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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORSJune 7, 2015David BlattOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game Two Q. How much thought have you put into extending your rotation? COACH BLATT: You know, we're always looking for ways to gain an advantage or to improve in our play. By nature of the set of circumstances that we have right now, that's certainly something that you'll see more of, and hopefully we'll get the kind of contribution that we need from everyone to make up for Kyrie's missing. Q. If you were given a choice between improving your rebounding, your three‑point shooting, or your bench play, which one would you want to improve most and why? COACH BLATT: I really didn't expect to come in here and get a multiple choice question. Lord knows I've had enough of those in my life. Don't do that to me (laughing). No, I think we're in the game in general, of course, and specific to the NBA Finals, all three things that you just mentioned are of great importance. I'm trying to think back to how they used to teach me to take those tests, how you eliminate two of the three least likely‑‑ I was waiting for the "all of the above" option because you said three. So I'm going to put it in there and say all of the above. Q. You guys had excellent perimeter pressure to start the game and then came a series of backcuts, five or six buckets. How do you deal with that, keeping the pressure you want and trying to guard against that for tonight? COACH BLATT: Well, I think one of the biggest things for us in defending the Warriors or for any team is awareness and staying very, very focused both in terms of the player you're guarding and the different kinds of actions or motions that you see. I thought a few times we lost concentration and that cost us baskets, as you mentioned. We've just got to do a better job of staying locked in mentally and physically to those very things. Q. I know you've been asked about the rotation a lot. What is the number in your mind that would‑‑ ideally for you, you would play? Even if you had 13 guys, I assume you wouldn't play 13 guys. What do you usually do, your preference? COACH BLATT: Throughout the playoffs we were pretty locked in on eight guys plus some minutes for a ninth. That's just the way it broke down. Different games demand different things. There are match‑ups to consider, there is time and circumstance that goes into considering. So those are the kind of things that are going through my mind when you talk about the number of players in the rotation, in addition to what's worked for you. Just how you've played over time. Q. Jeff Van Gundy told me yesterday that it will be an accomplishment if you guys can win one game, and he meant it as a compliment being so banged up. Do you use as motivation the fact that the media sort of doesn't give you enough respect or doesn't think that you're able to take this series? COACH BLATT: You know, I think when you're worrying a whole lot about what people are saying on the outside, then you lose focus of what you have to do yourself. It's not necessarily a bad thing to be an underdog either, if that's what people are making us out to be. I do know this: That the guys in our locker room very strongly believe in themselves. We didn't make the NBA Finals for no reason. We're here because we deserve to be, and we've beaten some very, very good teams along the way. We're shorthanded a little bit based on what's happened, but we've also played shorthanded in the past, and we've won a lot of games. We're not looking to win one more. That's not our goal. Q. Is Della‑ ‑‑ I can't‑‑ Delly starting? COACH BLATT: Dellavedova. Only took me three months (laughing). Q. Is he starting? Also, how comfortable are you with LeBron playing point as well? COACH BLATT: Well, there is a chance that Delly will start. I think LeBron has been a point forward all his life, so obviously he's going to handle the ball and facilitate some. Q. I guess I meant are you comfortable with him doing that for long stretches? COACH BLATT: I don't know that for long stretches we'll see that, but we could see it. Q. J.R. Smith told us the other day that the fact that you didn't have Kyrie in the Atlanta series for Games 2 and 3 kind of gave him some sense of calm, the fact that you were able to accomplish those wins without him. Did it do anything for your coaching staff, the fact that you have those games to reference in your situation you're in now? COACH BLATT: Well, that kind of thing can have a galvanizing effect. Would I rather the situation be otherwise? Absolutely. But I told you, our group is a strong group, a strong group mentally. And they have played under these conditions. Our locker room is very determined and very, very conscious of the fact that we have to do a little bit more of everything to beat a great Warriors team. But it's not going to happen talking about it. We have to get out there and do it. Q. How would you assess the defense you guys played on Steph Curry? I know he had 26 points, but do you feel like you got what you wanted out of the defense on him? COACH BLATT: I think it's more important what we did defensively overall than it is on one player. Steph's a great guard, and he's a difficult guy to stop. I think it's more a matter of trying to limit him and limit some of the things that he can do for himself and for others on the floor. I hope we defend their team as well as we defended them the last game. Q. LeBron said yesterday that he was asked how many minutes he could play, and he said about 40 to 41 considering the pace of The Finals and how much energy he exerts. How do you balance that with all the responsibilities that he has? Do you try to get him a little rest earlier so he's available later, or how do you balance those things? COACH BLATT: Well, he knows and we know he's got to be on the floor a good bit. If it's 40 or 41 or 42 minutes, so be it. But we try to rest him when we can. Obviously, the options for doing so are a little bit less. But on the other hand, he's very, very smart and he knows both how to prepare himself and how to manage himself during the course of the game. My feeling was, except for the fact we went into overtime, and obviously that added another five minutes to him, he was in pretty good shape physically for the game and handled it very well. Q. Obviously the team is going to miss Kyrie's points tonight. Who, in your mind, could fill those points, those missing points? Could it be, for example, Timo? Remember that he had a highest‑scoring game against Golden State? COACH BLATT: Well, I think it's more than just one guy. I thought that we didn't get enough scoring from our bench. We could have moved the ball a little bit better. We could have made a few more shots too, and we're going to need that tonight. We're hoping that we can get guys into good spots, get them comfortable looks and knock them down. But it's not just one guy that's going to come in and give you 20‑plus points, I believe. I think it's got to be a collective thing and everybody's got to step up and give a little bit more. Q. Your background is in European style, multiple‑action offenses. Takes a while to do that. The Spurs have done it. What is your perspective on the challenge of getting an NBA team to eventually come around to it? Because it has benefits this time of year. COACH BLATT: Sure. I think you see a lot of that now. The challenge is in having the continuity of your personnel. A lot of times it is also personnel driven, what type of players that you have, how do they function best offensively. Sometimes you play that way because you can. Sometimes you play that way because you want to, and then you may miss the boat because that may not be what your team needs to do. Generally speaking, obviously I love that style and we've seen a lot of it now in the NBA and it's a good thing. But, again, you need time together and you need, I think, a particular kind of personnel to play that way. Q. You had to make some tough decisions early about that? COACH BLATT: Yeah, I did. And, fortunately, it worked out for us. Q. The crowd at Oracle is well known here for getting into the game and influence things. How did you feel they influenced anything in Game 1? How are you going to deal with the homecourt advantage here for the Warriors? COACH BLATT: I thought the crowd was great. I think that's great for NBA basketball. I thought the game was great. I heard, I don't know for a fact, but it might have had the highest rating for a first game of a series maybe ever. I'm not sure. Q. Since 2001. COACH BLATT: Since 2001. The fans here support their team. It was a great environment to play in. You'll see much of the same, if not more, in Cleveland when we get there. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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