NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CLIPPERS VS. SUNS

June 25, 2021

Ivica Zubac

LA Clippers

Practice Day

Q. How have you and Pat stayed engaged when you were not starting and how difficult was it not to start and coming off the bench?

IVICA ZUBAC: We knew this is playoffs. It's all about matchups. There's no egos on this team. We are all in here for a greater purpose and that's to win a championship. We knew that since the beginning. We realize that we've got a better chance with different lineups, and we knew our time was going to come. We've just got to stay ready. Even though we didn't play as much, we were talking to the team, we were trying to be good teammates. We're trying to give some good advice. We're watching film together.

It's about staying ready and realize that in the playoffs, it's about matchups and defending the team you're playing.

Q. I wanted to ask about you and Pat, your defensive chemistry. Why does what you guys are doing on defense together work so well?

IVICA ZUBAC: We have been playing together for a while now and we understand each other a lot. Pat, his basketball IQ is pretty good, especially on defense. We kind of understand each other. Even without saying what needs to be done with some players, we know how to defend them.

I always know Pat is going to do a hell of a job just getting around a screen. He's going to have a great contest on guards who pull up for jumpers, so I don't have to be that high on the pick-and-roll. He knows he can just funnel all the guys to me in the paint. That's how we've been playing for our entire time together. We know what we need to do without saying it to each other.

Q. You've gone against a pretty crazy collection of centers in the playoffs so far, Boban, Rudy and now Deandre. What is that like to have such a variety of guys that you're trying to score on or stop, and what is particular about Ayton compared to those other two?

IVICA ZUBAC: It's great, to be honest. It's what you dream of. Playoffs, only the best teams are standing. It's the NBA; every night, there's a tough matchup. Going against players like that, it's great. Every night you get a different look, and every series you get a different look.

And with Ayton, it's different. He's more of a rim runner. He's an offensive threat. He can post up. He can face up. He can give you a lot of different problems on the offensive end.

It's just about knowing your personnel, getting ready for each series, each player and staying ready.

Q. I know that Ty went back and forth between big and small in the Dallas series, but going against Boban, are you used to being the little guy? What's that like?

IVICA ZUBAC: Yeah, I'm usually the bigger guy, but with Boban, that's probably one of the few dudes in the league that make me feel little, small. I always know when I played him, I always imagine how it must be for some undersized centers when they are playing against me, that's how they must feel. So I kind of tried to remember how they defend me, how they are trying to get into my body early, how they are trying to get me out of my position early. So that's what I try to apply when I'm playing against guys like Boban or guys that are a little bigger than me.