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NBA FINALS: CLEVELAND VS GOLDEN STATEMay 31, 2017Shaun LivingstonOakland, California: Practice Day Q. Are you going to score 20 points in Game 1 like last year? SHAUN LIVINGSTON: I'm not even thinking about that. If I don't score a bucket and we win The Finals, I'll be happy. But I am ready to score a bucket. Q. What's it been like waiting for this for literally a year? SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Man, it's just, that was a rough summer going through last year and getting so close and then having it kind of snatched away from you. I don't know if you ever really truly get over that. Q. Did you watch it? SHAUN LIVINGSTON: No. No. I didn't watch it -- mentally I may end up watching it before we play, just to kind of kind of refresh, but that one stung. That one stung last year. So I think this year we come in just kind of with that chip on our shoulder and come ready to play. Q. You played a season with Deron Williams and you guys were often part of the same back court. What was that experience like, were you guys close, now you're probably going to be going against each other. What was that like? SHAUN LIVINGSTON: That was a crazy year. That was a crazy year. I mean it was just a totally different situation. I was coming in not knowing what to expect, it was their team. And he was one of the bona fide stars on that team. As opposed to now he's a complimentary piece, similar to what I am to this team and it should be a good matchup. They have a good bench, they got good veteran players. We like our bench, we like our players. So we'll leave it on the court. Q. You guys had success together. You made the Playoffs. You won a series. Until you ran into LeBron. How much of that year for you was a stepping stone for you? SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Oh it was a big-time stepping stone. It cast me back into the light as far as throughout the NBA really showing people how healthy I was, how good I felt, how hard I worked to get to that position. And then just being able to get the right opportunity to where I was on the platform. I had been playing on losing teams, I mean 20, 25 win teams. To get that opportunity to play not only with him but Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Hall of Famers, it allowed me the opportunity to showcase myself and how hard I worked. Q. Do you appreciate how hard it is to get to the NBA Finals three years in a row? SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Absolutely. Some people never make it there once. That's what I've been saying. It's the hardest thing to do. It's even harder to win. So we don't take it lightly, we don't take it for granted, but come tomorrow night the perspective shifts. It shifts to the court, it shifts to competing, it shifts to the game of basketball. Q. Any advantages facing the Cavs three years in a row? SHAUN LIVINGSTON: We're familiar. We're familiar with them. They're familiar with us. So we understand what to expect. It's for all the marbles, so guys are playing at a high level, it's the highest level right now, but this is a dream come true, man, this is the type of basketball that you, we all dream of playing. This is where we all want to be. Q. What about your personal motivation? SHAUN LIVINGSTON: I mean I always play to represent my family, my city, my team, and that's how I always played. It's the game of basketball. As well, you can't let it distract you, right? You can't have ulterior motives or let it be a distraction trying to do too much or showcase too much. It's a team sport and we got to, we got to continue doing what we have been doing. Everybody come in, play their role, and we play to win and that's all there is to it. Q. Is it tough to put aside your own situation, becoming a free agent this summer? SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yeah, it has been. Because it's not the first time, it's like the seventh time. (Laughter.) I was a free agent like every year. So it is, it's easier, but kind of we brushed on it before, but I stand on what I've been saying, if we win, everybody looks good, if we win everybody gets taken care of in some way, shape or form, and then we deal with it come summer. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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