NBA FINALS: PISTONS v SPURS

June 8, 2005

Lindsey Hunter

Antonio McDyess

Ben Wallace

BEN WALLACE: A good defender is a good defender, so that's the bottom line regardless of where you're at where you're playing at or what position you're playing. He's a good defender, you just have to defend.

BEN WALLACE: We had all year to get prepared for this. It's not going to be no surprises in these games, so, you know, we're prepared. So we're not worried. We're ready to play.

BEN WALLACE: Tim Duncan presents a challenge that's unique. He's different from pretty much any other big man in the league. He can bring both the power game and he can defend if he needs to. He's a big challenge for us and for the most part, everybody here, we need to step it up.

BEN WALLACE: As far as the physical aspects of the game, yeah, he's going to be a lot easier to guard as far as the competition that level and the will to win and coming out and competing every night is going to be pretty much the same.

BEN WALLACE: No, it's no accident at all. You know, this league has built itself on, you know, on offense, on the offensive ends and usually the teams that win, you know, are the guys that can come down and get stops when we need them and make plays when they need them on both ends of the floor. It's no accident that we're here.

BEN WALLACE: I don't know, we'll leave that up to y'all. Y'all can call it what y'all want. It's going to be great for me to be here and for both teams, but we'll let y'all write those statements and figure out.

BEN WALLACE: No, not really because there's no glitz and glamour in my game. I find ways to win.

BEN WALLACE: Like I said, it doesn't bother me one way or the other. We just come out and play. Basketball don't always have to be pretty.

BEN WALLACE: We have a nice group of guys here that care about each other. We have a veteran cast here, we have a veteran coaching staff and everybody knows what it takes to win in games. Everybody knows when, you know, you've got somebody on the team that's down or not in the fight with you. You know, everybody knows that you've got to step it up and pull together and play as a team as one unit. You know, it's no surprise the way that we've been able to handle this adversity.

BEN WALLACE: Like I said, it didn't bother us what people think about this team or what people say about this team. We're going to come out and we only know how to play one way and that's all out, both ends of the floor. So regardless of what people say, what people call us, we're going to be who we are.

ANTONIO MCDYESS: Totally. You know, I try to, you know, take a little more on the outside, making shots on the outside. I'm not as explosive as I used to be. I just try to play a little more smarter, knowing when to shoot, knowing when to drive the ball. Certain points on the floor I just try to pick and choose what to do. Before I used to try to jump over people and go in the lane.

ANTONIO MCDYESS: Of course. No question. I think I couldn't ask for anything better than where I'm at now, coming off the bench and the guys have a lot of confidence in me when I step out on the court. All credit to Larry, it's great when a coach tells you to go out and relax; you can play.

ANTONIO MCDYESS: I don't know, I never thought about it that way. I think for us, for me personally, I'm just happy to be The Finals. For them they are happy just to be back again. A lot of people probably counted us out, but it's kind of funny because I looked at it as two No. 2 seeds going against each other.

ANTONIO MCDYESS: It's going to be a tough series this series, like, you know, Miami and Detroit last series. .

LINDSEY HUNTER: I think it will be a good series. True basketball enthusiasts who know how the game should be played, I think they will love it. Other people that want, you know, the star-studded, all of the underlying stories and all that, they probably won't be too intrigued, but ultimately, everybody will be entertained.

LINDSEY HUNTER: A little I guess. We've watched him throughout the season and we've seen the job that Bruce has done in the playoffs. He has his hands full with Rip now.

LINDSEY HUNTER: Oh, yeah, we all do. It's amazing how many guys that you wouldn't think would speak up on this team, but we've got, I mean, our whole team, everybody speaks up and everybody listens. That's what's really unique, regardless of who it is, people speak up and guys respect it.

LINDSEY HUNTER: No, no concern for us. I think we had a tough series, and we're expecting no less right now. You know, rest really isn't -- I think the Spurs probably needed that and are itching to play. I don't think it means anything one way or the other.

LINDSEY HUNTER: That's what you want. The Lakers, everybody had crowned them the champs already last year, and then it was only fitting for us to want to play the team that everybody thought was the best. It's the same this year. You know, everybody I think for the most part is picking the Spurs to win it. I haven't heard anybody picking us yet, but, you know, they are a great team and you can't take anything away from them. We feel as though we are a good team and we deserve to be here.

LINDSEY HUNTER: Well, they don't have Shaq, but they have Tim Duncan, and so he poses a lot of the similar problems as far as low-post play. They don't have Dwyane Wade but they have Ginobli, and they have Tony Parker. So they pose a lot of different problems. We have to as a defensive unit really pay more attention to a lot more guys than we did in Miami and it will be a big challenge for us.