NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 23, 2020

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Game 4: Postgame

Miami Heat 112, Boston Celtics 109

Q. What we've seen from Tyler all year, not this stage or scale, does anything surprise you anymore?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: At this point, we're passed that. He's not a rookie anymore. We need his skillset. Does that mean it's going to translate into that kind of point production every night? No, it doesn't. I mean, we're not necessarily built like that. It's different guys and contributions from a lot of different guys, but Boston was jamming up as they tend to do, first, second, sometimes third options out of what we're looking for, and Tyler is able to generate a lot of offense on random situations, which you need against a very good defense.

Q. Did you have any initial info on Bam?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: He's icing his body right now. That's where we are.

Q. Is there an injury to Bam or is it just a bruise or something that needs icing?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: He's just icing right now.

Q. So no MRI or X-ray or anything?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: (Shaking head no.)

Q. The way this game played out, you went to a much tighter rotation than we're used to. What's the thought on that?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I think both teams are going whatever they feel is necessary at this point. You have two highly competitive teams. There's not a lot of margin for error either way. Hayward does change the dynamic obviously. We went with this rotation tonight, but it's whatever is necessary for the next game.

But there are a lot of guys that contributed to this.

Q. With Tyler’s 14 field goals, there's going to be some big buckets but seems maybe pressure in the second half, pretty timely. What did you make of when he made them and how he made them?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, the context, obviously. The context of those makes -- you know, are the big separators in this league, and those are pressure shots. We had to step up against a really good defense. He was making plays at the end of the clock. You know, and that -- that's a skill set that he has. He can create off the dribble. You know, they can jam you up and you need guys that can -- that can break the defense down and create opportunities that you don't necessarily see that are there.

Q. You've been in this situation before, one game from the NBA Finals, but a lot of guys on your team haven't. What kind of advice do you give them so they don't get ahead of themselves?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Tonight, just try to get your minds off of it. We have a team that I think everybody sees that we're pretty -- we're wound pretty tight. I don't want them to wind up tonight or tomorrow. But ultimately it's about being present.

We know what to expect for this next game, very much like we saw in Game 3.

Q. So I know the Celtics go in in the fourth quarter -- defense was a talking point, but what did you like about what you were able to do better especially in the zone?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Some rebound opportunities that we had that allowed us to -- I don't know. I'll have to get to the film. There were some points I thought we were giving up too many easy looks. But they have great offensive firepower, so regardless whether you're in the man or zone, you're going to be scrambling making multiple efforts. There are no shortcuts at this point. You're going to have to do tough things. In the second half we had a lot of guys that were doing tougher things, more efforts, certainly than we did in Game 3 and that's probably going to have to be 10X in the next game.

Q. It seems by and large that these four games have been played on your terms, the pace, the style of the game. Do you feel like your players are doing a better job than expected of maybe they are playing well or not but playing the game on your terms the way that you want it to be played, game plan and adjustments?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Coaches must be crazy, because I'm thinking, no, we're not playing on our terms. Game 3 was on their terms almost exclusively. Certain parts of other games. It's competition. You have to find a way to grind out a win at the end by any means necessary. Tonight was an example of that. A lot of guys contributed and put their fingerprints on it, not just from the offensive end. Defensively, making a lot of efforts.

Bam was tremendous on the offensive glass, getting us some extra possessions. Jimmy got a relief pull-up jumper. Goran hit that big three and Tyler was generating a ton of offense for us in that second half. But you need that. You're going to need it. Probably even more of that the next game.

Q. When you guys drafted Tyler, did you know you would be able to trust him? You started him in the first game that you played in your rotation, but when did you know that he was going to be somebody you could throw into the fire?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know. I know like everybody is looking for that signature moment. That would be such a great story, right: "I knew that day he would be this guy." I think everybody over estimates what you can do in a day and what you can do in months of work and sweat and grind when nobody is watching. He is relentless with his work ethic. Nobody was paying attention to us during the year. He had a lot of tough moments. He did. He had some moments where it was up and down and learning about our demands on defense.

But he is a worker, and he shows up the next day trying to get better every single day and usually those incremental improvements every single day, and he earns the trust -- I think it's more important earning the trust of his teammates than the coaching staff, but it's that daily grind when nobody is watching, and doing it when most people don't.

Q. Tyler is on a very short list of players who at the age of 20 has scored 37 points on this kind of stage. Other than his work ethic and his great skill set that you've talked about, what is it about who he is as a human being that allowed him to perform at this level against this defense on this stage?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: You know how we are. You know we are all going to absolutely crush him tomorrow to keep him humble, you know. But I say that kiddingly because he has a great competitive humility about him. He has a confidence. He has a fearlessness that is uncommon. But he's humble enough to work, to be coachable, to take the mentorship from the veteran players that we have on our team, and he just continues to gain more confidence as we go.

I think the second training camp here, I think was a big benefit to him, because it felt like he was going into his second year in many ways.