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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS CAVALIERS

May 23, 2017

Tyronn Lue

Boston, Massachusetts: Pregame

Q. We saw Deron [Williams] out there working out beforehand. Is he going to be able to play tonight?
TYRONN LUE: Yes, he's going.

Q. You told us yesterday you spoke to LeBron and he was in good spirits. As a coach, what's your message to him to rebound from that Game 3?
TYRONN LUE: No message. You know, just come out, be aggressive, in attack mode like he has been over the last four or five months. Nothing has changed. He didn't shoot the ball well, didn't play particularly well, but that happens.

Q. This morning I think it was Avery Bradley said they were wanting to try to stop Tristan. I just wondered besides the offensive boards, what has he contributed, especially in this series?
TYRONN LUE: For us defensively, I think his physicality has been great, being able to switch out and guard multiple positions has been great, but then his offensive rebounding and finishing around the basket, and then making his free throws has been huge for us, so he's been big for us on both sides of the basketball.

Q. It seemed like in the second game they missed some clean looks, and it looked like they knocked everything down in the third game, at least in the second half. How do you deal with that on the arc, especially their three-point shooting?
TYRONN LUE: We've just got to get out there and get a contest. Second game I didn't think they had a lot of open shots. I thought we really did a good job defensively. Last game they made some tough shots and they had some open shots, so we've got to do a better job of playing our defense but also getting out to the shooters and running them off the three-point line and being able to trap the box.

Q. You got a championship ring at a relatively young age with the Lakers. What did that mean to you in the rest of your career, and what do you make of NBA veterans like Kyle [Korver] or Deron or we see David West who still want to get their ring, and they're getting late in their careers?
TYRONN LUE: Well, I think as a competitor, you always want to win, and I was just blessed to be in a great situation being drafted to the Lakers, Shaq and Kobe and all the great players that we had. For me, it was just a blessing, just being 20 years old, being drafted to the Lakers, Jerry West giving me my first opportunity. There really wasn't much for me to do. I was in a great situation.

When you get older, you always want to win. That's what you play in this league for, to be competitive. You want to win. When you've already made the All-Star Game and you haven't made the money but you want to get a chance to win a championship because that's what it's all about.

Q. Do you think too much is put on that when we look at defining players and evaluating how good they were?
TYRONN LUE: Yeah, I do. I mean, I think you've got to be in the right situation. I think you have to have great teams. There's also Michael Jordan, who had the opportunity to play this game, and that's the reason why a lot of great players didn't get championships back in the day. I mean, I just think you've got to have perfect timing, things have to be right, you have to be on a great team, but just because you don't win a championship doesn't mean you're not a great player.

Q. How invaluable is Channing [Frye] and he what he brings to this team from a leadership perspective?
TYRONN LUE: Oh, he's been great, just being a veteran, coming in, getting his work done every single day, playing three on three, four or four with the guys every single day, talking, keeping guys encouraged, engaged on the bench, and he's been there before numerous amount of times. Just having veterans like that understanding the game, you call his number, he's ready to play, so just having him around has been great.

Q. He said today he's going to stay within the game in some capacity. Do you see a coaching future for him?
TYRONN LUE: I think he can do whatever he wants, front office, coaching, whatever he wants to do around the game. He's earned the credibility, and he's able to do whatever he wants.

Q. LeBron said after Game 3 that the Celtics just played so much more free without Isaiah out there on the court. What challenges does that present when a team plays more free, quote-unquote?
TYRONN LUE: Well, you've got to respect everyone. I think with Isaiah going down offensively, I think guys are taking shots they normally wouldn't take and you don't expect them to take, but when you lose by 29 points a game, guys are going to step up and make plays and make shots. Guys who weren't usually looking to score when he was out there now are looking to score the basketball, so we've just got to be locked into everyone on the floor.

Q. They had a heavier dosage of post-ups in Game 3 obviously without Thomas. When the ball is in the post and maybe your defense is turned around a little bit, does that make communication a little bit more difficult or calling out screens and dealing with screens and switching and everything a little bit more difficult than say if the ball is on the perimeter?
TYRONN LUE: Well, they have great coverage, and Al Horford is a great passer, Olynyk is a great passer, so when they post the basketball, they go to the split action. We've got to be aware. We can't be ball watching or locked in on the post-up guys. They do a great job of covering, they do a great job of splitting, and we've just got to be aware of that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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