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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: RAPTORS v CAVALIERS

May 21, 2016

Dwane Casey

Toronto, Ontario: Game Three

Pregame Interview

Q. Are you ever able to quantify home court, put a number on it?
DWANE CASEY: Specifically, our guys have performed better, with more confidence, for whatever reason, a little bit more juice. I've never put a number on it, but I feel like just reaction time, enthusiasm, whatever it is, it just seems to be more here, especially in the playoffs. I think we perform much better here at home.

Q. Just curious about your in between games, breaking down film. Are you doing anything different, figuring out how to stop them?
DWANE CASEY: It's been the same. We've had a day off. We haven't had the luxury of having a few days off between games. It's been one day. So our work has been right off the game until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, and right into film work and on the court the next day. So it's been kind of a routine we've had, but no more, no less. Again, they're not doing anything that hasn't been seen in the NBA before. Our thing is figuring out the right matchups, who we want on who, who's doing the best job on certain players at certain times and making sure our rotations fit those matchups.

Q. The first losing streak this postseason for the team. In the fashion that the games have been lost, psychologically how do you keep the players' confidence?
DWANE CASEY: Well, the thing I keep reminding everyone, we're in the final four, Conference Finals. We won 56 games. We beat this team two out of three times during the regular season. We beat every team -- beat San Antonio, OKC, some of the top teams in the league. So we've done it before. So that's what you keep reminding them to keep the confidence level up and keep it real. We're in the Conference Finals. We're going up against a hot team. We've struggled in the first two games. But it's not like we haven't had our backs against the wall before, like we haven't beat good teams before or this team.

Again, confidence is a big part of what we're doing right now. The way we lost the first two games is bad, but again, it's two games in a playoff series, in the Eastern Conference Finals. With that said, tonight is another opportunity, a different night. Every game has a different theme, has a different story line, has a different way to win or lose the game. So we've got to go out and approach it that way.

Q. You talked this morning about the three- or four-minute stretch that can break a team's back. Have you been extra vigilant in terms of being able to call timeouts to see when something like that is about to happen?
DWANE CASEY: Well, that and also substitutions. I think that's another key for us, too, and our staff is to make sure we're on top of who they have in. Timeouts are important, but I think matchups are just as important in those situations and making sure we have the right folks on the floor to meet what they're trying to do. Again, they have specific lineups on the floor that's trying to stretch you out, and we've got to recognize it better and do a better job of having the matchups out there.

Q. How do you protect the paint but also guard against three-point shots?
DWANE CASEY: Well, we've got to do multiple things. I thought the first game we got so caught up in taking out the three, we did not protect the paint. You've got to do multiple things to beat great teams, and to win at this level, you've got to be able to take the three out, protect the paint first, then take the three out. Multiple efforts, multiple rotations. Everybody tight on a rope, especially against this team that is very efficient at doing both, getting to the paint and also shooting the three. Usually some of the teams are good at one or great at one and not as good at the other, but this team is very good at getting to the paint, kicking out, and at the end of the day, making the shot. That's the key. A lot of teams shoot the three, but they don't make it, and this team is making them right now at a high clip.

Q. When you have an opponent like this where you can have a good defense and they're still going to beat you somehow, do you ever get this feeling like, we just have to out-gun this team, we just have to become a better offensive team more than worrying about what we're doing defensively?
DWANE CASEY: I want to win, whether it's with defense or offense. If we have to outscore them, and we've done that this year, that's important. I think, again, you hit it on the head. You've got to be able to score against this team, and with that matchup, that time when they make those runs, they're an offensive team. And like you said, you can play perfect [defense] and still they're going to score, whether it's in the paint or the three.

I think the success we had in Game 2, close to success, was to score, and that's what we've got to be able to do in that stretch where they're very potent.

Q. Terrence Ross was very solid against Miami. Are you seeing a lot of growth from him as a postseason player compared to last year or the year before?
DWANE CASEY: No question. Again, he's a young kid that's getting his feet wet. I thought until he got the ticky-tack fouls the other night he was on his way to having a good offensive night. He's got to be more alert defensively. He's had a lot of defensive breakdowns in those situations. A lot of that is from growth, not getting caught up in the moment, not getting caught watching and spectating, being involved. But on the offensive end, he had a good roll going scoring-wise. That's what he is, he's a scorer. But again, the game is slowing down for him now as far as playoff basketball is concerned, and it's different than the regular season.

I remember the first year against Brooklyn, he was like a deer in the headlights until that last game -- he got a big steal. Last year was a little bit of the same. This year you just see the growth of a kid, and that's what this step is for him is all about is growing and learning and understanding how hard and how much attention to detail you've got to have in a conference final.

Q. The technical that was rescinded, you don't see that too often. I was curious if that's something you expected to happen?
DWANE CASEY: I didn't. I didn't. Again, I didn't think it was overexaggerated. I didn't cuss or anything like that, or cuss at Danny [Crawford]. I probably said a cuss word, but I didn't say it at Danny because I have too much respect for him. But it came out of nowhere. I wasn't expecting it, and as a matter of fact, I didn't even call the league to try to get it rescinded. I was glad to see it, because again, the officials have the most difficult job of anyone in this league as far as night in and night out, fast, strong, aggressive athletes going 100 miles an hour. You may be behind the play and not really have a good angle on it and you make a call, and like I said, every play is important to us and to Cleveland, so every call could be questioned. So again, they have a very difficult job officiating in this league. Again, I will say this: We have some of the best officials. I coached in Japan. I coached in international basketball. So I know the difference, and we have some great -- and I coached in college, too. We have the best of the best.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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