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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS vs CELTICSMay 27, 2018Tyronn LueBoston, Massachusetts: Game Seven Q. You don't always address your team with any kind of message; there are so many games you play during the course of a season and the playoffs. But will you say anything to them tonight, and if so, can you share some of what you will say? TYRONN LUE: We've already spoken about it after Game 6. Guys know what's at stake, what we need to do. Big Game 7, the guys are excited. We're prepared. So we'll see what happens. Q. Do you draw on any of your past big-game experiences going into tonight? TYRONN LUE: Our team is different, but same things. Just got to execute. We know the blueprint of what we want to do offensively and defensively. The two biggest things are just taking care of the basketball and getting back in transition. Nothing too complicated. Q. When we talked to you in Las Vegas last summer, you were really excited about the Jeff Green signing and thought he would be a really big piece. But did you ever envision he would be starting Game 7 of the Conference Finals for you? TYRONN LUE: You never know. It's a long season. A lot of injuries. A lot of things happen. Different trades and things like that. Throughout the course of the season you've just got to stay the course, and I think this team has done a good job of doing that. We're now in position where Jeff has been big for us on and off all season. So now Eastern Conference Finals Game 7, he'll be starting. He's excited for the opportunity, as is everyone else. So let's do it. Q. In a Game 7, I don't think you'd use the word limitations, but how is J.R. Smith's ankle? Is it something you have to watch? Is it sore, anything like that? TYRONN LUE: I haven't heard anything about it, so I assume he's great. Q. Brad Stevens said he was going to stick with his same starters, which I guess means Aron Baynes is going to go. So you guys are smaller. What advantages and challenges does that represent? TYRONN LUE: The challenges, I think keeping Baynes off the glass. I think he's great at going to the glass, going to the boards. He's a physical presence, so if we try to switch and things like that with him on the floor, it's tough. That's about it. Q. I know Doc Rivers was a mentor of yours. He wouldn't say this before a big game like this, but afterward, he would say he knew in the first few minutes what kind of night it was going to be based on what kind of energy his team had, what kind of force was there early. What kind of things do you look for early in a game like this to kind of know what the temperature of your team is going to be? TYRONN LUE: I think our pace. I think our attack mode, being in attack mode for 48 minutes, and if we're taking care of the basketball and getting quality shots. That's the biggest thing and biggest key for me. Q. Do you enter expecting LeBron to play all 48 minutes? Is that the ideal for you -- TYRONN LUE: Not all 48, no. Q. About what we saw before, until the last minute of the third quarter? TYRONN LUE: We see if we can get him out at the end of quarters if we can so he can get that last little minute and a three-minute timeout and kind of see how it goes. It all depends on how the flow of the game is going. But not 48. But if I have to, I will. (Laughter) Q. What's the difference when George Hill is aggressive at the start of the game versus when he's not? TYRONN LUE: We're a different team. I think we're just playing with pace and being aggressive, attacking the basket -- Q. I meant how do you get him to do it? TYRONN LUE: Oh, how we get him to do it? He's in the right mindset. We've just got to keep talking to him, playing with speed and pace and attacking the basket. When he's playing that way -- the way he's been playing at home -- we're a tough team to beat. We need that same George Hill for tonight. Q. Do you have to have a talk with him? TYRONN LUE: I'll be on him all game. (Laughing) Q. You mentioned after the last game that you do kind of use timeouts sometimes strategically to get LeBron rest. Is there anything you can do within the flow of the game to steal rest here and there while he's kind of still out there? TYRONN LUE: Yeah, just last minute or so of each quarter try to get him out and that way get a minute of playing time and three minutes during the timeout. We've just to gauge and see how it goes. If the guys we have in are playing well, he can get more rest. So we'll see. Q. What's your biggest concern about the Celtics team now that you're here at this Game 7? TYRONN LUE: I'm just focused on us, not concerned about them. If we play the right way and play the way we're capable of playing, then we'll be fine. We have the mindset of focusing on coming in and winning Game 7. The guys are prepared, so we'll see what happens. Q. Going back a little bit, February 11th you played here, the first game after the big trade, you guys won and won handily. If you can remember your biggest takeaway from what you saw from that new team? TYRONN LUE: Well, I watched it a couple times, because Kevin [Love] didn't play in that game. I just think it was just different. The guys were excited. Definitely didn't know what the expectations were. There wasn't a lot of thinking because we only had three plays in. They just kind of played free. It's different now, so we'll see. Q. The crowd tonight, how will your players handle it? What will you tell your players when the crowd gets going? Do you tell them embrace the atmosphere or do you tell them, block it out, just do your job? TYRONN LUE: The crowd is going to be electric tonight. We know that. We've got to do a good job of just taking the crowd out. I think if we take care of the basketball, have great shot selection and then get back in transition and take away their easy baskets, I think we'll be fine. The guys have to do a good job, especially to start the game, of just taking care of the basketball, taking good shots. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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