NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 3, 2023

Kyle Lowry

Miami Heat

Practice Day

Q. Were you surprised with the way Denver defended Bam in Game 1? And when he gets that much space, what does that open up for the rest of the offense?

KYLE LOWRY: I'm not surprised. Bam played a great game. He got to his spots. He made jump shots. He was aggressive. That's what we need from him.

But I think what it opened up, Bam was able to get in the paint. He was the one guy that was getting paint touches. It helped us, kind of settled us down a little bit.

But yeah, they obviously won the game, so it worked for them, but we've got to continue to find ways to get him the ball and for him to stay aggressive.

Q. As the veteran voice on this team and a guy that's been in a lot of playoff games, deep playoff runs, what do you say to a guy like Max who just had a rough shooting night but got really clean looks for the most part?

KYLE LOWRY: Exactly what I said, what you just said. Got some really good looks. Keep shooting.

I think Max is a very confident player. He got -- those shots he missed, he won't miss them again. That's the game of basketball. Sometimes -- it's a make-or-miss league. The one thing about Max is he's going to continue to shoot, and the one thing about our team, we're going to continue to tell him to shoot the ball, keep going, keep shooting, keep pushing.

At the end of the day we need him to stay aggressive and make shots and shoot shots. We've got a good locker room, so we believe in what he does.

Q. You have a lot of experience in the playoffs, and I'm very interested in knowing what works for you better between games. Do you prefer to stay away from the game and refresh your mind a little bit or try to watch the game again to see what you can do better for the next game to be really, really focused, and if you are doing the same thing from the beginning of your playoff games, or you keep improving on that?

KYLE LOWRY: I think this time of year you've got to stay locked in. You've got to watch film. You've got to stay in the game, stay in tune, stay in tuned to what's going on. For me, I stay in tune.

Yeah, you go get dinner, you hang out with your friends and family to kind of get away, but for the most part I focus on the game to see what I can do and see what I can help the team do better.

But as the Playoffs continue to go and get deeper, you've got to stay focused on the games. You can't let your mind wander too much. Yeah, you've got to take some time away, but you've got to stay focused on the game and watch the film and see what you can do to help the team get better.

Q. You all made the run in the fourth. Were you able to -- any positives? Did you take any positives from Game 1 despite the loss?

KYLE LOWRY: Yeah, a lot. You mean like what? What type of positives? You didn't ask that part.

I would think we just took some -- we got good shots. We got good looks. We got to our spots. We got the situation that we wanted to be in offensively. Defensively we figured some things out.

But in the Playoffs every single game is different, especially in the Finals. Every single game is going to be a different type of game, different brand of basketball, different approach, and different guys are going to play well, so we're seeing some good things.

Q. I know that you crossed paths briefly with Ish Smith a long time ago, but can you kind of appreciate his journey a little bit, 13 teams, all that stuff? As a veteran can you appreciate what he's been through?

KYLE LOWRY: Yeah, I was with him when he started. Ish to this day is one of my guys that I still call my rook. I appreciate it because he's a guy who persevered, wasn't the greatest shooter, wasn't the greatest this, but he just found a way to find a niche in this league and find a niche on every single team he's been on, and to be a great veteran, a great veteran presence, a great positive vibe for every team he's played for.

Thirteen teams is a lot of teams, but obviously he's done his job, and he's still in the NBA, and he's on a team right now that's in the Finals. He's done something correct, and I'm just proud to have a guy like that say he was under my wing for a little bit.

Q. Is there another guard-big combo that you've played against that has the chemistry of Joker and Murray?

KYLE LOWRY: Yeah, I can't think of -- I'm pretty old in this game right now. I played Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. Honestly, that's a great combination that I got the opportunity to play against. Jamal and Jokic, they're deadly because they both can score, pass the ball. They're big targets, and they have a great feel for each other.

But yeah, that combination, they're very, very good.

Q. After that series against Boston and I don't know how that affected your team, the adaptation to the altitude, physically was it a more complicated game, the first one, and how does the preparation for the second game change on this topic?

KYLE LOWRY: No, I don't think it affected us. I think we were ready to play. I think Coach always says it, he said it, give us our parachutes and drop us in, and we'll be prepared to play.

I think Denver played a really good game the first game, and we missed a lot of shots.

But it's all about preparation now for the next game, so we'll be well prepared to go, and we'll be ready to go tomorrow.

Q. We're good friends with José Calderón, an ex-teammate of yours. We asked him about you, and he said two things. The first is that after your first ring, you started texting him less. He said if you win this second one, you're going to be done with him.

KYLE LOWRY: He's lying because I've got to go to Spain so I call him when I go to Spain, so yes.

Q. And the second one was that if you're going to go visit him next time when you go to Marbella?

KYLE LOWRY: Yes, I will see him in Marbella in a few weeks. Definitely will go visit him because he's my guy and they have a great facility over there.

But yes, I will be in Spain in a couple weeks. Looking forward to seeing my guy, my amigo.