NBA FINALS: PISTONS v SPURS

June 22, 2005

Larry Brown

COACH BROWN: No, I don't even want to think about that. I mean, this is about the players. Pop and I talked about this when the series started. You know, this has been an unbelievable experience for me this whole playoff run, but it's also been kind of hard because one of your dearest friends is coaching. But this is all about the players. It was obvious last night, so I don't even want to think about that.

COACH BROWN: No. I was in such awe last night just watching what those guys did. Because one, I think the team we're playing is great. They are unbelievably well-coached. But, you know, to come in here, I think everybody kept asking the same question, how are we going to get ourselves ready to play in Game 6? And then I just marvelled at their enthusiasm and their effort and the fact that they cared so much that I could have handled almost anything last night. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I think it's great for the league, and it will be a wonderful experience being part of that. So it's only good. It's like The Finals of the NCAA. Unfortunately in our country, they only remember the winning team, but I have a lot of admiration for both teams and what's going on.

COACH BROWN: I hope so. (Smiling). You know, I don't even really think about that last night. I told my team, pretend that noise is for you. But to realize how long this has gone and what sacrifices people have had to make, you hate to see anybody lose. And I really don't think there will be a loser coming out of this. I'm just hopeful that both teams play great. I looked at, you know, in Game 5, they won the game because they made plays. And as disappointed as we might have been, losing, and I look down there, I said, hey, Pop and I talked about it, they made shots, we didn't make shots late. In last night's game, same thing, we made plays at the end of the game and we won. So hopefully that will be the case tomorrow.

COACH BROWN: Well, I think anybody would be a good fit for my group. I think you've got to think about what Joe did, one, hiring Rick Carlisle. The points of emphasis, the things that he encouraged, defense, team play, respecting your teammates; they were all in place when I got there. I think the coach in that locker room would allow any coach that cares about the game and just cares about coaching to just step in and be comfortable. You know, my whole thing is the hardest thing I think in today, with today's game, is getting players to understand there's a difference between coaching and criticism. These guys allow me to coach. So that's all I ever want to do. They have allowed me to do that. So that's why I feel like for me this is a perfect situation. And again, don't take this wrong, I've been fortunate in my career that I've had that opportunity in a lot of places. It's not just -- it just didn't happen in Detroit. But for the players, you'd have to ask them.

COACH BROWN: Well, I think we're probably better. My team in Philly in 2001 was banged up. I was looking at one of the newspapers documenting all of Robert's great shots. We had a chance to win Game 3 at home, which a lot of people said, no, they beat you four out of five, but that was a pretty resilient group with one special player and everybody buying into what we were trying to do. I've had a lot of teams that have had chances, but I really honestly thought it wasn't meant to be; other teams were better. But last year, I truly felt we were the best team. This year, I truly believed from the outset that we had a chance to repeat. Now, I understand you've got to be pretty lucky.

COACH BROWN: Well, I don't think any of them have been through what he's been through, so maybe because of that, if you hear him talk, a lot of guys feel sorry about what has happened early in their career. He hasn't. He's used it as a motivation. He's mentioned to me a lot of times that maybe he wasn't ready, and now he has -- one, he respects the opportunity he's been given. And he's tried to get better. Anybody that knows me that's played for me, I've put a lot of responsibility on the point guard. He's probably had to sacrifice as much as anybody I've ever coached for the benefit of the team, and I think everybody in our locker room recognizes that. Then he has great confidence. You know, he always says that I have great confidence in him. I would hope as a coach that's something that all your players feel. But he has great confidence in himself and he knows his teammates feel the very same way, so he's able to perform at a high level when it really matters most.

COACH BROWN: No, you've been with me long enough, you can probably do that.

COACH BROWN: One, I've been blessed because I'm doing exactly what I always wanted to do. I don't know how many people are lucky enough to do that. Two, I don't think anybody in our sport has ever had the mentors that I've had, you know, perfect Mr. Iba and John McLendon and Pete Newell, Alex Smith, McGuire, I don't think anybody has been this fortunate as I have in terms of the people that have taught me. And I've been blessed with players that have allowed me to be myself and coach. So I'm hopeful that when all of this is said and done that people say the guy cared about the sport and cared about the players he taught. I'm not an innovator, but I'm relentless in what I believe in, so I guess that's it.

COACH BROWN: Well, I think you're the first person that's ever mentioned that to me when they talked about Chauncey. I always think super players are the ones that make players around them better, and sometimes it's at a great sacrifice. I think that, one, he's as good a shooter as I've ever coached. You know, Reggie was -- I don't count Reggie. (Laughter) I don't think that's fair. He's not afraid to fail. He just shows up. But it doesn't just happen. You know, he has -- I don't think he's missed one practice since I've been there. I don't think he's ever taken a possession off where he's not trying to do the right thing. And again, the fact that we've been able to win 50 games the two years Rip -- well, he played for Rick one year, but he was pretty successful at Minnesota in a different role. When Rick had him, I think people recognized you know, his value to the team, and I've heard Rick comment, I don't buy Detroit not having great players. Chauncey Billups is as good as anybody in the league at that position. And he led us to a championship last year and is giving us an opportunity to repeat. So that in itself says enough.