NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 21, 2020

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Practice Day

Q. Jae just spoke to us about adjustments, how the Celtics play Kemba Walker on him and he still wound up with all 10 of his shots, Jae, being three-pointers, and he said you guys have suggested adjustments. What's that chess match like, and was there any thought when you saw Kemba on Jae in that game to maybe changing his role or is it typical to like you say, you do what you do?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: We just have to do things with more intention, like we talked about. This is high-level competition. There will be intense moments, there will be moments where you really have to combine the competitive intensity along with thought, and that's what you want out of this.

It's not supposed to be easy and you're supposed to get tested, your game, and see if you can take it to a different level.

Q. On adjustments, with a three-day break, does it make it easier to go through as opposed to if it was a typical every other type situation?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Either way, you have to deal with whatever presents itself in terms of the schedule, so we're trying to take advantage of this, get guys that need a little bit of rest, guys that need work, and see if we can also continue to prepare.

Q. I know you certainly were not thrilled with the outcome the other night; it goes without saying. But in a weird way the sickness of coaches that you often speak of, does this help maybe generate an edge that you know you will need the deeper you go into this? If you do make it deeper into this, can not executing what you wanted on Saturday, in a weird way can that sort of help?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Look, there's two teams competing against each other, so as much as you want to say, hey, it's just about us and we just have to do X, Y and Z, the Boston Celtics have something to say about that. Likewise when they're doing whatever they're trying to do, we have something to say about that.

Both teams are going to be challenged and tested the way you should be in a Conference Finals, and if we're not on top of our game in all those different areas, force, physicality, detail, focus, it could turn on you and it could turn pretty quickly, like it did the other night.

Q. Duncan in Game 3 picked up those three quick fouls in the first half I think on defending post-ups. What did you like about the adjustment he made in that second half? I think he even drew a charge in the game, as well. What did you like about the adjustment he made in the second half?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: You know, he just has to do things with force and detail. It's not the first time that he's been posted up. It's not the first time that teams are going to try to attack him off the dribble, pull him up into a screen, all the different ways he's gotten much better at it through countless repetitions and game experiences. He competes. He takes it to heart, doing his job, and he works to get better, and you saw that from one half to another.

Q. Was everybody able to practice today?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Everybody was able -- it wasn't like a full practice. Everybody practiced today.

Q. I know you're not happy with what went down the other night and you're not going to tip your hand on what you need to change specifically, but can you speak to me on the importance of getting back the Heat defense?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, that goes without saying. You can see that formula. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that that ain't going to work.

But again, it's competition. They had something to say about that, and they came out with great force off the dribble. They were driving and attacking in a lot of different situations, and we did not handle that well. We have to do a better job of that.

Q. With Goran, he was so effective shooting-wise in the first two games; Marcus Smart gave him some problems the other night. How important is it to make sure that you get him into a position where he's got the ball when and where he wants it?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, you know, I should do my job to get him comfortable and get him places where he can be his best version. Someone as decorated as experienced as any player in this league in terms of big games, playoff games, international Playoffs games.

He knows that not every game is going to go your way, but it's competition, and you work to have a better one the next time.

Q. Talk about what it meant to you or what led to Bam becoming an All-Star, and it doesn't even seem like he's changed much as a person since he's gotten that appointment.

ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, Bam is so genuine, so authentic, he's real. He has a great competitive humility about him. He is a totally different personality in between the lines. He's as fierce and nasty as anyone in this league, and you get him outside those lines, he's been raised the right way.

His mother had a big deal to do with that. She raised a fine young gentleman, one of the best competitors on this planet. And he just continues to get better because he works at it, and he doesn't get comfortable thinking that he doesn't need to work to get to a higher level.

Q. I remember on draft night actually seeing him sitting in the stands - I don't know if you remember that - I think he was in the stands, maybe I was wrong, but he seemed -- for him to go 14, not as heralded as if they would have redrafted him now. What were your thoughts about him on draft night?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: He was the guy we wanted to take. We were just hoping that he was going to be there. He always talks about guys that he's played with previously in AAU basketball. Bam Adebayo is the anti-AAU player. I've got to look up those records. I don't think he played AAU because he's wired differently, which we like.

Q. Taking into consideration Bam's massive goal on the offense, the smaller Boston plays, the more they switch, does that tilt of scales of what's required of him in any way?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, we definitely have to do more. But they're a really talented team and they're well-coached. You've got to be on top of it just like they have to be on top of it with us.

And yeah, we can expect a lot of different lineups and a lot of lineups with great skill. That's the way they played a lot during the season when they had their full complement. Ultimately this is what you want. You want them to be at full strength, playing great basketball, and to see if you can play better basketball. That's the whole idea of this.

Q. Erik, obviously you're very familiar with Gordon's game, going back to the recruitment of him a couple of years ago. How close -- obviously he did make an impact in the last game and in a lot of different ways. How close is he in your view to even the player he was prior to this particular injury?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, I don't know if that is relevant. He's a player. He's been a number one guy before. They can make plays and make the right basketball reads in plays. We want him, even as competitors, to be out there. We are going to get tested and you have to find a way to overcome it against a good team and good players.

Q. Jae said with Jimmy you can't really tell if he's going to be at his most intense because he's so quiet before games, he's listening to his music, he's as he said he's kind of a man of action. Can you tell as a coach now having coached him for almost a year if you're going to get the sort of intense Jimmy or the sort of off-the-charts intense Jimmy?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: He's going to be intense Jimmy every time he steps in between the lines. We've had several practices that no one saw here in the bubble. He was, again, that guy, just a skirmish and pushing, yelling, all the stuff that we love. But this is competition. I know I keep on saying it.

They're going to bring what they bring, we're going to bring what we bring, and sometimes you're going to find a way to get the best of them, but sometimes they have something to say about it and sometimes they're going to get the best of us. And they got the best of us last game, and they deserved it, and we'll move on to the next one.