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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS v SPURSJune 7, 2007Mike BrownSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Game One Q. Long-term what would you like to see happen with LeBron, the person, in terms of what influence he can have on a breadth of things? There's Arthur Ashe, Muhammad Ali, then Jordan on the other side. Just curious what you would like to see happen with him. MIKE BROWN: That's real deep, wow. I just want him to keep growing and keep being himself. I don't want him to try to be this guy or that guy or have the same impact that this guy has or that guy has. I want him to have his own impact, whatever that's going to be. That's still yet to be determined. He's a young guy, so he's got a lot of growing he's going to be doing on the court and off the court, and I truly believe he's just a very good individual, and he's going to impact society, I believe, in a great way. But it's going to be his own individual way. Q. Can you talk a little bit about how Tony Parker has improved and in what way since you were here with him as a player, and in general terms can you talk about your defensive concerns with him in this series and what you need to try to prevent him from doing? MIKE BROWN: Well, he's lightning quick. He's got to be one of the fastest guys in the NBA with the basketball. So in transition, baseline to baseline, we've got to make sure we're getting back, and we're not giving him any easies. I think he's the only small in the league that may be in the top ten in the league in points in the paint. He gets in that paint and in the half court, it's going to be tough guarding him because of his quickness and because of his ability to knock that little push shot down that he has. He's grown a lot since I left. I was here when he was a rookie and got a chance to see him develop in the early stages of his career. He's always been lightning quick, but you just see the maturity with his entire game now, the poise that he has out on the floor, the leadership that he has out on the floor that at least he didn't really have. It's tough being a rookie and starting for a team with two future Hall of Famers in David Robinson and Tim Duncan, but he handled it better than anybody I know. Q. It's been a long couple days since you guys have played a basketball game. It's been a long day today to wait for a game. Tell us about the mindset of the team and what you guys' day was like, how you passed the time to make it seem to go quicker, any jitters or anything like that that you've seen? MIKE BROWN: I don't know. I don't know what the guys did. We had shoot-around. They ate after shoot-around, but I don't know what they did between eating and now. I'm assuming they probably had their same routine. I know I did. That's what this is about. There is going to be some downtime that goes along with this, and we expect that in terms of the mindset for the team. I don't know, I think everybody is loose. They're in there and they're going through their usual routine; guys that usually sing every once in a while are singing, guys that stretch are stretching, guys that lounge are lounging. I think our mindset is what it should be. I don't think anybody is tight, but we'll definitely see when that ball goes up. Q. There have been players, athletes in the past, great players, who have been criticized for maybe not playing their best in big games and kind of shirking away from the big moment. I don't think LeBron is going to have that issue, particularly after Game 5. But what have you seen in him that makes you think he's the kind of guy that wants to grab the big moment? MIKE BROWN: I seen it from day one, and I've been trying to tell everybody that this guy is a special player and a special human being. He's so unselfish that people criticize him for it. I don't understand that. But it is what it is. He's a guy that can do it all. Not only can he do it all, he has room to grow, which is scary. He hasn't even peaked out yet. He can get a lot better with his game on both ends of the floor. He's a dangerous person or a dangerous basketball player when it comes to helping his team win because he's a willing teammate, he's a willing passer. Q. Certain guys maybe get quiet before a big game, other guys are talkers. Is there something you can see in him, a look or something before a big game, that lets you know that he's there? MIKE BROWN: No. When he had 48 or something like that against Detroit in gave 5, somebody told me after the game, LeBron scored 29 of our last 30 points. I said, "Are you bleep-bleep-bleeping me?" I couldn't believe it. I was absolutely floored that he scored that many points in a row for us. I'm just used to LeBron just playing and getting stuff in the flow and not forcing anything. So there's nothing that I know of that I can tell when he's going to have a big game scoring or a big game assist-wise, I just know he comes ready to play for us all the time and he helps us win games. Q. Has Larry's condition improved at all? He had almost a week off, but he still seems to be limping a little bit. And also, have you given any thought to starting Daniel Gibson at point guard, both as a performance-based issue and because of Larry Hughes' issue? MIKE BROWN: Not on starting Daniel Gibson at all, and then Larry, I think his foot is still a little sore, but I don't know how sore it is. We did give him the last few days off. Just like in the Detroit series, we kind of watched it and monitored it as he went along. If we didn't feel like he could go, whether it was us or the doctors or himself, then we sat him down. Q. Could you elaborate on why you wouldn't give a thought to starting Daniel Gibson considering the series he had against Detroit? MIKE BROWN: We're 12-and-4 in the playoffs, won a lot of games at the start of the regular season with the starting lineup, so for me to start somebody else because they had a big game, I don't know how much sense it would make to try to mess with what's gotten you here. We have a nice rotation, everybody understands what the role is, so on and so forth, so I just think we keep going. Q. Could you talk a little bit about your personal journey from humble beginnings in the coaching world with the Denver Nuggets over a decade ago to now coaching in the NBA Finals for the first time? MIKE BROWN: When I started with the Nuggets, I wasn't in the coaching world, I was an unpaid intern, so I wasn't anywhere near coaching. But I got lucky. I was blessed, I caught a break and Bernie brought me in as an unpaid intern, which turned into a job as a video coordinator. And I feel fortunate that I was with a guy like Bernie Bickerstaff because he allowed me to grow. He helped me take the necessary steps to continue trying to move up the ladder per se in the NBA when it comes to coaching. He got the job in Washington, then he brought me as a bench coach at 27 or something like that, which was a big risk on his part because I didn't play in the NBA. But he stuck with me, he taught me a lot of stuff, and I worked my tail off, and then Pop called. I spent three years here with Pop and we had some success obviously, and then Rick called. I went to Indiana for a couple years before this opportunity came upon myself. Q. As an unpaid intern, did you ever dream that you would be in this position so quickly? MIKE BROWN: No. You know, the only thing I really dreamed about as an unpaid intern was when I was going to get my next pair of free tennis shoes and my next tee shirt that said Denver Nuggets that came out of the box. When they actually paid me that first year that Bernie brought me in, he said, "Young Buck, I'm going to give you 15 grand," and I had to be serious. I didn't want to be too excited. But inside, I was just like, "He's a sucker. 15 grand? I would have done it for free sneakers and shirts." So I thought I was overpaid. That's what I dreamed about when I first got the job. Q. I just got in here, but can you just talk a little bit about the situation that David Wesley has been dealing with the last few weeks and how hard it's been for him and what it's done for you as a coach? MIKE BROWN: In terms of him -- Q. With his death in the family. MIKE BROWN: When that stuff -- we had something like that happen with Larry Hughes last year. When that happens, we just want to make sure that whoever it happens to, they have our ultimate support, and if there's anything we can do, we just want to make sure that they know that we're behind them. You know, I want to give them space, give them time and let them get through it however they see fit. But I never put any pressure or anything like that on anybody, nor ask them questions about it, because if they want to talk about it or if they need something from me, they'll let me know. So I just kind of stay to the side and let them grieve however each individual does. Q. Damon said that he's flying under the radar in the NBA Finals. How difficult is that going to be for him to do? He's no longer the self-proclaimed best shooter or best-looking guy in the NBA now. MIKE BROWN: He said that? Q. He said that. How difficult is it going to be for him to maintain that flying under the radar? MIKE BROWN: I don't believe he said he wasn't the best-looking, nor the best -- I've got to go ask him. This is a trick question. Q. No, he seriously said it. MIKE BROWN: All I can say is, "wow." I'll check with him, though. End of FastScripts |
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