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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS vs CELTICS

May 14, 2018

Tristan Thompson

Boston, Massachusetts: Practice Day

Q. Kevin Love said you guys played soft defensively in the first half --
TRISTAN THOMPSON: Which I agree.

Q. How do you think you can help correct that?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: I think as a team 1 through 5, we've got to all play tougher. Obviously when I check into the game, I try to bring that toughness and energy. Our starters have to be ready to throw the first punch. We need them to do that. We need them to be physical and set the tone early. If they do that from the opening tip, that makes it easier for the second unit to come in and keep the energy going.

Q. How can you make it tougher on Al Horford?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: Just be myself, be active, be active early. Horford is playing very well right now, and he's shooting the crap out of the ball. When I do check into the game, whether it's him or [Aron] Baynes, I just try to run the floor, set pick-and-rolls, just try to work them on both ends so that hopefully by the second half his legs might be a little tired where he might not make that three that he makes in the first half. That's what I try to do.

Q. They switch a lot, obviously. Does that open up avenues for you to get on the glass?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: Yeah, they switched a lot with Baynes and [Marcus] Morris. With that being said, LeBron is going to attack, whether it's Baynes or Horford, and even if we have Rodney [Hood] or Jordan [Clarkson] on the pick-and-roll, if they're going to switch a lot, I've got to be active on the glass and tell our guards to be confident, go downhill and attack the rim, and if you miss, I'm going to try to get that offensive rebound.

Q. Does it make a difference starting or coming off the bench to you?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: Doesn't matter. At the end of the day, when you come in the game, put your hard hat on, do your job and do whatever it takes to win.

Q. Is there something about Horford that brings out the best in you?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: No. Horford is a very good player. He's an All-Star. If you can't get up to play against All-Star bigs, I don't know what to tell you. Whenever you go against him, and we've had history, especially in Atlanta with him and [Paul] Millsap, the Chicago days with Joakim [Noah] and Pau [Gasol], those are All-Star bigs that are very good players. For me, a guy that wants to keep getting better and keep proving myself, I get up for those games.

Q. Now that you guys have had a night to sleep on it, can you describe how you feel about what happened yesterday?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: I think what you said in your first question. They were just tougher than us, and they set the tone early. We've got to be ready to go. Game 2 is going to be very important. We want to set the tone early, and I think that's what T-Lue [Tyronn Lue] is going to challenge us to do.

Q. The kind of game LeBron had, do you expect him to come out differently in Game 2?
TRISTAN THOMPSON: I mean, usually when LeBron has these kind of games, the next game he does something legendary. But at the same time, we can't rely on that. Our job is to be able to help him and be effective. The more effective we are, the more it opens up for him. Boston does do a good job clogging the paint, so if our shooters have to make shots, if our bigs have to get offensive rebounds and finish around the rim to open stuff up, that's what we've got to do.

Q. Getting outscored like 60-38 in the paint --
TRISTAN THOMPSON: That's unacceptable. Obviously us bigs, we should be pissed off about that, just because our job is to protect the paint. We've got to do a better job with that. We've just got to communicate. Their pick-and-rolls, they were able to get downhill a lot, so we've got to clean that up.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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