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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORSJune 14, 2015Andre IguodalaOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game Five Golden State – 104 Q. Hey, Andre, it was a physical, even chippy game, and maybe that's what Cleveland wants. How do you straddle that fine line between matching their intensity but not getting drawn into the type of game you guys don't want to play? ANDRE IGUODALA: Well, I think this team going back to when Steph first got in the league and he first started establishing himself as that guy, he'd seen it a lot. Even when I played against him in the playoffs when I was in Denver there was talk of let's get into him, let's hit him and see how he responds to being physical. So I think he's seen it a lot throughout his career. We've seen it this year a lot, even in the regular season. So we know how to adjust, stay physical, but not let it take us away from who we really are. Q. Take us through the end of the game when you're in there and you're watching superstar versus superstar make amazing shot after amazing shot. What's being called in the huddle? Are there plays being called or just is the coach asking the chef to cook something up there? ANDRE IGUODALA: We're just in a flow. I think that's what makes both teams great is that every player understands their role. Guys on this team understand Steph is a great player. He's going to make everyone else on the team great, and at the same time, we're going to help him be great. That is setting picks for him, getting the ball to him in the spots he likes, setting up flair‑up screens for him, they double team him, being an outlet for him. So we're just all feeding off each other, and we know when it's crunch time and we need a big shot, we know where to get him the ball. Q. Have you seen him get better in the past couple of games? ANDRE IGUODALA: Oh, for sure. Small things, and the average fan wouldn't see it, but I'm watching him come out of pick‑and‑rolls and using his jump stop, something we drew every single day when he always had a problem with floating passes out of a pick‑and‑roll and getting turnovers. He had one or two tonight. But he's consistently gotten better at pivoting out of those double teams, hitting the right guy. Letting the game flow, taking better shots. His mind is getting better and better, and he has even more room to improve. Q. Were you surprised with the hack‑a‑Iggy tactic, and do you intend to change anything? ANDRE IGUODALA: No, I'm not surprised at all. But going forward you've got to expect it and you've got to prepare for it. So got a day tomorrow when we get to Cleveland to prepare for it. And it's a challenge. Just like any other challenge, you want to meet it head on and you want to be ready for it. Q. Andre, with the hacking strategy, did you see at the end there when Draymond came in to block Iman when he was coming over to foul you? ANDRE IGUODALA: No, I didn't see it. I think we called timeout, and it was just so much going on, so I didn't get a chance to see it. Q. Also, how physically are you holding up after these pretty epic battles with LeBron? ANDRE IGUODALA: Well, it's just mentally more than anything. The mental challenge is you're not going to give up no matter what. You might feel some fatigue. I felt like there were some moments when he got the best of me on a low block, made some tough shots. But mentally you've got to say you're going to get a stop every opportunity you get, and you've got to keep just grinding it out. Q. Andre, I think we've all been waiting for Steph Curry to have a signature moment in these Finals. Did he have one tonight, and was it that crossover play that he made late in the game? ANDRE IGUODALA: Yeah, it was the crossover play on the right wing, and he hit him with the bop‑bop, and guy leaves his feet but he's also trying to slide on defense. He almost falls back, and Steph had that rhythm about him when he shot it, and you know it's going in as soon as it's leaving his hands. Steph's been really smart this whole series of not overreacting to everything that's around the game. He's always stayed in that zone of what's on his basketball court and how I can help my team win it any way possible and not getting out of myself or getting away from what the team needs to do to win. He's just been an MVP for us, and we're going to try to have another MVP performance next game. Q. What did you make of the narrative that's threaded through these Finals about Dellavedova sort of getting the better of him, harassing him, being too physical for him to get his shot? ANDRE IGUODALA: The interesting thing is we haven't had many discussions about it. We said we know who Steph Curry is. When guys get to that elite level, they're going to get point guards coming at them every single night or whatever position that superstar may be. You see it across the league. LeBron gets it night‑in and night‑out. Guys want to make a name by going up against the best. Steph's going to have that, and I think he's used to it. Tonight he did an awesome job of sticking to who he was and having a great game. Q. Andre you were at the free‑throw line and there were some MVP chants in the building. You often talk about how defense doesn't get the attention that offense does. But did you see that tending to shift a little bit with the way you're playing these Finals? ANDRE IGUODALA: When I hear MVP I'm thinking they're talking about Steph. So until reach the ultimate goal, who knows when it will ever be, it could happen in two days, it could happen in five days, it may never happen, my whole focus is to do my job as best as possible for this team and to try to help us win every single night we play. Q. You're one game away from an NBA Championship. How do you keep your feet on the ground over the next 48 hours? ANDRE IGUODALA: I think just being in the league for 11 years and never being in this moment and knowing how hard it is, I'm just excited to get back on the court and just playing as hard as possible. Win, lose or draw, just knowing I gave it my all throughout the whole process. I don't think a trophy or a ring can really signify who you are as a person, but the work you put in kind of says it all. I've just been through a lot this year. A lot about what happened early in the year I think was blown out of proportion. I've just enjoyed my teammates, and they've been working really hard. We've got this goal in mind, and we've just been fighting trying to get it. And every opportunity we get here going forward, we're going to play hard. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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