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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PISTONS v HEAT

May 31, 2006

Ben Wallace

DETROIT, MICHIGAN: Game Five

Q. Ben, could you just talk about the energy level that you in particular came out with tonight, just seemed a little bit more energized than we've seen you the last couple games.
BEN WALLACE: You know, it was easy for us to come out with energy tonight. You either find a way to get a win or you go home. We came out with a lot of energy, executed our sets, got stops on the defensive end, got good looks on the offensive end and were able to get a get.
Q. Could you talk about your approach to defending Shaq? It seemed like you took him out of his rhythm early on tonight.
BEN WALLACE: I wanted to mix it up on him, played behind sometimes, sometimes front, tried to keep the ball out of his hands. For the most part we just wanted to keep a body on him and not allow him to get too many dunks or layups.
Q. There were a lot of reports about dissention in the Piston locker room. Was anything said tonight before the game that maybe changed the attitude or solidified you guys a little bit to perform like you did?
BEN WALLACE: That's one thing I never really had to worry about. Since I've been a Piston is going out there and not having everybody on the team out there willing to fight for every inch of the court.
As far as dissention in the locker room and all that, we're going to play until the end, and that's what it's all about. We don't worry about what they say or what people think is going on. You know, we're here to play basketball. That's our job and that's what we try to come out and do every night.
Q. You had a play in the 3rd where Shaq got underneath you and you were able to stuff it and get the jump ball. Can you talk about how difficult that is, to be able to stop his forward momentum like that? Do you think that seemed to energize your teammates towards the fourth quarter defensive?
BEN WALLACE: You know, it's a tough task to go down there and try to fight with Shaq for 48 minutes. I don't know how much of that was skill or determination, you know, but we all get lucky sometimes.
Q. It seems like in this series we keep hearing the winning team say "we had more energy," and I was wondering is there some magic elixir or maybe something you can come up with before a game to get that energy, or how does this happen, this whole series, I guess?
BEN WALLACE: It just happens. It's one of those things where you can't coach it, you can't draw plays for it or anything like that. It just happens. You just step out on the floor and you're either energized and ready to play, or you're not. That's one thing about energy is it's effort. You can't coach effort. If you come out and give that type of effort and that type of energy, then it's tough to beat.
Q. Could you just talk about the mentality of the team going into the game knowing it was lose or you're done, and also the challenge of trying to win two more?
BEN WALLACE: Right now we've approaching every game like a tournament. You lose and you go home. That's how we try and take it, just one game at a time, one possession at a time, try to get one stop at a time and execute on the offensive end. That's how we came out and approached the game tonight, and that's how we're going to approach every game from here on out.
Q. Does this put all the pressure on them now to win Game 6 because it's very highly unlikely they could come back here and win Game 7?
BEN WALLACE: You know, I don't think they have too much pressure on them. They're still up. We've still got to come out and play desperate. They're still up, and everybody knows any team in this league likes to play from the front, and it's tough to play from behind. Right now we're playing from behind, and all the pressure is still on us. We've got to go out as a team and take care of business.
Q. Are you aware that people are saying that you haven't quite been Ben Wallace and that your effort hasn't been what it's been in the past?
BEN WALLACE: I don't worry about what people say. That's one thing I learned a long time ago; you can't tell people what to say about you and you can't overreact to what people say about you. You know, I am who I am. I come out and do whatever I can do to help this team win. Of course we're all human. All nights it might not be enough, and like tonight it was probably just enough. I don't worry about what people say to me. That doesn't bother me and doesn't affect my game, doesn't change who I am.
Q. Ben, what does winning tonight, not only winning but the way you guys won, playing the way people are accustomed to seeing the Pistons play, what does it do for your confidence going into Game 6?
BEN WALLACE: This team never had a lack of confidence, but it was good to see everybody come out and be on the same page energized and ready to play. I think everybody came into the game, were ready to contribute, and they were doing things. That's what it's about. We're not asking anybody about come out and score 30, 40 points. We're just asking people to be ready to do the little things that make a big difference.

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