NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 2, 2020

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Game 2: Pregame

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I guess us guys have the news, obviously, Goran and Bam will not play tonight. I had to play the role of not just head coach, but almost of a parent the last 24 hours. These two guys are really amazing. Like everybody in our locker room, there's a real special sense of brotherhood and responsibility. They were both lobbying to play and we ultimately had to take the decision out of their hands for tonight. So we have other guys obviously that will get an opportunity tonight and we have learned over the course of really the last three or four months you expect the unexpected. The world has changed and so many things have been thrown at us in the last three or four months, I think our level of grit and perseverance has been tested and proven and it will be again tonight.

Q. When you've had to change your first fives before, I know there has been a lot of times that you've tried to keep your second unit intact. Does that open the door for Meyers potentially to maybe fill a role on the card?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, look, Bam was playing so many minutes for us, so we're going to have to do this by committee. So regardless of who starts or not, a lot of guys will get an opportunity just to make up for those minutes and because of the physicality obviously that the Lakers can bring.

But look, the guys that will be stepping in for whatever minutes, you saw it with K-Nunn the other night, our guys have played major roles for us during the course of the year. So it's not like we're dusting guys off that haven't played all season. They both started, K-Nunn and Meyers, 60-plus games and had great seasons before we got to the bubble and the world changed.

Q. From what the medical staff has told you, what are the next steps that Goran and Bam can maybe take tomorrow as far as any work they can do and what will be needed for that?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: We'll get to tomorrow when we get there. Just what I said. They're not playing tonight. They are warriors and are continuing to try to lobby, but they just need rest, recovery, and treatment and that's the only course of action right now.

Q. Kendrick Nunn had a huge performance the other night. How do you feel about him right now?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Excuse me, could you say that one more time?

Q. Of course. Kendrick Nunn --

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Oh, K-Nunn. Yeah, we haven't forgotten what he can do. This is, sometimes you have to separate all this, the competition and coaching and your team and just the human side of it. You're rooting for the guy. He had a tremendous year. We haven't forgotten about that. And I've had great compassion for everything that he's gone through. But he's got significant perseverance. He's been through a lot and he just continues to grind. I love watching him work. I just love coming in every day and just watching him put in the time and be ready for his opportunity when it inevitably would happen.

Q. Jimmy Butler said that, Blah, blah, blah, our backs are up against the wall, we just need to go out and win. Is there, I know this is a group of guys who always has a sort of fire and competitive spirit, but when you have kind of nothing to lose when two of your leading scorers are out, do you see a difference in that fight?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, we view it differently. You do have something to lose. You can lose. But our guys are incredibly stubborn. So I'm not surprised that Jimmy would say that, and that's the makeup of the guys in our locker room.

Q. After Game 1 Jae talked about how he wanted to review more film and try to really improve upon what happened in that game. How much of the last couple days has been conversations about improving execution and scheme rather than figuring out how do we adjust with a different lineup?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Oh, yeah, a little bit of all the above, but our execution certainly has to be better. And making the adjustment against a different type of team, they're a very good defensive team that can be disruptive at the rim and if you're not doing things with the appropriate level of pace and detail, it can get you jammed up against the shot clock. So we have been through a lot of different things in this playoff run, you have to continue to find ways to be successful against a new opponent and that's what we're dealing with right now.

Q. Kind of a two-part question here: Something you've reflected on a little bit for the past few days, I think, was how you felt when you found out that Chris Bosh was going to be out and having just told Dragic, but you're making him the promise that you guys are going to make a deep run. What did you do as a team then to kind of get past the heartbreak of that moment and just in general, is there anything that you turn to to try to keep rolling with the punches this way?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, you just compete and approach every single year you give your heart and soul to it and sometimes even if you don't make it exactly where you want to, you can have some incredible memories and we had some really special years even when CB went out. One of our most memorable years, Goran and I still talk about it, was in 2016 when we were one game away from making the playoffs. But I think going through that together just creates something, an experience, a shared experience that you take with you. And then when you have a team like this, hopefully you both can bring something more to the table because of that experience. I feel like I've been through so much with Goran because of those years, there was a lot of stress trying to make the playoffs those years and that was fun, it was great going through that, all those experiences and those teams and I think Goran feels the same way.