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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS vs WARRIORSMay 30, 2018Rodney HoodOakland, California: Practice Day Q. Was the Celtics series tough for you? Because early on you played; later you didn't. What was that like? RODNEY HOOD: It wasn't tough because we won. I knew at some point I would -- just to be ready. I just had to be ready. Mentally I was in a much better place, even though I wasn't playing. Cheering my teammates on. And to win it, the excitement to win in the Eastern Conference was big. It's way bigger than me and my individual things. When I get out there, I just got to take full advantage of it. Q. There was this narrative after you guys won Game 7 that represented a supreme achievement for LeBron and it does. Part of that was there was an implication that he supports you guys. Did you guys hear that? Does it bother you? RODNEY HOOD: I think that's pretty much always been the case with LeBron. Since he's been here in Cleveland, and even before he went to Miami, people bring up the supporting cast and what we can do. But we just -- we play hard, man. I don't think we get enough credit for that. We play hard. We play together. Obviously, you look at the stat sheet, and LeBron's going to always have amazing numbers, because he's the greatest player in the world. But I think people don't take into account what we do on the defensive end, how well the defense has been playing since the playoffs started, and also how we play well together offensively, you know? So we've just got to go out there and try to win, and all that other stuff won't matter. Q. You got to Cleveland, how did you envision your role playing there? You probably envisioned yourself here in The Finals. But how did you envision it going, and when did it kind of turn for you? RODNEY HOOD: I actually didn't know, to be honest. Just coming here, obviously being in -- I knew it was going to be a different role than I had in Utah, playing with the best player. But we've got a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. That necessarily wasn't the case in Utah where I was depended on to score a lot. It's been different, you know, playing time has been different. The role has been different. It's been fun just to get a chance to learn from these guys and to be on this stage. I really feel like at this point everything that's happened thus far really -- I don't want to say don't matter because it all counts towards getting here. But it's like a clean slate, and it's to win it all. I think that's the good thing about everything. Q. You're obviously an extremely talented guy. Do you visualize yourself playing in these games and making an impact, or is it at this point hard to even go there? RODNEY HOOD: No, it is. I mean, it's not hard. I visualize it all the time. I've been -- even though I haven't been playing, just working extremely hard just in case I get an opportunity. When I get the opportunity, I've got to make the best of it. So I definitely want to make an impact, but we'll see how that goes. Hopefully at this point it's about winning. If I score two points or play two minutes, it's about winning. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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