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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: RAPTORS v CAVALIERS

May 19, 2016

Tyronn Lue

Cleveland, Ohio: Game Two

Q. As the playoffs go on, generally rotations get cut back more and more. We saw last year Golden State only played seven guys typically in The Finals. As well as we've talked about the second unit playing, particularly the start of the second quarters, can you keep this rotation at this length all the way through? Are you confident you can play this many guys all the way through?
TYRONN LUE: I'm not sure. We have our nine guys we want to play every single night, but the game dictates that. How the game goes and the flow of the game and the situation, that all plays a part. Going into the game we've got nine guys that we want to play right now, but the game dictates the outcome.

Q. With the way that you guys played in the paint in Game 1, 56 points, are you going into tonight's game anticipating that maybe they're going to try and shut that off a little bit more and potentially open up some three-pointers on the outside?
TYRONN LUE: I'm not sure. I think we've just got to continue to play the way we've been playing, attacking the basket. If they close the paint off, we've got to take care of our open shots and be willing to take our open shots and make them. We've just got to take what the defense gives us, and that's what we've done all playoffs.

Q. LeBron spoke earlier today about Shaq. He's 18 points behind him for the all-time playoff scoring list. He said he was the most dominant player he's ever seen. You played with him. Do you agree with LeBron, that he's the most dominant player you've ever seen?
TYRONN LUE: Yes, I think Shaq being 7'1", and how big he was and how agile and how he could move across the floor like a gazelle -- with that said, as far as dominant he's definitely the most dominant player I've ever seen in this game.

Q. There were times during the season when the team maybe got upset by calls or it seemed to fluster them. In the playoffs they seemed to play right through. What did you talk about in trying to get them to ignore what's going on in terms of the refs?
TYRONN LUE: Well, every game it's a point of emphasis. It's just playing through the officiating. We have to play hard, continue to play. The game is going to get chippy. We know it's the playoffs and it's a lot more intensity, so our main focus is keep our composure and play through the officiating.

Q. I just wondered where you stand on the -- you guys seem really focused but there's some schools of thought about you need a wake-up call of some sort, maybe even a loss. I don't know where you stand on that.
TYRONN LUE: I've never really experienced a wake-up call with a loss. I think, even though we've done a good job, we've had two tough series. I thought Detroit played us well, three out of four games, Atlanta played us tough two out of the four games. They had a one-point lead with I think a minute 13 seconds in the Atlanta game. We've been tested but we've been able to keep our composure, maintain our composure and win the games, so we've been tested.

Q. Quick follow-up on Shaq. Given how pace and space is so big now, and many people think or say the traditionally low-post center is a dinosaur or is gone, would he have been as effective if he had come into the league now?
TYRONN LUE: Yes. Absolutely, yes. Absolutely. Teams wouldn't be able to play small ball against him. For one thing, he always gets the offensive team in the penalty early because teams have to foul him the way he ducked in, the way he took up space on the offensive end, so teams would have had to double team and then you're going to get open shots around the perimeter. So you could have played small around him but not against him or not have him off the floor, no.

Q. Do you think your guys' record, being 9-0, is coloring the way people are perceiving your competition as being inferior? I think there's a bit of a sentiment out there that the East is not as tough of a run as the West is?
TYRONN LUE: I don't care about that. We've just got to win games. You've got to play who's in front of you every single night. Whether they call the East weak or not, we've got to beat these teams. These teams have beaten a lot of West Coast teams throughout the regular season, so I don't care what they say. We know we have something we're trying to accomplish, and the East right now is where we're at. Until we get to the West, we can't do anything about that.

Q. LeBron James is taking the highest percentage of his field goals at the rim of his career, second-lowest free-throw rate, though. He's attacking the basket, not going to the rim. Are teams not following him, or is he avoiding contact? What are you seeing?
TYRONN LUE: I just think he has to keep attacking. That's it. I mean, if he gets hit and they don't call it, he's got to keep going back.

Q. How big of an upgrade has [Richard] Jefferson been this year, especially at this time of year, in the backup group?
TYRONN LUE: He's played well for us. Last game he gave us a great lift and a great boost. I love his physicality when he comes into the game. He's making open shots. He's also catching it and straight-line driving. So RJ has been great for us all year, and he's been a great professional, also.

Q. Ty, the first two Game 2s you guys have played have been statistically your best games. Is there any common thread there?
TYRONN LUE: I'm not sure. I think when you get a chance to play your opponent, you kind of get a feel for what they're doing and what they're trying to do, and then in the second game you go out and adjust to the things they do well, and the team has done a great job of doing that.

Q. It was brought up before Game 1 of this series that you and [Kyle] Lowry have a good relationship. Have you talked to him throughout the playoffs? It's been kind of an up-and-down postseason. Have you talked to him about some of the struggles he's gone through?
TYRONN LUE: Throughout the course of the playoffs I've talked to him when he was playing Indiana and Miami. We had a chance to talk today a little bit over text, and he said he wanted to come over last night and watch the game, but he knew he couldn't. He knew it wouldn't look right. But we have a great relationship, and I'm just so happy for him and proud of the player that he's become.

Q. About the question earlier about the competition in the Eastern Conference. I want to get your thoughts on what do you think about if the postseason started ranking the top 16 teams regardless of conferences, seeding them that way as opposed to Eastern and Western Conference?
TYRONN LUE: I'm not sure. Can you ask me that tomorrow when I get a chance to think about it? I mean, it's always something. We've just got to play the game. Whoever your opponent is, whoever they put in front of you, that's who you have to play, and if we get a chance to take care of our business and match up in the Western Conference, we'll see.

Q. Toronto is undefeated after a loss in the postseason this year, and I just wonder, as you've studied them on film, when you've watched a win -- you've watched a loss and you've watched a win, do they look different? What is different about the way they play after a loss?
TYRONN LUE: Well, I think any time a team loses you play with more of a sense of urgency. I think they come out and they continue to play hard. Like I said, they're a good team, and like you said, they haven't lost two games in a row in this playoff, and here they are in the Eastern Conference Finals. Our team is aware of that. We talked about it yesterday. We're going to talk about it again before the game, and we've just got to be ready and prepared.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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