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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PISTONS v CELTICSMay 25, 2008Flip SaundersDETROIT, MICHIGAN: Practice Day Q. You said yesterday that this is as important of a game as you guys have played. Given that, do you just throw out all the stops, change things, do anything drastic? COACH FLIP SAUNDERS: Well, I mean, I think one thing this series has proven more than anything, the team that can sustain the most energy over the course of the game is going to win. We can't have anything less than all-out, throw-your-body type of energy, point blank. Q. (Inaudible). COACH FLIP SAUNDERS: I think as you get into it, at some point you can throw out -- at some point it becomes exerting your will. I thought last night, especially at the beginning of the game, I thought Boston, a lot the way Garnett was, they exerted their will at the beginning of the game, and then he got in foul trouble. But they just came out extremely aggressive. The first play of the game we gave him a back-door cut, wide-open lane. That's usually not the way you want to start. It just kind of snowballed and started from there. Q. You guys have done a good job moving the ball from strong side to weak side. What was the difference yesterday? Was it what they did? COACH FLIP SAUNDERS: I've always said with us, happens, and we harp on it, and you guys have written about it probably every time we lose a game, but it's the same way, when we fall behind -- we've got to get off to better starts. My philosophy has always been you've got to win the first three minutes of each quarter and the last three, and if you win those 24 minutes in the game, usually you're going to win the game. We're getting off to such bad starts, we're getting down 8-0, 10-2, then all of a sudden you're falling behind, and one guy gets the ball and one guy thinks, well, I've got to get us going because we're not getting us going, and he tries to do things one-on-one, and that's out of character for us. Then what happens is it snowballs, and then what happens is we miss a shot, and then the next guy gets it, and he starts thinking, I've got to go because I might not get back. I'm going to get us going. So then what happens is we're in a situation where we're not playing with that flow, which is what we need to play with. Q. Do you say, we're going to run these plays -- COACH FLIP SAUNDERS: No, we come out the first couple plays we're going to look to run, but sometimes if you make stops or you're in a transition-type flow, a lot just depends on situations. Q. (Inaudible). COACH FLIP SAUNDERS: I think we've got to play him, play him somewhere. I think right now whether we play him at the -- we have three guards in at a time or whatever, but he has been one of our most effective players as far as on the floor and one of our most -- he's been competitive, he's done everything, he's done a good job as far as defensively, and I guess my surprising point has been just how he's had so much composure. Q. Do you think Chauncey is a little held back mentally because of what he's been through? COACH FLIP SAUNDERS: You'd have to ask him. I don't know. Q. Even though you guys overcame the start before the first quarter was over, did that kind of get you just -- COACH FLIP SAUNDERS: It wears you down. You can't keep on playing from behind. You keep on doing that -- a team only has so many runs as far as in a game. And so the way you look at it, you're down 10-0 and you have an 11-0 run, but if you're even, it's 10-8 and now all of a sudden you're up nine or ten and now you've got control of the game. That's usually when we're at our best, and we haven't been able to do that. Q. In Games 1 and 3 they had more force on their perimeters defensively, they were able to shut you guys down, take away the ball, things like that. Game 2 they're down -- is it as simple as they're quicker at some positions? COACH FLIP SAUNDERS: Well, they are quicker at some positions. You can be quicker in position but we have to make quicker decisions. End of FastScripts |
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