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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: THUNDER v WARRIORSMay 17, 2016Serge IbakaOakland, California: Practice Day Q. You guys are switching off the ball, on the ball. It seems like the communication's really been there. Why has that been good for you all so far in the last few weeks? SERGE IBAKA: Because we've been working on it. We watch a lot of film, and we understand and we know that's the only way you can play against them. Q. How difficult is it to defend this team without fouling? SERGE IBAKA: It's tough. It's tough, you know, because they have a lot of offensive players. They like aggressive offense. Also to play a better defense you have to be more aggressive, and that means sometimes you're going to get some fouls. But that's not going to mean you're going to change the way you play your game. Q. How much fun has this past 10 days been for you? SERGE IBAKA: Oh, it's been fun. It's been fun. I cannot complain. I feel blessed to be here. After last year I was watching on TV when the guys were playing. Now I'm here and I'm still playing. It's a blessing. Q. Has Steven taken his game to another level in these playoffs? SERGE IBAKA: Yes. Steve has been very tough for us. He's been doing what we ask for him to do, going to the basket, protecting the paint. Q. Does their pace suit you guys? They like to play fast. Does that play into your team's strengths? SERGE IBAKA: We just try to -- Russell been doing a better job of checking the tempo, also like last night. Last four minutes we kind of slowed down really because we were playing on our way. When we have the opportunity to attack, we're going to go faster. When we don't have it, we're going to slow down and play our offense. Q. Do you think you guys played a really great game last night? SERGE IBAKA: It's kind of funny, we still not, we still not, but a win is a win. We've got all the guys did a great job coming off the bench. But a win is a win, man. Q. Obviously they're capable of making transition threes. But do you like it when they throw it up the court with 20 on the clock and they're taking 28-footers? SERGE IBAKA: We know in the beginning they're going to make some of those shots, those crazy shots, those tough shots. That's something they've been doing all season. But that's not mean -- we have to stay together and keep working. Q. First half the rebounding was close. They may have outrebounded you. Second half you guys dominated. How did you change that up? SERGE IBAKA: We tried to change our mindset in the second half. After what we saw in the first half, we came back and we tried to change it a little bit, be more aggressive. So me and Steve can use our size against their smalls in the paint. Q. How important was it to be able to keep them playing half-court basketball rather than getting in transition? SERGE IBAKA: It's not going to be easy. We know tomorrow they're going to try to be very, very aggressive. But we still believe we can do it like we did in Game 1. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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