anything at all. Yeah, I prefer not to be fined. Q. Do you expect him to play in Game 4? COACH BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I think that the league will do their due diligence, and I think they're always‑‑ you know, by and large, make good decisions and fair and equitable and take everything into account, what a great player and person and all the things that Al has done over his career. So I think we're confident in the league's process, in their due diligence. Q. It seemed like last night, in an effort to compensate for Kyle's absence, you guys made a really dedicated effort where the paint was pretty much unoccupied for large portions of half‑court possessions. That was clearly intentional. COACH BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I think to create more spacing, to create more opportunities, to attack the paint, and hopefully pull their whole group away from the paint and spread the court out, give us some driving lanes and three‑point opportunities and things of that nature was more of an emphasis yesterday. Q. How much do you think that had to do with how much better you played, or was it just kind of the attitude? COACH BUDENHOLZER: I would say just more of the attitude, the mental approach, the aggressiveness is more important than anything. I think, hopefully, some of the other things help. They have a more aggressive mindset, but at the end of the day, that's more important. Q. Along those lines, playing with that attitude in Game 3, as opposed to games 1 and 2, some of you guys have talked about how, when you go to the playoffs, you have to go through it a few times before you sort of understand what it takes to get to the next level. Have you guys experienced that? Do you think this team can sort of benefit from that this year? COACH BUDENHOLZER: I think we're constantly kind of growing and learning. We take a lot of pride in trying to get better and learn, and I think, whether it's the first two rounds or now where we are in this round, it's like a real conscientious effort to learn well and get better. I wish we were perfect, but I don't think any team is perfect. We're learning and growing as we speak. Q. Mike, you guys took such pride in the model that you guys follow this year where it was not that one star, superstar you rely on or lean on, but it was a group effort. When you get to a point like this, it starts to look like, well, they're losing to the superstar, and you start to question. Do you feel like it's just circumstances? Obviously, you guys have gone through a lot injury‑wise and everything else. Do you still feel as confident in the model today regardless of what the ledger says? COACH BUDENHOLZER: Yes. Every team has different ways to build and different ways to give themselves what they feel is their best chance. There's no doubt the way that we built the team with a lot of really good players, a lot of high character guys, we feel like we can compete and play with anybody in the league. They've done it a different way, and it's a great battle. Obviously, someone's going to win or lose, but this is the way we're built. We believe in it. We think we can win at a high level, and we'll continue to do that. Q. Do you think you've also changed the paradigm, not in terms of how you built up, but with the speed with which it came together, two years basically? COACH BUDENHOLZER: I'm not sure I totally understand the question, but I think it's a credit to our players how quickly they've learned to work together and play together and understand how they can all benefit from playing a very unselfish way. I think the defense, the growth defensively this year is probably‑‑ I think we take a lot of pride in that. So I think it's come together in two years, but none of us will feel anything if we can't continue to advance and continue to win. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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