NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 6, 2020

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Game 4: Pregame

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I'll probably start it off by… we are literally minute to minute with this. I do not have a definitive answer on Bam or Goran. Bam has an intention to try to warm up and to pass the protocols to be able to play. I'll find out more in the next hour or so. Same with Goran. And we're ready either way. The guys are really looking forward to the competition. We know it's going to be at a high level tonight. But we owe it to those two guys to be minute to minute on this and we'll see what happens.

Q. For clarity, both will warm up?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: In totally different ways, yeah. So they will each go through their own protocols. Obviously, different injuries. We'll see what develops in the next 90 minutes. But again, just from a team side and a human side, we owe it to them to be minute to minute and we'll make the most responsible decision at that point.

Q. Is Goran even being in consideration, is that a surprise at this point just given the way he was sounding yesterday?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, right. And I don't want to, you know, lead anybody on or not on. This is really just from a compassion standpoint. We know how badly these guys want to be out here and really we just feel a responsibility to be minute to minute with them.

Q. Bam and Goran's will to play, how does that affect and inspire the rest of the team?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Look, it's beyond that. This is high-level competition. It's more about how they've really worked and earned the right for us to go minute to minute on this, but we'll see. Obviously they're major components. Bam is the heart and soul of this team and Goran is the leading scorer in the playoffs, but if neither one of them can play, our guys are steeled and ready for a great competitive competition tonight.

Q. When you said the protocols, what specifically are those protocols?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I'm not going to get into all of those because I don't know all of them. I'll just be in there at the end. But that's the training staff and our doctor will be involved in that.

Q. Generally, I mean, is it strength? Is it shooting? Is it a combination?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: It's different for each guy.

Q. How do you feel about this team and the performance in this historic year?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well we're trying to accomplish something significant, so we're focused on the task at hand. We have a purpose here and we are competing against a great team and they're challenging us in different ways, guys are really looking forward to this.