NBA FINALS: PISTONS v SPURS

June 15, 2005

Larry Brown

COACH LARRY BROWN: No, I have a theory in Game 1 and 2: They had so much control, and then we expended a lot of energy to get back. We were down 17 or 18, cut it to seven late, and then you know, you've got to play perfect at the end. We didn't come down with the defensive rebound and they made a shot and it was and that kind of took the air out of us. Then Game 2, we got down 23, cut it to eight, and that was a foul on Ginobli with two seconds on the shot clock, he hits two free throws, and again you've got to play perfect. I think that kind of took the winds out of our sails. Last night you know, we just made plays at the end like they have made all series. I think the critical part probably was the end of the third quarter, you know, we went on that 9-2 run, and I think it gave us a lot of confidence and a lot of life and maybe -- well, I don't know what happened with San Antonio, but we played perfect in the fourth quarter, in every area.

COACH LARRY BROWN: Yeah, but the way they played the first two games, after the Miami series, I don't know, they dominated in so many areas those first two games. I think when I was a coach at San Antonio, we had a series with Portland when I was there. They drilled us the first two games in Portland. I think we came back and drilled them two games. We went back Game 5, they drilled us. We came back Game 6, we won, all of a sudden game 7 was a nail biter. That was a play that we had Rod Strickland, and I didn't think it was a bad pass. We just had bad communication. But, I don't know, usually you do expect games with the two teams that are left to be, you know, real competitive. I certainly felt last night was competitive. You know, as a coach you never feel like the game is over. But I would think that if we can play with the same kind of energy we did this last game, that, you know, hopefully the games will be decided at the end.

COACH LARRY BROWN: Well, better now than I was when we first got him. And I can relate to that, when I was a college coach, I had a kid named Archie Marshall, in the NCAA Final Four, he tore his knee up in the semifinal game. Then he came back and missed the whole next year, but he started practicing in January. Every time he jumped I had a -- well, I have acid reflux, but I felt like I had it. And then the next year, you know, every practice, every time there was a jump ball or something like that, or he jumped in the crowd, I had a hard time with it. I've had same reaction with McDyess when he came. You know, he's been through so much. You know, I'm sure he's told you he's thought about giving it up. He's worked so hard. So I asked him every trip down the court, I think, how he was feeling, and I've gotten better over the course of time. I've said this numerous times, that, you know, we have the best therapist or guy in the world in Arnie (Arnie Kander, strength coach) and he's given McDyess a lot of confidence and has really helped him. But from a personal standpoint, yeah, I worry, and he gets mad at me. But you know I see signs. They tease him, "Oh, that looked like Phoenix," or, "Oh, that looked like when you were in Denver." And he's been better each day. We gave him days off during the season, but he's gotten better each day, and I think I've gotten better.

COACH LARRY BROWN: Again, you know, last year, if you look at our bench, and I remember hearing all the comments about us as we went through the playoffs, the contributions of Corliss (Williamson) and Mike James and Memo (Okur) and Lindsey and Elden made, you know, that's ten-deep. It was obvious, I don't think we win without a bench that deep. This year, you know, and it's not their fault, but we lost Carlos Delfino, who I think would definitely be in the rotation now if he had not gotten hurt. But our bench has really been short. Elden played more in the Miami series because of the matchup with Shaq, obviously. In this series, with as much as they go up and down, you know, I've got to be real careful when we can use him, but I'm not afraid to. So our bench has come down basically to Lindsey and McDyess, and when you play against a team as good, as well-coached, as deep as San Antonio, it's critical that those guys come in and are productive. For instance, last night, when I looked at the stat sheet at halftime, you know, I think I had five guys play 19 minutes or more. You know, at halftime, all I kept thinking was, I've got to find a way to get McDyess and Lindsey and maybe Carlos in the game so we'd be a lot fresher down the stretch.

COACH LARRY BROWN: Yeah, well, Lindsey, even at 34 is as good an on-ball defender as there in the league, and when you play against a dribble-drive team and penetration team like them, and you have Ginobli and Parker, he can play both of them. I mean, nobody is going to stop either one of them, but he can play both of them. He's strong enough to fight guys on the post and quick enough to keep people in front. If you don't have that, you've got no chance against San Antonio. McDyess, when you consider how good Timmy is and how well they get him the ball and include him in their offense, you need a guy like McDyess, who is not only an offensive option because you need that coming off the bench; he's a defensive option for us with his quickness and athleticism. As many pick-and-rolls as they put us in, if your big guys can't get out on screens and move their feet, you've got no shot. I look at him like another star. You know, with Rasheed and Ben and McDyess, I think we're as deep as any team in the league at the four and five position. Game 2, even though our team got beat, McDyess got a lot of confidence in that game, and I think it carried over last night.

COACH LARRY BROWN: One, he's playing against an unbelievable defender. You know, Bruce never gives up. He's really intelligent. He's real physical. So he's got a challenge. I think if you look at the run San Antonio has had, he had to guard Marion, he had to guard Ray Allen, he had to guard Carmelo, he can guard you in the post, he can guard you out on the perimeter. He's relentless in what he does. I think Rip is starting to figure out that he can't back him down and do herky-jerky things. You've got to do what you do best and that's come off the screens and shoot the mid-range jumpshot. Joe and I talked, we try to set screens a little differently because of the way they were defending in hopes of helping him a little bit. I think he started to understand that when he comes off a screen, he's got to shoot with rhythm, not worry about where Bruce is, not worry about drawing the foul and just playing. And then the other thing, I think he got some easy baskets yesterday on the break, and if you get some easy baskets, sometimes your jumpshot is not as difficult, and that really helped him. But he was relentless last night on both ends, and I think you've got to be that way against Bruce.

COACH LARRY BROWN: I don't think we did anything. You know, one, he's not going to have a game like that -- I get so tickled about not having any superstars in these playoffs. You know, you've got Tim Duncan, you've got him, anybody that's watched the playoffs can recognize how special a player Manu is. But our offense was better, so I think it made our defense better. We got back, I think they scored four or five points on the break, and if you ask Pop, I think they would probably consider their team as good an up-and-down team as there is in the league, at least I do. So I think the fact that we got our defense set, didn't give easy baskets up in transition, you know, helped us contain him a little bit. But I don't think there's any way you're going to stop him. He's just relentless and he can take it to the goal. You know, he's making the three ball. I always thought when you played him, you've got to hope he shoots jumpshots, and lo and behold the first two games, I'm hitting my assistants and blaming it on them. (Laughter) You know, I don't think he got easy baskets in transitions, which helped us.

COACH LARRY BROWN: We didn't talk about being physical with any one player. We talked about how hard we needed to play in order to win. I think after the Miami series, a lot was taken out of us and we never matched the energy that San Antonio put forth on every possession. I don't think our guys realized until after we were too down if you're going to have any chance against them, you've got to play unbelievably hard, and usually when you play hard, you know, you're obviously more aggressive, you don't worry about fouls, you just play and I think that was the key.

COACH LARRY BROWN: You know, we got 23 points off turnovers and made them turn it over 18 times. We just talked about trying to take things away from them. I really believe if you react defensively, you're going to get beat. We tried to act a little bit -- you know, we trapped a little bit, we fronted on the post a little bit. You know, we got out on pick-and-rolls much better. I just think that Ben set the tone early. You know, I believe it would impact any team if you're driving for the goal like they did in Game 1 and 2, and there's nobody there, either to take the charge or to make you pick up your dribble or block the shot. I would believe that you'd have in your mind you can take it to the goal at any time. I remember when we played Indiana, the game they beat us here, I kept hearing them say, "Hey, just drive the ball, you know, we're not guarding dribble penetration." Well, last night, Ben has five blocks at the beginning of the game, a couple of them were on post plays but most of them were on dribble penetration. So that got us going. That made us more active. And again, we did the acting instead of reacting.

COACH LARRY BROWN: Well, it's almost like being in our situation. Last year, you know, we weren't the champs, and there were a lot of games we played against teams that I didn't think gave their best effort against us; we had none of those kind of games this year. Every time we stepped out on the court, I thought everybody was bringing their "A game". That's why I've always had so much admiration for, you know, teams like San Antonio, Chicago, the Lakers and Boston, when they were making their runs, because every single night, it's a big game. And yet, you have to have so much respect for guys that can bring it every single night and I think that's what it is when you talk about being a star. You know, everybody takes a challenge against you, and you have to be ready for that challenge every single night. But a lot of times, I don't buy looking at stat sheets, whether a guy had a big game or not. Sometimes stars, just by being out there, make other players around them better. That's how I judge the best players in this league. You know, Tim Duncan can get 12 points in a game and I think he can impact the whole game just by his unselfishness and the attention he draws and the way he plays. But it's not an easy thing. You know, it takes special players to be ready to play every single night at a high level because, you know, I'm sure that the person that's going against them wants to prove a point, and then when you do it on this stage, I always hear that, you know, guys make a reputation in the playoffs. Well, one, you're playing against the best competition obviously, and I don't do this before every game during the regular season, so I realize the impact. But he is special. You know, I got to watch him you know when Pop drafted him in '99 in Puerto Rico. I marveled at what he did last summer in an unbelievably difficult situation, and to be honest with you, I'm a huge fan of that kid. He doesn't take one possession off, that's why I feel good about our league when I see players like him and all the young stars we have.