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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PISTONS v HEAT

May 27, 2006

Flip Saunders

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Three

Q. I wanted to ask you a question about Ben. He was guarding all those pick-and-rolls in the last series against LeBron. This series obviously he's banging against Shaq. How much is your success predicated on his defensive versatility, and how does he compare to say LeBron or Dwyane Wade as a defensive player compared to an offensive player and the impact they have?
FLIP SAUNDERS: Well, I think the one thing that's very interesting is that LeBron and Dwyane are very instinctive, the offensive players, and that they do things just out of instinct, and Ben is a very similar at the defensive end. He's not a guy that you can just say do this, this and this. A lot of things are just by instinct. There's no question that what we do defensively has a lot with his ability to play almost anybody on the floor. I mean, we've gone through games where we've switched off on the fives, he's guarded fives, fours, threes. It gives us the ability to handle different type things.
We're in a situation with Miami a little bit that he's our best defender as far as on Shaq, but we also would like to have our best defender on pick-and-rolls. Sometimes they run some pick-and-rolls with Shaq, but they also run some with Antoine Walker. Unfortunately we can't clone him and have him run both. That's the one negative thing.
Q. Are you anticipating them playing more zone, and do you think they're going to make some kind of an adjustment with Tayshaun offense to defense?
FLIP SAUNDERS: Usually when you make adjustment, it's what you do either from a defensive concept or personnel. Personnel-wise they played him with Antoine and Posey. I don't think that will change. They can put Dwyane out of it and he's even a little bit smaller. I think the way we played, going into last game, we believe in playing more equal opportunity offense. I think we did that.
Last game Rip had 20 the first half, Chauncey had 16 the second half, Tay had 24 for the game, Rasheed had his third and fourth quarter, had a few points, and Ben had the start. I think when we're playing our best, those are the things we're doing and not just pre-determining who we're going to go to. As far as if they play zone, I think they played five or six possessions total, we missed some open shots, so I guess if they play it, I think we'll be prepared to play against them.
Q. If you could only pick one, would you rather Chauncey be a distributor or a scorer?
FLIP SAUNDERS: I don't have to pick one (laughter). I can tell him in one part of the game I want him to do what. He just has to be aggressive.
I believe this: I believe that when Chauncey is scoring and he's aggressive offensively, he's a better distributor. Again, if he gets into pre-determining, I'm going to score now or I'm going to distribute now, he doesn't have as much flow offensively, and so I think he has to basically stay aggressive.
We run a lot of pick-and-rolls, so our point guard is extremely important for us to determine -- to get the second, third and fourth option with him being aggressive in those pick-and-rolls and making good decisions.
Q. Are you concerned at all about his confidence?
FLIP SAUNDERS: No. I mean, I told Chauncey, "don't quit shooting," and the whole locker room laughed. He's not going to quit shooting. Chauncey, he's a confident individual, and he can go through a game where he cannot score much, and he'll score in bushels when it comes down to it. I believe that he's not going to be shaded that way.
Q. Rasheed's ankle, do you think it will ever get back to 100 percent during these playoffs?
FLIP SAUNDERS: I think when anyone gets hurt you're never going to get back to 100 percent. First of all, when you enter the playoffs everybody is nicked up from where they were at the beginning, probably 90 percent. When you get a significant injury, when his ankle was a significant injury, what happens is he's probably going to be 75 or 80. We have to do more things to help him be more efficient at that percentage.
Q. Does their success in this building help at all mentally, or is that just an entirely different year?
FLIP SAUNDERS: Our success?
Q. Yeah.
FLIP SAUNDERS: I think any time you've been in a situation where you've been able to win in the building, I think you have a little bit of confidence. Think we're coming in with -- we know they're going to play well. I think tonight I'd be very surprised if both teams didn't play well tonight. I think both teams have an idea of what both teams are trying to do from an offensive and defensive end. I think the emotion of the first two games is out. I think that everyone is settled down and knows what they want to do, and I think you'll see both teams trying to play to their strengths. I would anticipate a good game.
I think the big key right now, the interesting thing is right now, that usually games are won in the fourth quarter, and the first two games of this series, both games have really been won in the first quarter. Teams that have gotten off to great start and great leads have been able to hold the leads and the other team has to kind of catch up, and they've had to exert so much energy they haven't been able to get over the hump. There's no question the first five or six minutes for us are going to be very important.
Q. I saw, I think -- I'm not sure if it was Turner or Sports Center last night where they showed the minutes, and Tayshaun had the third highest minutes behind LeBron and Steve Nash in the playoffs. Is that a concern of yours?
FLIP SAUNDERS: He's had a lot of minutes because we matched him up in the Cleveland series with LeBron, and then when LeBron was on the floor he was going to stay on the floor unfortunately for us. LeBron went six straight games 48 minutes. He logged a lot of games that series. You saw last game, we took him out earlier in the last game, tried to take him out. We're going to try to get him some significant rest as much as we can early. The last couple years he's logged probably more minutes in the playoffs than probably anybody on the team because of his versatility, but there is a concern to try to keep him as rested as we can.
Q. Has your appreciation of Tayshaun increased since you've coached him, and what makes him so valuable?
FLIP SAUNDERS: He's versatile. The first meeting I had with him, when he took the job he came in the first day and we talked about things and just talked about his personality and everything, and I want into Joe Dumars, and I said he reminds me so much of Garnett, just his personality, his approach, how he does things. He's very similar to K.G. in his versatility, and he can basically play all over the floor, does everything well, and can be very much a match-up. He's more of a 3 where cage I was more of a 4. I think from day one I could see how he was and his personality, and he's got very high basketball intelligence. I think that's probably the one thing that maybe sets him apart from a lot of other players is how intelligent he is on the floor.

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