NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

May 31, 2023

Kevin Love

Miami Heat

Media Day

KEVIN LOVE: 2014, I believe as a team to Rio had a great experience, obviously playing with Andy [Anderson Varejao] who showed us a number of amazing things out there in Brazil.

Q. What did you enjoy about the trip?

KEVIN LOVE: Everything, man. We were there I think for five days. We saw Christ the Redeemer, we went to different beaches, different places to eat, as well as seeing all the basketball fans over there and how the game has grown.

Q. What is your role for this Finals?

KEVIN LOVE: I think it all depends on who Denver puts out there and the matchups that are out there. As you saw in the Celtics series, they decided to go small. We started to match that, as well.

We'll go over our game plan today, we'll see a lot of things that are going to stick out on film, a lot of things that we'll be able to do, who we'll be able to match up with.

Denver is an extremely tough team. They're here for a reason. They're well-coached offensively and defensively. They're very sound, they stick true to their principles. They push the ball, they shoot the ball extremely well. Defensively they're there for one another.

It's going to be a really hard-fought series. But Denver is a great place to play as well, so we're excited.

Q. What was it like to have to not play as much down the stretch of the Boston series?

KEVIN LOVE: I mean, it made perfect sense to me honestly. I obviously was eager, wanted to play, kept myself ready. At the same time those matchups, how they took Williams out of the starting lineup, decided to go small, that's how kind of it goes into matchups, that's how it works within the Playoffs.

I felt I made my impact in at least the first two games, maybe one quarter before I had gotten hurt there. Again, just continued to be there for my teammates, be a vocal leader, keep it light between UD, Kyle and myself, just teach these guys, help them kind of grasp where we're at, as well.

I think the beauty of it is you get to reset the deck, figure out what the matchups are going to look like in this series. Again, this is a great group to be a cheerleader for.

Q. What’s it like when you get into the playoffs and you know that you’re in it for the long haul?

KEVIN LOVE: It's an amazing thing. It's what you play for. As a player, being a competitor as well, what it's all about. But I do think being here with a different team and with the Miami Heat, just such a storied franchise with so much rich history, I think it's very sweet being here for a fifth time.

Q. What are your thoughts on the quick turnaround?

KEVIN LOVE: I mean, I don't think that's something we're really focusing on. I just think we just wanted to get here as early as possible after that Game 7 victory. More than anything, just rest our bodies, be ready to go.

Q. Who is the last guy on the Heat you would let babysit your kids?

KEVIN LOVE: Last guy on the Heat I would let babysit my kids? I don't know. Everybody's pretty damn responsible. Probably Nikola [Jovic] just because he's so damn young. That's the only thing I can think of. He's still a child himself. That would be tough.

Q. UD turns 43 on June 9. What are you going to get him for his birthday?

KEVIN LOVE: I mean, hopefully we'll deliver a championship soon thereafter. That would be a nice way to send him off. I told him, it wasn't in the script for us to lose Game 7 in Boston because he wasn't going out like that.

UD is so special for this organization. It shows you that vets really do matter, 20 seasons, for an organization, in a place where he grew up, is truly a special thing.

Q. How good is Nikola Jokic?

KEVIN LOVE: Yeah, I mean, he's going to go down as one of the greatest big men to ever play the game. He just continues to impress and just beyond the statistical output that he has, the impact he has on the game, how he does it, how he operates, what we've seen, in a lot of ways is unprecedented.

He's not a guy you're going to stop. You just have to hope to stand him down, continue to make things really tough for him.

He's extremely smart, manipulates the game. I mean that in a basketball IQ sense. Can get anything done how he wants to do it, where he wants to go. That's going to be a full team effort to just slow down what he's capable of doing, but again, easier said than done.