	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 4, 2016

Shaun Livingston

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. I was curious to hear, obviously Muhammad Ali passed away, if he had any profound impact on your life or anyone you know?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, just, again, it was before my time, but just how he carried himself, who he aspired to be, he inspired so many people. I think he's going to continue to inspire generations. And I think it's important for us to teach our kids who he was, what he stood for, how he represented himself.

Again, he really helped me in times of adversity not giving up. His one-liners were the best.

Q. LeBron had spoken on how defensively he feels that the Cavs need to pay extra attention to the bench because of what happened this Game 1, specifically more attention to you. How do you prepare for that extra defensive attention that you think is probably going to be coming in Game 2 towards you?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, that's good because, again, we have so many pieces. I think it's going to be important for us to remain aggressive, still coming in with the same mindset that we're going to attack. But if they make adjustments, we just have to make the right reads.

Game 1, shots went in for me. Game 2 I may not get the same amount of shots or they might not go in. But I still have to find a way to impact the game and be aggressive. And same goes for our bench. We come in and still provide energy, we can still provide defense and hustle, and that's what's important.

Q. You're kind of known as almost like a throwback game with your mastery of the mid-range and your willingness to look to score in some of those areas. It's sort of out of fashion. Why do you think -- do you think that ability is almost underrated now because there is so much emphasis on either being at the rim or the three-point line?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, that's the analytics. That's the way the game has changed, rightfully so. The teams that have won championships, that's how they've kind of constructed their teams.

But I just kind of stayed true to my game, played to my strengths. Coming back from my injury I had to be extremely efficient because I didn't have as much rope in the lineups and rotations as I did when I was with the Clippers. So it was sticking to my comfort zone, and that's kind of what I've done.

Q. As a follow-up, now the way teams defensively are all about running guys off that line and defending the rim, is there almost like an opportunity to exploit the mid-range that teams -- it's almost what they overlook a little bit?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, because they give you that shot. It's kind of the shot that when the game plan is considered a good shot for the other team, so for me it's just remaining confident and knocking it down. And we have -- I think it goes well with kind of the chemistry or the way that this team is made up just because of our shooters. Obviously Steph and Klay with the way they space the floor, Draymond being able to stretch the floor, Andre the same way.

So for me, with all that space inside the three, being able to play behind the defense and then make them pay when they run those guys off the line or double team them.

Q. Nice to see a Livingston in The Finals on the floor. Is the mid-range shot kind of going out? You and Kyrie, I know he hits a lot of them, is it almost a lost art these days because of the emphasis that you were talking about before?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, it is. Again, it's not considered the best shot. The high-percentage shots, according to the stats and the analytics, are the corner three and the shot inside the paint. I'm pretty good inside the paint. Corner three is a work in progress. But, again, it's just being strong with my game, understanding what I'm good at and having an impact when I'm in the game.

Q. Would you even pass up a deep two which I guess is considered a useless shot almost nowadays?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, it just really depends on the flow. It depends on where I catch the ball and what happened. You know, was this the first shot? Did we make any passes? You have to take all that into consideration when you're playing the game, and it's just the feel. Me being a point guard, I have to have a feel out there for is the ball moving, are we getting good flow out of our offense, are guys touching the basketball, because it's very important throughout the game.

Q. You play with the two most prolific three-point shooters. Steph and Klay never tried to recruit you out there? You were never tempted to learn from them and try your hand at it?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: No, they are, they are. Everybody's on me. Luke Walton is the main culprit. He's on me because he went live and went public before the season and was talking about the three-point game. So he doesn't want me to make him a liar, but it's a work in progress.

Q. I'm sure you get asked this hundreds of times, but how is the knee that you injured against the Clippers? Do you ever think about it anymore? Is it good, bad or different as it was before? How did that injury make you a different player, if it did?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: No, I don't think about it. I still have to train. I still have to train and do all my rehab. I have to ice. It's really a day-to-day routine. I can't get behind.

I think Steve does a great job managing my minutes. Regular season can be such a grind. So in the Playoffs I feel really good about my body. It's just going out there. Mentally it was the hardest hurdle to get over, not thinking about it. Just reacting and playing off your instincts. Because when you're on the court, it's all happening too fast, and you don't have time to think is it going to be okay? Am I going to injure it again? You just play.

Q. And you've had no real setbacks on it, have you?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: No, not since -- not for years.

Q. Not to jinx you.
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, not for years.

Q. In the beginning of the Playoffs when Curry went down you had to start some games. Do you think logging a lot of those minutes may have impacted some of your, quote/unquote, bounce, as what they call you on the court out there?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: It gives you confidence. Anytime I'm throwing it to the starting lineup or a bigger role, you have more opportunity just because, again, with Steph out, it's a lot of production. It's 30-points a game. He leads the league in scoring, so it's a lot of playmaking and it's a big threat that's not out there. So for me it was about being aggressive, not doing too much, but just trying to be strong in my role as a starting guard, and it's helped me, I think, throughout the Playoffs.

Q. And a light-hearted follow-up. Where does the origins of "S-dot" come from?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, I think it was either Corey Maggette or Elton Brand my rookie year, but I don't know if you all remember. Jay-Z had a REEBOK deal at the time, the S. Collection. So I had the S. cardies on, wore them all the time. Crisp, white pair, and just came in, and it was like, What's up S.? S. And it just stuck. So rookie year. Plus whatever name they called me was probably going to be my name as a rookie, so; S.,though.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297