NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 7, 2023

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Game 3: Pregame

Q. These past two postseasons you've really created a competitive advantage with your gapping defense, especially against offenses that rely on dribble penetration like the three opponents you've faced in the Eastern Conference. The Nuggets, however, are often able to puncture the front line of defenses with passing and cutting. Can you talk about the tactical challenges it poses to your defense specifically in terms of individual execution?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, it's complex. It's a headache. They can beat you with the pass, beat you off dribble, beat you from the three-point line, in transition.

So it really becomes about collectively wrapping your mind around doing really tough things. Sometimes it's not going to be perfect or how you thought it might go, but you have to compete and find a way to overcome.

Q. You've talked about the shooters when they have an off-night just keeping that let-it-fly mentality, believing that next game the numbers will turn. Jimmy talked about how much he enjoys getting his shooters their shots right in the pocket. What kind of confidence does it give coming from a fellow player, a leader on the team, as opposed to the coaching staff maybe giving that confidence? What's it say when Jimmy is all about getting them those shots even after off-shooting nights?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, for sure, it's way more impactful when it's coming from your two best players. Jimmy and Bam both are really unselfish. They both want to play the right way. They want to get guys involved. They understand intellectually how important it is to have everybody as a live weapon.

So you see them make a lot of simple plays. It doesn't have to be their play. It could be a play just where they get off the ball and other guys can be recipients of that.

In terms of the shooting, our guys always have that green light. They have the confidence of everybody. But we've also proven that we're not totally reliant on that because you can't always control whether you're making shots or not. You still can compete and find different ways to win a game.

Q. I know we've been talking about this almost every day now, but as we're getting to a Game 4 before Tyler could be available, is that too late to be fair to him and to this team with how you've been playing and incorporate him into everything?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I wouldn't necessarily say that. But we're still day-to-day. I don't have another update for you. He is scheduled to have another full-contact workout tomorrow.

He has not been cleared yet. So until he has been cleared, a lot of this stuff is really just hypothetical.

Q. The Nuggets all year have been really good at pushing off makes and misses, especially when Joker is on the floor. I was wondering if you could tell us about the challenge of making sure you get all five defenders back in transition?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, it has to be a sprint. You have to have a next-play speed mentality, for sure, because if you're late or you glitch for a second, Jokic is such a great defensive rebounder, if he gets anywhere from 12 to 15 to 18 rebounds, how many of those -- 10? -- will be bust-outs. So it's a little bit different than some of the transition stuff we've been dealing with in previous series.

But the common denominator is trying to take away some easy ones, relief ones. We've had some practice in playing against speed teams in the previous series.

Q. I know you've got bigger things on your plate today, but Byron Spruell was on ESPN this afternoon and said there's a chance for a second challenge next year. If the first one is successful, you get to keep it. Is that something coaches have clamored for?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yes. I think that would be good. Yeah. I think it would be good. I don't know what the unintended consequences are, but I always feel like if I burn one whenever, early in a game and you win it, it's like, oh, geez, I would like to have another one. But then we're dealing with -- if that is the case, then all the players starting the first minute of the game (twirls finger in the air). I hate that, as well.

Q. One of the more under-talked-about aspects of Jokic's game is his basketball IQ. I was wondering how big of a challenge does that present?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: That's a challenge. Yeah. That's why it transcends scheme. It really becomes a mentality. Our guys love to compete. They love big challenges, love to be out there in front of everybody, out there for everybody to judge, to see, but to really have it be decided between those four lines.

When you're dealing with seven-game series and each round it gets a little bit tougher, this is the ultimate challenge. It's a great team. They have really good habits. Jokic can manipulate your defense in so many different ways that I can't even get into. You just have to embrace that competition and find a way to overcome it regardless of how difficult it can be.

Q. I'm just curious, you became the youngest head coach at the time when you became the head coach, and you've been through so many different situations. I see you often bouncing stuff off Pat Riley and talking to him. I'm curious how your relationship with him has evolved over the years. Are you still bouncing ideas off him and different things?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: All the time. He is the voice I trust more than anybody. I listen to my staff -- we're in the trench every single day. Pat and I's relationship has evolved in so many different ways over the years. Now it's really -- he is just a calming presence. Sometimes in those moments in between, probably if you see us maybe in the stands or after practice or something, everybody probably thinks that we're scheming and planning and all this stuff. A lot of times we're just BSing and he is asking how the kids are doing. He just has a way of alleviating some of the pressure that we all feel.

Q. Pat has often used the phrase "the Playoffs tell," about whether or not he had a guy who could play well in these kind of situations. How do you scout that? Because it seems like you can scout everything else -- height, size. But how do you know a guy like a Gabe Vincent is going to perform when the lights are brightest or Duncan Robinson or Max Strus?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't think that's fair. I don't think anybody can predict that. None of us are Nostradamus in terms of that. What you try to do is just find like-minded guys where we speak the same language, where it's a fit, and then we can figure out the rest. Then ultimately we all have to prove it on this kind of stage.

But when you're not speaking the same language and you don't view competition the same way, whatever your culture may be, I think that's where it can be a little bit complicated.