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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PISTONS v CELTICSMay 20, 2008Kevin GarnettPaul PierceBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game One Q. For both you guys, how much did it help to have the intensity of Game 7 coming into this one, just only having the one day off and being able to play right away? PAUL PIERCE: To tell you the truth, I didn't really think of it that way. I just look at it as 0-0, brand new series. You've got Detroit coming in, well-rested. This was a perfect game for them to come in and try to steal one, and we were aware of that. They probably figured we were tired from the last series while they've been practicing, and we just came out with extra focus and extra energy at the start of the game because we knew they would try to come out and try to get the first game. That's what teams usually try to do. KEVIN GARNETT: Well, it's what Paul said. I thought our energy tonight was pretty good. Any time you can get some rest I always feel like it's a good thing. We say rest is never a bad thing. But I don't think anybody in that locker room was thinking about anything other than what's the task at hand, and rest was not an option, so we weren't even think about that. We were really focused at shoot-around and went through our practices like we usually do, got off our foot, but this is a team that's going to take not only first and second and third efforts, but it's going to take that type of energy for 48 minutes to beat this team. Q. Kevin, talk about how you started offensively, and also, what has given you success against this great defense on the other side, not only in the regular season but tonight? KEVIN GARNETT: I'm just playing basketball, man. I try not to think, try to react and be aggressive, at the same time trying to make it easy for Paul, Ray and Rondo and Perk to try to make plays out there, trying not to be so one dimensional. I asked Doc, had a long conversation with him about moving it around and different things in the offense, and he's just letting me go. I have good communication with these guys. We have a little rhythm going on right now, and I think we've probably established that a little bit more come post-season. But for the most part, man, I know if I'm aggressive, I know at one point in time they have to double and that's when I can get guys easy shots and I can make some plays, so that's basically what it is. Some nights we make it look easy, some nights we look like garbage, so that's it. Q. What about your start? KEVIN GARNETT: I'll be honest with you, I can't remember half the things that go on during the game. I can remember every mess-up. Anything messed up in the game I remember. All the good things you expect because you work on it so much, but I just remember some of my assignments, some of the things on assignments I messed up, but I don't remember too many positive things along the way. That's all that matters. I might remember Paul, Ray taking it to the basket to get a two-hand dunk, Rondo Getting a nice steal. Very rarely I remember my own stuff, so excuse me. Sorry. Q. Paul, you said yesterday that you felt like you had been in an actual fight, that's how you felt when you woke up. How do you then get from there to today when you say you walk onto the court and you don't feel that exhaustion? PAUL PIERCE: Ice, massage, ice, massage, more ice and massage. Just get your rest, do the things -- take care of your body over the course of a day and a half. Actually coming to the game tonight before the game, I felt pretty good. I was able to get some rest, sit in the hot tub, ice down, and I didn't think I would feel this way before the game, especially after that Game 7 because I thought my body was just totally gone that night and all day the next day. But I've been doing the things necessary to get me back on the court so I'll feel fresh, and I was able to do that over the last day and a half. Q. When you look at Paul being able to do what he did in Game 7 and coming back physically and do what he did today and obviously mentally, he's always been a great player, but how do you see him growing through these playoffs and growing on his performance? KEVIN GARNETT: You see, like he said, ice, massage, ice, massage, what he's not telling you is he gets his work done every day when he's hurt, whether he's beat up, whether he's damn near walking on one leg, he gets his routine. Y'all don't get to see the real professional behind the scenes. The things he does on the floor don't surprise me. You see him work on it every day. He's probably one of the strongest mental players in the league. He's able to, for some reason, lock in a zone there and get his work done and come in today and carry it over to the floor. And not a lot of players can do that in this league. Q. On Sunday Kevin said his plan was to give you the ball and get the hell out of the way. Did you do that with him today? PAUL PIERCE: Oh, yeah. We wanted to establish Kevin. We know the success he's had against Detroit. We feel like Kevin has an advantage almost every night especially on the one-on-one or on the block, on the wing, so we try to get him the ball and establish that. Once you start doing that, it makes my life easier and guys on the perimeter because his unselfishness, his aggressiveness, opens up the lanes once he swings it. It's great to have a guy like this, and I've never played with anybody like this in my whole career. He just makes my life so much easier. Q. Coach Saunders said that he felt like you might have gotten some extra special motivation matching up against Rasheed. Is there any truth in that for you? KEVIN GARNETT: Say that again. Q. Coach Saunders felt like you had an extra special motivation going up against Rasheed Wallace. Is that true? KEVIN GARNETT: Playing Detroit is the motivation. It being the Conference Finals is the motivation. Knowing that it's a goal at hand and this is the task at hand, and if we can get through this, then there's one more step towards the goal, that's the motivation. Playing against Rasheed Wallace, yeah. I'm motivated playing against Maxiell, playing against Theo, playing against Antonio, whoever is out there competing. Yeah, I'm motivated. I'm motivated in more ways than one, though. It's not just an individual. Playing Rasheed is like looking in the mirror. Aside from Joe Johnson I think he's the most underrated player in this league, and when we play it's just like that. A lot of respect to that man and how he plays, but I'm motivated in more than one way. So yeah, he's right. Q. For both of you guys, they cut it to six a couple times in the fourth quarter but you came back with a few really strong offensive possessions. Have the two Game 7s that you've gone through helped you keep your composure for instances like that? PAUL PIERCE: I think so. Whenever you play so many games in the playoffs, you learn so much about yourselves. We're the only team in the league that's played 14 games coming into this series, so we've learned a lot. And this team has learned to keep its composure, especially when the lead is broke down and we know how to execute our plays. I thought we did a great job of moving the ball, especially when Detroit started to make a run. And we found an open man and knocked down shots and were able to push the lead back up and finish the game. End of FastScripts |
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