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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v WARRIORS

June 18, 2016

Tyronn Lue

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. Coach, everyone talks about the pressure that Kyrie, LeBron and the other guys are going to face tomorrow. But I want to know about you. How's the pressure? How have you been dealing with that the last 36 hours, the guy that has to lead this team to try to get that title?
COACH LUE: I don't feel pressure. Just if you're prepared and you're organized and you're ready for the moment, which I've been preparing for, then you're fine. So I don't feel the pressure of Game 7.

Q. You have a great relationship with a couple of ex-coaches and everything else. Have you talked lately to Doc [Rivers], maybe Phil [Jackson] or someone else about the experience of being in a Game 7?
COACH LUE: Yeah, I talked with Doc about the experience of being in Game 7 when I was in Boston when we lost to the Lakers. It's a feeling that you don't want to have. So I was there for Game 7 when we lost to the Lakers, so we talked about that the other day.

Q. Ty, how is Kyrie Irving's foot? Any lingering affects from the other night?
COACH LUE: No, he's good.

Q. His back-up, it had been Delly, of course, for virtually all year and then you went to Mo in Game 6. Is that something that you're going to stick with for Game 7? And what went into making that change?
COACH LUE: Well, just Mo's pace, the way he plays up-tempo to get the ball up the floor. And just decided to do something a little different. Mo came in and gave us a great, great two and a half, two minutes in that first half.

So it's just something I decided to go with. It was my gut feeling, and we did it.

Q. You see LeBron handling the ball a lot to start the game again, kind of throughout the game, handling those duties?
COACH LUE: Yes.

Q. What does that bring for your team and Kyrie when Kyrie's off the ball like that?
COACH LUE: You can move Kyrie around a lot. And they can't just load up and lock into Kyrie when he's trying to go one-on-one versus the mismatch. And I think having LeBron handle the basketball and getting Kyrie off the ball and now when he catches it after movement he's able to attack faster and quicker.

Q. You play Mo Williams some minutes after he hadn't seen much time. You go with Dahntay Jones in the first half Game 6. What gave you the confidence to go to some of those guys that really hadn't seen much time throughout the Playoffs and put them in such a big situation?
COACH LUE: Well, Mo's been in big situations before. He's been an All-Star. He's played in the Eastern Conference Finals. We just talked about it amongst myself and my coaching staff just about giving Mo a chance. He came out. And he's been preparing. He's been working hard for the moment, and he came in and gave us a great lift.

With Dahntay, just a veteran guy that we brought in. He's played in over 60 Playoff games before he got here. Just someone that when you get in foul trouble or someone goes down, he can step in and play a big part. With Shumpert having three fouls, with K. Love having three fouls and Richard Jefferson picking up his third foul, Dahntay is a guy we can go to that we know is going to be physical. He's a great defender, and he brings a lot of toughness to your team.

Q. Is this just not the matchup series for Kevin Love?
COACH LUE: What do you mean?

Q. Why he hasn't been giving you the production he's given regular season and leading up to this point?
COACH LUE: Well, he's been great all postseason, so I wouldn't just say after the regular season. He got in foul trouble the last game. I thought he was aggressive on the post-ups, on the switches, got to the free-throw line. But after he got the two early fouls, I just thought he could never get into a rhythm. And Kevin, being on the perimeter, guarding smaller guys, he's not going to have the same amount of rebounds that he normally has.

So it's not about Kevin, it's about the team. And he's been great. He's been fine. He's going to have a big game for us tomorrow, I believe.

It's all about matchups. It's all about staying on the floor, being out of foul trouble, and I have no problem with Kevin. He's going to be fine.

Q. Your thoughts on LeBron's performance the last two games now that you've had a little time to think about it? Do you expect or have you expected that they'll maybe try and force the ball out of his hands a little bit, send maybe a second defender, and how would you adjust to that?
COACH LUE: I'm not sure what they'll do. We went over a couple things that they might try to do, but they haven't made any adjustments yet to see what we can do differently. But just got to be prepared for everything. LeBron is just LeBron being LeBron. We know he's very capable of being special every single night. He's been special for us.

I'm just happy and just pleased with our team's composure, being resilient, and being down 3-1 and keep fighting and continuing to play the right way. Our guys are up for the challenge. So we're just going to enjoy this moment and we're up for the challenge.

Q. With LeBron, is it as simple as his jumpshot, just him having more confidence in it or being willing to take it and shoot over that "D" a little bit? What's been the key that's triggered him the last two games?
COACH LUE: Just taking his shots in rhythm. If they're going to go under, step into, one, two, step into his shot and catch and shoot, just catch and shoot it. So he's been taking his shots in rhythm, and shooting his mid-range pull-up, which he's shooting 47% in the Playoffs. Those are shots he works on every day, so he's been taking them in rhythm.

Q. Given the strong ratings of the series thus far, the fact that it's a winner-take-all and it's a Sunday when traditionally a lot of people are in front of their television, have you thought about the fact that you could be coaching in one of the most viewed games in league history? Does that add to the magnitude of coming from being an assistant coach just 61 games ago to now coaching in this moment?
COACH LUE: No, I haven't thought about it. I mean, it's a big moment for all of us, and it's a position growing up as a kid you want to be in. You always talk about playing in Game 7s and making the game-winning shot or being in the NBA Finals.

We know it's a big stage, but our guys are ready and up for the challenge. This is the position you want to be in. We went through the season of playing all the preseason games. We played all the regular season games and now you're in the final game of the season. No more games left. So I think our guys understand that and they're ready for this moment.

Q. Coach, can you just talk about what kind of emotions you think they'll have back in Cleveland with everything history-wise riding on the game with you guys tomorrow?
COACH LUE: A lot of emotions. This is what we're playing for. Just my short time being in Cleveland, just understanding and getting the history of being in Cleveland these last two years means a lot. They're really into their sports. They're really into their teams. This will be very important and very big for the city of Cleveland and for the state of Ohio to bring this home.

I know it's going to be going crazy in Cleveland, so hopefully we can stay the course and bring them a championship home.

Q. Is that something you use as motivation, or does something like that, having the weight of a town, bring extra pressure?
COACH LUE: No extra pressure. We're all in it together. We're just trying to win a championship. They've been supportive the last two years. They've really been behind us, and it would just be a great thing to bring a championship home to the city of Cleveland.

Q. I'd like for you to talk a little bit about the importance of Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith in the series, because you see a lot of talking about LeBron and Kyrie, and I would like you to assess a little bit their performance.
COACH LUE: Well, Tristan's the heart and soul of our team. I think defensively when you have a guy who is 6'10" and he can guard one through five and he can really guard them, not just switching on to them, he can really guard. His offensive rebounding deflates teams when they get stops and he comes up with the offensive rebound and kicks it back out and we get a new shot clock.

I just think the way he's been playing around the basket the last couple games, finding the open areas, being in the right spots when guys are penetrating or double teaming, he's getting to the right spot.

We all know about J.R. When he's making the shot and when he's opening up the lane for LeBron and Kyrie to drive the basketball and he's making those threes, it's just big for our team. He's usually that third scorer that we need because we know two of the big three are going to play good every night. When we get that third scorer from J.R., we're tough to beat.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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