NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CLIPPERS VS. SUNS

June 22, 2021

Tyronn Lue

LA Clippers

Game 2: Pregame

Q. Paul has had such a heavy workload this postseason, what do you think has gone into his ability to play so many minutes well and what's jumped out to you with his day-to-day routine?

TYRONN LUE: I think just preparing his body for the playoffs all season long. I think the time we gave him off during the season, just making sure he can come into the postseason with no injuries and feeling good as far as wind-wise. I talked to him yesterday. He said he feels good. He feels great. So that's a good thing to hear.

Q. Obvious question, how is Marcus [Morris] feeling and any news on Kawhi?

TYRONN LUE: Just know that Kawhi is out. Still back home rehabbing.

Marcus is about to go to the floor now and warm up and see how he feels. If I had to guess, I think he'd want to play tonight. So we're just going to see how he feels when he goes through his routine.

Q. Can I ask about Terance Mann’s defense in the playoffs? Obviously he's had some tough matchups, but obviously he also goes up against Kawhi and PG in practice. So what have you made of his taking on that challenge?

TYRONN LUE: He loves a challenge. Every series, from guarding Luka to guarding Donovan to guarding Devin, it's a lot of great experience guarding three big players in our league today. So for only being a second-year player, he's been through a lot this last season and he's getting better and better every night, defensively, offensively, his shooting.

So I'm just looking forward to him continuing to keep getting better.

Q. You guys obviously have responded from being down 0-2 in the first two rounds?

TYRONN LUE: I don't want to see that again. I'm tired of seeing that (laughter).

Yeah, you know, tonight we're going to try to go out and get one. Like I said, guys are rested, guys are feeling good. Having to make a few adjustments, a few tweaks but the guys are up for the challenge and are focused and ready to go.

Q. Not to bring up that same subject of being behind in these series, thinking of what you did down behind 3-1 to the Warriors, do you bring that up?

TYRONN LUE: I think it's tough now. We missed Serge [Ibaka] pretty much the whole playoffs and then losing Kawhi who is your best player, it's hard to get behind 0-2 and just have to keep fighting from behind. It takes a lot out of you. But if that's the circumstance, we're ready to do it and we're prepared to do it.

But the series isn't over till you win four games. Like I said, anything can happen. We lost our best player a few games ago. Right now, Phoenix is without CP so anything can happen. You just have to win four games, first to four, and no matter what happens, we have to have the right mindset.

Q. When you have been down in the playoffs, what’s the tone you have to take in the locker room?

TYRONN LUE: It really started in the Dallas series after we lost our first two home games playing against Dallas and PG and Kawhi, we sat down and talked, and they knew what we had to do. We had to make some changes, make some adjustments and kind of simply what we try to do defensively, and just kind of go from there.

I think when it got to 3-2, Kawhi said he wants to take Luka, he wants to guard Luka, and we saw what he did when he was on him for those two games and brought us home.

So it's not any different now. PG has been great. Playing at a high level, which he's been doing all season. And so we are just up for the challenge tonight.

Q. Wanted to ask just about Devin. You talked about him yesterday, how you guys played him and the adjustments you made. How much are you also concerned that guys don't overreact and then leave other pockets open?

TYRONN LUE: Yeah, I mean, he's a tough cover. He can score in the post. Great mid-range shooter. Can shoot the three-point shot. Plays a lot in transition when they advance it to him and he attacks early in transition.

So it's a little different than playing against Luka and against Donovan because with [Mike] Conley being out, Donovan played mostly the point guard position. But right now Booker is playing off the ball; he's playing on the ball. So it makes it a little bit more difficult because he's moving without the basketball.

Q. Luke Kennard, playing on your team, said that he feels that he's one of the better shooters in the league but it's his responsibility to separate and give himself shots. After Game 1, you said that things were kind of like a feel-out to see who could play. How do you feel like the feedback has been as far as making sure he's ready to play tonight?

TYRONN LUE: Oh, he's definitely ready to go. You know, his confidence is at an all-time high. It's exactly what we needed. Also talking about the Dallas series, Game 5 or 6, I can't even remember, he came in and played well and Game 7 he really took it to another level.

We know we need his shooting on the floor. We know we have to make up points with Kawhi being out, and he's ready to go. A lot of confidence and I've got to do a good job of finding plays to get him open and to get him shots.

Q. Obviously you guys are short Kawhi and Serge, but how much do you look at this as you want to try to get one with CP out? Do you look at it that way?

TYRONN LUE: Yeah, we want to get one for sure. That's our mindset coming into tonight. Like I said, guys are rested and feeling good. With CP out, this would be a great one to get, not knowing the timetable of when he's coming back, when he's going to be back playing. So we have our mindset on that; we want to go into this game with the mindset of we are coming to win one tonight.

Q. With all that PG is being asked to do on both ends of the floor, how do you make his job easier on both ends?

TYRONN LUE: It doesn't get any easier. It gets harder. Tonight he's going to have to guard Devin a little bit more than the last game. We know coming off the game against Utah, having one day in between, we knew it was going to be pretty tough on him. Tonight it gets harder for him because he has to guard Devin a little bit as well.

Q. With the injuries and condensed schedule that you've had, how much harder does it make staggering guys and limiting their stress load so they are not getting as worn out?

TYRONN LUE: I don't know. I guess what the sports science guys tell me, but I go off feel. I ask guys how they feel and if they need a break. But we can't worry about that. We are in the playoffs. We are in the Western Conference Finals, and we have got to do what it takes to win.