NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 17, 2020

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Game 2: Postgame

Miami Heat 106, Boston Celtics 101

ERIK SPOELSTRA: You get to this level in the Conference Finals it's not going to be easy for either team and it wasn't. Both teams are laying it all on the line. That's the way it should be.

Q. Bam's third and Goran's fourth, we've been saying all year with your group, it doesn't have to be Jimmy, it doesn't have to be this guy. It can be multiple guys. How luxurious is that right now?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, Boston was really getting us on our heels in the first half, and I don't think anybody was in a -- in any kind of rhythm or disposition defensively and a lot of it was them. They were backing us up and everything.

So I think Bam really set the tone in that first half along with Jae, and then our reserves came in and really gave us a boost defensively. That just took some of the pressure off of our offense, but Bam was really assertive in the pick-and-roll and that kind of loosened up some things for us, but games are long and you just have to figure out different ways to impact winning and Bam, he understands that.

And Goran, you know, the defense is really good. It's really good. They can flatten you out, and sometimes that's what is needed, you know, for some games. You just have to create something out of nothing, and Goran was able to do that down the stretch.

Q. Is that something you tweaked along the way?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know. I have to look at the first half. There wasn't much that we liked about what we were doing defensively, man or zone. I know everybody wants to talk about a scheme but for us it's disposition, effort, making multiple plays and multiple efforts, regardless of the scheme, and we were more committed there in the second half.

Q. And then Duncan's play, and you always tell us, you know, keep shooting, it will come around. How heartening was it to see the start he had, to lift not only his confidence but the entire team's confidence?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, his routes were very assertive. Whether he's making shots or whether they are chasing him off, that's critical to our offense, and it opens up other things. It gives a little bit more variety to our menu.

Yeah, he was much more aggressive without the ball. He was burning more calories for sure.

Q. Butler was bringing the ball up a lot in the third quarter, and Goran still hit some big shots. What did you like about putting the ball in Jimmy's hand late in this game?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, he's been effectively our point guard all year long. When Goran is coming off the bench with that starting unit, Jimmy had been our point guard or point forward or point two. None of the positions really matter anymore; the ball is going to be in his hands one way or another, or if it's not in his hands, it's going to be some kind of action with Goran. We're not giving up any trade secrets. We know that and they know that. Your guys have to make plays.

Jimmy only had 14 points, but boy were they impactful. Obviously the steal at the end and the deflection, there's not many guys in this association that can make each of those plays, at the top of the zone and at the back of the zone. Just great, great plays.

Q. Talk about your thoughts at the half and what Bam did to spark you guys?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, we were all disappointed. But again, like you get to the Conference Finals, it's not all about you. Boston had a lot to say about how that first half was going. I'd love to say it was just us or going through the motions or anything. It was them putting us on our heels and then, you know, we started to attack the game a little bit more in the second half and get control of it.

Q. There were some rotation tweaks in the second half. What did you like about what Derek [Jones Jr.] gave you in his nine minutes in the second half?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: He just stayed ready, and you never know what's going to happen in the playoffs. We've already seen it so far. Things happen, foul trouble, minor injuries and Dre [Andre Iguodala] wasn't able to go in the second half and Derek has been keeping himself ready. He knew that he was going to be utilized at some point and he kept himself ready and he gave us really good, active energized minutes and I think that inspired some other guys as well.

Q. What was its ankle for Andre again?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, just a tight back.

Q. I know you're saying about tough teams, but you're 10-1 in the playoffs and you somehow find a way. All these games, no matter how they play out, you find a way to win it.

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know if you can point to see if there's a trend. Each game is different in the playoffs. Each series is certainly different. Just the feel and complexion and the competition of this series is much different than our last series. We can't even compare that. This team, yes, we have to -- the guys have grit, but you also have to do things, you know, well, and you've got to make some shots at the end and get some stops and we are able to do that tonight.

Q. You said all along how much respect your group has to have and has for Boston, but where do you think the mental toughness comes from from your group day-to-day and game-to-game?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know, our guys have shared values about competition and there's a respectful competitive humility about how tough it is in this league and how much toughness do you need to bring on each and every given night. That's probably all I have to say on that.

Q. You said obviously everybody was disappointed at halftime, but you had maybe a two-minute stretch before the end of the half where Jimmy got a couple.

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, that was an important stretch.

Q. Boston had a chance to score and you guys got a stop right before the end of the first half. That seemed like it propelled you guys a little?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, we felt a little bit better. Felt like we were down 30 and we looked up, and it was 13. It was like, okay, let's see if we can get control of this game. That's how well they are playing and it felt like that's how poor our defense was. You just have to keep on competing and embracing the challenge of a long game and trying to get control of it. You know, that's ultimately what it's about.

Q. You guys started off so hot and then you started missing a lot. Were you happy with the threes you were getting when they weren't going down and do you feel maybe you got away from some of your offense, going to Bam, getting the pick-and-roll?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: That's a fine line. What it did is it's us making shots -- it's a natural human condition. You think it's going to be easy at that point. We're a team that has to roll up our sleeves and defend and play with toughness, first and foremost.

It felt like we were just trying to win the game by making shots. We didn't impose our will at all in the first half. They didn't feel us, notice us. We were just out there defensively. It's a fine line. They are a good defensive team. You do want to try to get some easy ones in the open court but if you're shooting too quickly, too often and the ball is not going, then you have to read the game and adjust accordingly because they were able to get some easy ones from our poor floor balance. But we'll look at that and see if we can kind the right balance. In the second half, I think it was better, obviously.

Q. Jimmy today had about 12, 14 points and there's been some talk that he needs to be more aggressive, but with the way he's been playing, looking for his teammates and trying to see what the defense is giving him, are you happy with how he's approaching the game or would you want to see him be more aggressive?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, first -- (speaking in Tagalog).

Secondly, we are not going to sit up here and try to educate everybody on what winning basketball is. That was winning basketball tonight from Jimmy Butler. It's not about the final line. Same thing with Bam the other night. I don't even know what Bam ended up from a scoring standpoint in Game 1 and I don't know what he ended up with tonight. Those guys impact winning and Jimmy did so many things in that second half that impacted winning on both ends of the floor.

Either the average fan sees it or they don't but we don't care.

Q. How gratifying to see the three-point shooting build and the confidence to carry on through the game?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, our guys are confident taking those looks. We have a lot of guys that feel very comfortable out there and that's part of our game. We are also an attacking, aggressive team, so we have to find that balance of doing both and then you're trying to do that against a very good, well-drilled defensive team. But that's competition. That's the whole point of this.