NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 24, 2020

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Practice Day

Q. What is a day like today like?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: We just stuck with our routine. Watched film. Trying to make sure that we continue to get better in this series.

Q. It seemed like there was good attendance. That's a good sign for tomorrow?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, everybody got their treatment, rest. Today is another day of rest and recovery. I think everybody knows on both sides what to expect tomorrow.

Q. In regards to what you expect tomorrow, is there an expectation of a reinvention, or is it pretty much what you saw in Game 3 or maybe even a fusion of that?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know. You just have to continue to try to get better as the series goes on. It'll be two extremely desperate, urgent teams. That's what it's all about in the Playoffs.

Q. I was kidding Ronnie last night on postgame that we've run out of superlatives and adjectives to talk about Tyler Herro. Of course, you cleared the path for us because you've got to give him rookie humility, tongue in cheek. But what is the best way to describe what we're seeing? Literally even Dwyane co-signed the fact that it was nice having the rookie scoring record for 16 years that was moved by 10 points.

ERIK SPOELSTRA: You put it in that kind of context, that makes you recognize that he is uncommon. He puts in a great deal of work. He's coachable. He's at it every single day. Even today. The pre-practice group, he was in there before the head coach even got in there today, getting in his work. But that's not something that he's changing just because people are noticing now. This is who he's been all year long.

Q. With Bam, where does he stand with that left arm, wrist or shoulder? Can you sort of fill us in on that? Apparently he said it was aggravated from a previous injury.

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, he'll be ready to go tomorrow.

Q. Was he able to work in your practice today?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: He was able to work extremely intensely in our film session.

Q. OK, no work on the court. And was there any kind of testing required or done on that?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: No. A lot of ice.

Q. Can you fill us in, is it a wrist, a shoulder, an arm?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: It's a little bit of everything. This is a physical series. He'll be ready to go tomorrow.

Q. What have you seen from Solomon that led to your decision to use him last night? Anything in practice the last couple weeks? And how tough a call was it to go only three deep off the bench? Your team obviously is very well conditioned, but did that concern you at all in terms of stamina?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Our guys are in great shape, but I also have respect and confidence in everybody on our bench. It might be a little bit different tomorrow. That's just the way we went last night. Solo has really been working behind the scenes. One of my favorite parts of this whole bubble experience is just seeing the guys work. I have a lot of opportunities with gym time, and whether the guys have been in the rotation or not, they've really been putting in the time. Solo has been one of those guys. You can see it, he's transformed his body. He's in great shape. He's a veteran. He's been in a lot of these experiences before.

Q. The other night when you were asked about a particular defense, you said it's not necessarily about scheme, it's more about competition. If you'll indulge for just a second, maybe big picture the data shows teams are using zone defense, even if it's just a little bit more. The Lakers used it the other night to get back in it against Denver. Ultimately, what's the purpose of it? I know teams don't go to it for extended stretches, but what do you get out of it and the aim of a zone?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, everybody is different. I actually didn't see that half of the game with the Lakers using it. For us, it's a scheme that we've used all season long. Some games we use it, some games we don't. It looked ridiculously bad in Game 3. We used it more last night, but we'll see what happens in Game 5. We're not just throwing it out there in this series not having used it during the season.

Q. In the three wins against the Celtics you have three different players as scoring leaders: Game 1 was Bam, Game 2 was Dragic and Game 4 was Tyler Herro. What does that say about your effort and about your game and about your approach to the game?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, a couple points. That's who we've been all year long. We've had a lot of different contributors and leading scorers and multiple guys in double figures. That's just how we're built. We're not a team -- for better or worse, it doesn't mean anything, it's just we don't have a team where somebody is going to score 50.

And then secondly, Boston's defense is really good. So you're going to have to have different guys step up, and based on that particular game, it might be different guys than the previous game. That's what you've seen so far.

Q. And about Game 5, can we expect the same approach as Game 4 because you have seven players in the rotation. Can we expect something the same?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: We'll see. I don't know. I would need more time to think about it.

Q. You've been in many closing games in your career. What is different this year with this type of team compared to, for example, the last time you went so far in the Playoffs?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know. It's just different teams, different experiences. We want to give everything to this group and not compare them. The total experience of being in the Playoffs here in the bubble has really been extraordinary, and we're just grateful to be a part of it. We're grateful to have this group together.

Q. The Wall Street Journal reported how both you and Brad Stevens have had a very close working relationship with coach Jim Crutchfield from Nova Southeastern, a small D-2 school. I was curious if you could talk about your relationship with Coach Crutch and what he has to offer in his program that you guys can imitate in an NBA team?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, he's local now. I can't remember who mentioned him or if I heard him -- I don't really remember, but since he was right up the road, we just decided to give him a call and see if he wanted to meet and talk shop. It was after our season two years ago where we didn't make the Playoffs. We had a lot of time during the spring, and that was one of the visits we made. He was really accommodating. Obviously a terrific coach, but just a super nice guy and his staff was awesome. We went up there and just talked shop for five, six hours. It was a lot of fun.

Q. What do you remember about your sales pitch to Jimmy? And also, you guys keep saying you guys are made for the bubble, but for the no-getting-your-haircut-yet Jimmy, why is he so made for this?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: It's tough to say because nobody has ever experienced this. I just think you need some level of discipline and routine and mental toughness for this whole life experience. Those things could help in a scenario like this, but there's nothing to compare it to.

And then as far as that first meeting, it was great. We just felt like we were speaking the same language. We have the same shared values about competition, and it works for us. We don't have to explain it. We don't have to apologize for it. Maybe at times we've been criticized for that or he -- who cares. But we're just really grateful we got him.