NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 8, 2020

Jae Crowder

Miami Heat

Practice Day

Q. You've been in this deep playoff run in the bubble, and also was on a deep playoff run outside the bubble with the Celtics a few years ago. What's the biggest difference mentally and physically between going on a run this long in the bubble and in kind of normal circumstances?

JAE CROWDER: This is more challenging, obviously, for a lot of reasons. This definitely is more challenging mentally, being away from family and what else is going on in the world.

It makes you lock in. You have to lock in more, I would say, than previous years just because of what's going on and how it's easy to be distracted by other things.

I rate this one as high as I can go in my career as a playoff run and how engaged I have to be mentally on the court.

Q. How does this rank among the most enjoyable experiences of your career, and would you like to be here long term after being on several different teams over the years?

JAE CROWDER: It's enjoyable because we're winning. At the same time, I've been taken away just by the stuff that's going on outside the bubble. I think the basketball side of it has been great for me. Obviously, we're winning, and we're here fighting for it all. Last two teams standing and trying to fight for it all. That aspect has been great. It's a great group of guys, great organization to be a part of, and hopefully we can work something out.

At the same time, with the stuff going on in the world -- I have kids, you know what I'm saying? So I got a lot of stuff on my mind, on my plate, just to worry about as an African-American in this world.

It's been a roller coaster. It's been some good and some bad, obviously. I'm just taking the punches as they come and trying to be as positive as I can each and every day.

Q. Can you talk about how Game 5 is the most important game for you?

JAE CROWDER: Yeah, it's the most important game. Our approach has been the next game is the most important game. That's the approach we've been having the whole playoff run: just the next one. Whether we win or lose, the next one is the most important one for our group. We know that and we are facing whatever we're facing, the reality of what we're facing.

So it is the most important game of our playoff, run, and we're approaching it as such.

Q. Goran Dragic is trying everything to play in the next game. How inspirational is his effort to play?

JAE CROWDER: He's a competitor. What he's trying to do -- you tip your hat to a guy like that. Obviously, it's a terrible time going down with an injury. An injury of that caliber obviously hinders you a little bit.

He's doing everything he can to try to prepare himself to join us at some point. He's doing round-the-clock treatments and everything he can to get back on the court. He's a competitor so he wants to get back out there. It's eating him alive that he's put in all this work and has to face this injury that he's facing.

It's frustrating for him. As his teammates, as his brothers, we just try to uplift him every day. We see the work he's putting in, and hopefully it'll pay off for him.