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NBA FINALS: CLEVELAND VS GOLDEN STATE

June 3, 2017

Tristan Thompson

Oakland, California: Practice Day

Q. What's the biggest difference you notice between the Warriors' centers last year to this year?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: Well, let's see. Last year they had [Andrew] Bogut and Festus [Ezeli], right?

Q. And [Anderson] Varejao.
TRISTAN THOMPSON: And Varejao. So two physical bigs. This year they have McGee, who is a really good shot-blocker, and Zaza, who does a lot of the grunt work. He sets good screens, he's physical, he brings that physicality early in the game for them.

I think their frontcourt got better. With McGee being young and active, younger than Bogut, and being able to contest shots at the rim. They have gotten more athletic. But at the same time, with shot-blockers, you have to go into their body and take away their jumping ability, and also throw a pump fake. He likes to block shots, and that's what he brings to the table. If he is going to block shots, either throw him a pump fake or kick it out to the open guy. So we'll make our judgments in Game 2.

Q. How has your personal approach changed going against this bunch? They didn't have a JaVale last year.
TRISTAN THOMPSON: Well, Bogut was good for them. He was blocking shots and he was also a facilitator for them, almost another point guard on the floor. So you gain something, you lose something. [McGee] has done a good job for them, but we have to make sure that we take away his energy. Don't let him get those energy blocks or those dunks early. We have to take that away.

And for Zaza, we have to keep him off the glass. When we set screens, free up our guards so they can attack him one-on-one.

Q. How would you assess your Game 1?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: Trash. Trash. I have to be better. I have to bring more energy, make it tough for them. I know they're watching film, and something for them it's to keep me off the glass. It's going to be a wrestling match down there, and you have to keep it going and make it tough for them and just try to wear them out.

Make them run a lot of pick-and-rolls. Just take it to another level. Playing against the Warriors, you can't just play hard. You have to play hard to a level where it's past the thermostat. It's a different level with this team. So guys have to be reminded -- I have to be reminded -- that against this team, you have to go balls out.

Q. Obviously you know how important you are to this team. Is it tough when, I guess, you get reminded you don't have a great game in Game 1 and the Cavaliers aren't the same without you? You know what I mean? Is that a tough reminder, to see how important you are to the success of the Cavs?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: It's definitely frustrating because you always want to play well, especially Game 1 of the NBA Finals. You want to come out and compete. But it's a long series. It's like a boxing match. You have a lot of rounds, and tomorrow is Round 2. You have to be better. And it's all in the past. You can't get that back. You come out and you play well in Game 2, everyone will forget about Game 1. So that's how I look at it.

Q. It seems like when teams are emphasizing getting back in transition, defensive balance and stuff like that. But you still want to punch the Warriors on the offensive boards. How difficult is that to balance?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: With the Warriors' fast breaks, I don't think it's when we take a shot; it's more our turnovers. Our turnovers is what's leading to Kevin getting down the lane and getting fast-break points or Steph or Klay getting open threes in transition. If we're attacking the rim and our teammate misses, I can still attack the glass.

I feel that part of our offense is me getting offensive rebounds and creating second opportunities for them. I'm not going to stop doing that. That's what I bring to the table. But if I hit the glass and don't get it, I have to make sure that I sprint back.

Q. Do you feel like there were fewer opportunities for those offensive boards in Game 1?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: There were opportunities, but they did a good job boxing me out. They did a good of sending, whether it was Zaza or McGee, with another guard, sending two guys to box me out. That's their game plan, to keep me off the glass and limit us to one shot. The bigs are wrestling down there, and I'm going to keep wrestling down there and get me some offensive rebounds.

Q. What do you need to do to force more turnovers?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: In the half court, we were pretty good. I think we did well. What really killed us was the second-chance points and fast-break points. They did a really good job getting offensive rebounds.

Turnover-wise, we kept guys in front. I think the key in the game was not so much the turnovers, but it was more the amount of fast-break points and second-chance points that they got. That really showed you why the game was the way it was.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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