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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: RAPTORS VS. BUCKSMay 25, 2019Nick NurseToronto, Ontario - Pregame 6 Q. Do you have to temper the emotions of your players given what's at stake? NICK NURSE: Yeah, probably -- and I'm not sure that's possible to do. But I think my message is that this is a really good team we're playing, and to beat them we've had to play extremely hard and physical and do some really good things. That doesn't change. These games are hard-fought. They last 48 minutes. I think my focus is it's a 48-minute game. Doing about four or five things, really key things really well over those 48 minutes. Q. With Giannis, do you anticipate them trying to move him around a little differently based on the relative success you've had with him in the half court? NICK NURSE: Well, good question. I think the big key always is the transition. That's the hardest probably thing to guard him on. It has been for a few years now, and it just kind of keeps getting harder as the years go by. I think we're trying to anticipate any ways they could move him around. They have used several different things they're trying to do. Some of them are giving us problems. We're trying to anticipate some of those things tonight and keep a keen eye on what we can see once the game gets going as well. Q. Back to the first question, I know it's something that you've talked about a little bit before throughout the season, but are these the moments where it really helps to have a guy like Kawhi Leonard, who is not going to really let you get ahead of yourself too much and stay even-keeled? NICK NURSE: Yeah, I think for sure. I think your team's temperament flows through your best players. He's as even-keeled maybe as I've ever seen. So that spreads pretty quickly around the locker room. And on top of that, he makes a lot of big plays. The even-keeled guy is out there making big plays, and the rest of the guys usually get settled in fairly quickly. I like how he's grown through this series. He's been tremendous, obviously. I think he's scored a ton. I think he's really starting to find the open men when he's covered with multiple bodies. And I think his defense keeps getting a little bit better as the series goes, too. Q. In a close-out game to go to the NBA Finals, how much does this game just break down to heart and want-to and desire? NICK NURSE: 85 percent of it. I mean, that's kind of the line I use. We end up showing all these clips and all these coverages and all these matchups and all these things and blah, blah, blah. Almost at the end of it every time, I say, This is about 15 percent of the game. The rest of it is are we going to sprint back and are we going to communicate great and are we going to get physical, are we going to get into bodies, are we going to block out with some toughness. I can keep going on and on, but that's where the 85 percent comes from. I think for our team it's that way. I think when we've put out a good physical effort with a defensive mindset first, and then taken care of at least trying to block out and control the glass a little bit, we've had a lot of good playoff games with that mentality. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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