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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS vs WARRIORS

June 2, 2018

Shaun Livingston

Oakland, California: Practice Day

SHAUN LIVINGSTON: You know, taking away a possession maybe might take away a guy's confidence. Or if he gets to score, like [Kyle] Korver, if he gets an open three, then obviously the game's a lot easier. So that's where his value is definitely appreciated.

Q. Rodney Hood didn't play at all in Game 1. What kind of problems can he create throughout the rest of the series?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: His shooting, size, his aggressiveness to get his own shot. So definitely if he plays, we have to lock in on him.

Q. Is there a sense you guys got lucky that the ball bounced your way in Game 1?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Sometimes it takes some luck to win a championship.

Q. In 2015 it was new and you guys were playing for your first title. Then in 2016 you were hungry going for what would have been the best season of all time. You won the title of the revenge tour in 2017 to get it back. Where's the hunger level on this team? Because it seems like it's impossible to keep that level of hunger that drove you guys.
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: It's hard. Being totally honest with you, it's extremely hard. This has been the hardest season for me, personally. I think, as a team, just from our accomplishments, the journey, right, the longevity of it. So it is hard, being honest with you.

Q. If I told you in 2014 you would have a hard time getting up the hunger to pursue a championship, would that have surprised you?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yes, and it sounds ridiculous, right, because we're winning a championship. But, you know, I don't know. Maybe talk to other guys that have been there, who played in it, you know, I know talking to Steve [Kerr], he's been there, and he says it's just harder and it is human nature to let your guard down, mentioning their [Chicago Bulls] three-year run they had in '98, they started out kind of on the rocks, and it's just -- it's just, I think, mentally and emotionally you put so much into the game every year, every year, every year.

Going through the ups and downs, winning the first year, having the record the second year, losing, right, that emotional roller coaster, third year we come back, we charge up. Then this year it's like where do we go?

But I think we're chasing greatness. We're chasing history, right, some of those things that are achievable for a team like us. So that's where we have to try to find the motivation. It's kind of the game within the game.

Q. Are there ways you try to manage them over the course of the year, just like the way you pace yourself?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: Yes, absolutely. Especially myself, because I'm a dinosaur compared to a lot of the young guys. So just looking at it, trying to develop rhythm, respecting the game, making sure that I'm still out there competing, you know, because you have to enjoy it and have fun and compete.

I don't take it for granted. But at the same time I'm not going balls to the wall every day in practice. A lot of games sometimes maybe you take a couple games off and rest, and Coach Kerr has been great with that.

Q. What was your reaction to Draymond's game the other night? It looked like the Cavs were kind of leaving him open for most of the game on offense, and then he hits those shots and he's waving the pom poms at Kendrick Perkins. As a teammate, what do you think of a game like that?
SHAUN LIVINGSTON: It's a typical Draymond game, you know, it's just what he does. I don't think it's any surprise now. He's the ultimate competitor, right? And he's been known to show up and have his biggest moments on the biggest stage, regardless of how you feel about him off the floor. It's looking at his production, this is who he is, this is just who he is. So, hey, we got the win, so that's what we're concerned about.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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