	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS v PISTONS

May 29, 2007

Mike Brown

CLEVELAND, OHIO: Game Four

Q. Hey, Mike, can you give us the latest on Larry? Is he going to try it play?
COACH BROWN: You know, I won't know until an hour before tip-off. He's with our trainers and doctors now and I don't have an update. I won't know until an hour before tip-off.

Q. Mike, if he does decide he's going to give it a go, will he start?
COACH BROWN: Most likely, yes, sir. If he's going to play I'll most likely start him, yes, sir.

Q. If he can't go, who will start?
COACH BROWN: Eric Snow or Daniel Gibson, one of those two guys, most likely will start.

Q. Coach, you shot 37% first game, 40% second, 49% third, what it is the key to shooting well tonight?
COACH BROWN: We need to continue to move the basketball, we did a nice job of moving bodies in Game 3 and we were aggressive attacking the rim, LeBron James came out early and attacked the rim, and we all followed suit from there, and I have to do a better job of making sure I give other guys an opportunity to score.
In Game 3 I called Drew's number, Z's number, Sasha's number and I have to continue doing that to take the load off LeBron.

Q. Mike, would you consider bringing Daniel Gibson off the bench to give your bench a lift?
COACH BROWN: Yeah, I would consider it. If Larry doesn't play?

Q. Right.
COACH BROWN: Yeah, I would consider it. It's going to be either Gibson starting or Eric starting. We're not quite sure exactly where we want to go with that, but most likely it will be one of those two guys starting the game tonight if Larry can't go.

Q. Mike, how much of Game 3 have you looked back on in terms of watching a film and seen any growth from your team in terms of playoff basketball and that atmosphere and growing from that game?
COACH BROWN: Every game we grow, even the games that we got beat. You know, the more games you play the deeper you go, the more games you play against an experienced playoff team like the Detroit Pistons, and I think our guys handled this experience, they handled it last year and through the earlier rounds really well in terms of trying to learn and grow and get better and be more focused the next time they're stepping out on the floor.

Q. Larry wasn't at shootaround today, could you describe the treatment he did get and is this the type of treatment that was really to get him to play tonight?
COACH BROWN: He was at shootaround today, he just didn't participate in it. The one thing I don't do, I don't necessarily get into the treatments and stuff like that. You know, I'm waiting to see what the doctors say, whether or not he can go.

Q. Because of his history with not only injury but missing games for unfortunate circumstances, how much could you sense from him that he really wants to be in this game tonight?
COACH BROWN: He wants to play. He definitely wants to play. That's the sense that I get from him. But a lot of it's not going to necessarily be in his control. You know, if he's out there and he's limping or he's looking like he won't be able to help us, or it will give the Pistons an advantage, I'm going to have to make the decision of sitting him or keeping him out on the floor, like I did in the fourth quarter of the last game.

Q. Mike, do you need more production off your bench, do you think?
COACH BROWN: I would love to get production off the bench, that would be great. They have stepped up and played big games for us, the biggest thing is they got to make sure they come in and are focused on our coverages defensively, and they continue to try to do whatever the starters, or the group out on the floor, was doing for us. But, you know, I'm not sitting here saying I got to get ten points from this guy and three points from that guy. The more production you get from your bench obviously it's easier to win ballgames, so I would love any type of production from our bench. The main thing is being solid and not making a ton of mistakes.

Q. On some level the Pistons guards, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, on some level they were questioned about their play from the coach, the media, public, whatever. What do you expect to see from those two players? And do you have any thoughts about how you will deal with them?
COACH BROWN: Those are two great players. There is no way we can stop either one of those guys. They're veterans that have won a championship before, they've been here numerous times. They're going to come out and attack tonight, it's as simple as that. They're going to attack and look to get going. Chauncey Billups is going to look to get going earlier than what he does, and Rip is going to off the bat look to attack us.
We're going to have to make sure that we just make them work for their shots. Only thing we can do is contest their shots and continue mixing up the coverages, because those two guys are too good of players to sit back and let them be the aggressors. If they're the aggressors tonight, they're going to win. If we don't help and contest shots, they're going to win. So we're going to have our hands full tonight.

Q. Mike, how much will your strategy chang without Larry in the lineup, both on offense and defense?
COACH BROWN: It won't change much. It will change my rotation some and who's out on the floor but it won't change much.

Q. What did you see in Webber's game Sunday? It looked like he was moving about as good as he has since he got back. Are you seeing an arc of improvement with Chris?
COACH BROWN: Chris is a talent that we have a lot of trouble with because not only can he shoot the basketball, and rebound, but the one thing he does well is he passes the ball. And so when he catches the ball in the low post, you know, we have problems with him because we can't double him, because if you go to double-team him, he's going to find the open guy. So he's going to face a lot of single coverages, every once in a while we may throw in a double-team to throw him off a bit.
He played well in Game 3 and I think it was Game 2 in the third quarter he came out and played well when we were up big. He gave two or three baskets to get them back in the game. It's just a question of whether or not he gets going. But he had a solid game in Game 3.

Q. Mike, LeBron, I'm not talking about the 32 points that he scored the other night but the intangibles that he brought to the game, do you need him to play in that attacking mode to be able to win these games?
COACH BROWN: Yes, he definitely set the tone for us, by attacking. One of the things we've talked about this whole series, especially after Game 1, Rasheed had seven blocks, I think, in Game 1 and he changed a lot of shots, his length and his understanding and feel and so on and so forth, he is probably, what, in the top 5 in terms of power forward/centers in the entire league, how to play defensively, and we were going into -- we were going to the basket, LeBron and the rest of our guys, including a couple of our big guys that drove the ball, looking to double-clutch or move to the ball so it won't get blocked. So it ended up changing a lot of things in the stat sheet.
I told the guys, you can't do that. You have to put the onus on the referees, and you have to go at Rasheed's chest, and Webb has great hands and timing, and we have to attack the chests and put the onus on the referees to make them make the call. And LeBron came out and set the tone, I thought right off the bat in Game 3. And we need him to be aggressive and attack the rim and attack it, you know, looking to score the basket or score the basket and get fouled.

Q. What are the one or two things you can point that explains why Ilgauskas is so much more effective in the playoffs this year than last?
COACH BROWN: He's a rhythm player and last year he got hurt, I don't know, a week or so before the end of the season. We had two to four games left, and we had already clinched the second seed, and I wanted to rest my guys those last few games. And we had 40-something wins and I went to all my guys and I said, I'm going to sit you, I'm going to sit you, I'm going to sit you, and everybody was okay with it. And when I went to Z, he said, "No, no, Coach, I need to play. I need to get my rhythm," and I understand that, you know, some guys are just built that way.
So I just kept saying my prayers that he wouldn't get hurt and crossed my fingers every time he stepped out on the floor, and tried to play him as much minutes as he could so he could get his rhythm back and he was disjointed because he wasn't playing with the regular guys and the regular rotation and it took him a little bit. The Washington series he was sluggish scoring the ball, but I thought he helped us defensively with his length, and against Detroit he started coming into himself a little bit as the series went along and putting points on the board for us. So I think it was a rhythm thing for us more than anything else.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297