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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PISTONS v CELTICS

May 21, 2008

Doc Rivers

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Practice Day

COACH DOC RIVERS: Every game is tough. I said it the other day, everybody is trying to win, so it should be tough. To me it's more the mental toughness than the physical toughness, though physical plays a lot into it, as well. But I just think the mental toughness of all the games in this series and in the Western Conference series will be very high and very difficult.

Q. (Inaudible.)
COACH DOC RIVERS: Well, I don't know, it was yesterday, obviously. Rebounding I think is still the big key, and basically even last night. You know, we want to establish our way of playing, our pace. They want to establish theirs. So those are big keys, as well.

Q. How were you able to get the ball inside?
COACH DOC RIVERS: Well, I think when people see points in the paint they just assume post, and far more than that, it was a lot of drives to the paint, as well. We just want to attack. We want to attack off the dribble, we want to attack to the post. That's how we want to play every night, and in Game 1 we were able to do it.

Q. (Inaudible.)
COACH DOC RIVERS: You know, every time he's had a good game, someone has almost asked that question, do you think now he understands? Do you think now he gets it? You know what I'm saying? It's going to get harder every night. I think he realizes that all the time, whether he plays well or not, doesn't factor into that. Just because he understands what's going to happen, doesn't protect him from playing well or not playing well. And like I said yesterday, I don't take my eye off that it's his second year in the NBA and he's in the Eastern Conference Finals. You want him to be consistent every night, but when he's not, you prepare for that, as well.

Q. (Inaudible.)
COACH DOC RIVERS: I was comfortable before. He's played well against Detroit in certain games, and in a couple he didn't. In some quarters he did. It's basically where he's at in his career. But I'm very comfortable with it, and I've said that all along; I said it before the game. You have to guard him, guard his speed and we have to guard their size, and in both cases there's an advantage.

Q. (Inaudible.)
COACH DOC RIVERS: Yeah, well, we like just keeping the ball offensively. We had 27 assists last night, so we obviously shot a great field goal percentage last night. That's nice, as well. Our defensive pressure has to stay the same. I think we can do a better job on the glass, quite honestly, and keep them off the foul line.
So there's always room for improvement, and we want to do what we did and do it better.

Q. (Question about adjustments.)
COACH DOC RIVERS: I think most times it's set up if we're making major adjustments. It's probably not a good sign for either team, and I don't think either team is going to do that. Detroit is who they've been for years, and they're not going to come out and be a new team tomorrow. We're not going to come out and be a new team tomorrow, as well. You've got to play to the strong suits of your team, and you play around that and that's what you try to do.

Q. (Inaudible.)
COACH DOC RIVERS: Well, you talk about it and then you just go out and play. I wasn't concerned about Game 1, honestly as far as whether we were going to play or not; I just thought the intensity of the Game 7, the quick turnaround, and I said it before the game, I thought it was in our favor.
This is the game, Game 2, I've always thought is the game for the home team that is a danger game because of that false sense of security. We have to come out with a great intensity tomorrow. Detroit will be better tomorrow. Chauncey Billups will be better tomorrow, so will Rasheed, and we have to be ready for that, but we can be better, as well.

End of FastScripts

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