	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 FINALS: LAKERS v CELTICS

June 4, 2008

Doc Rivers

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Practice Day

Q. How much of a style change is this going to be from the first three rounds going up against this team?
COACH DOC RIVERS: Well, they're a great offensive basketball team. The toughest we've played clearly in the playoffs. You know, Detroit poses problems, as well, but they're really good. They spread the floor, they have the best scorer on the planet, and with Gasol and Odom posing problems with their size and quickness and their shooting that they put on the floor, it's a tough challenge for us defensively, there's no doubt about it.

Q. Do The Finals seem any different than any other round of the playoffs?
COACH DOC RIVERS: I think maybe for players, not for coaches. We watch the same tape, we do the same stuff. It's nice having the prep time, quite honestly. I think we needed it, just to rest, and the prep time was good. But other than that, it's just more questions. I read today that I bought a condo. I was like, "wow, that's interesting."

Q. Where?
COACH DOC RIVERS: I'm just saying someone told me that (laughing).
But other than that, no, there's no difference.

Q. First can you give an update on Tony Allen.
COACH DOC RIVERS: Oh, he's good. I'm going to let you finish, but he's good.

Q. Also, how does Gasol change how you defend Kobe? How is that different?
COACH DOC RIVERS: We don't change often. Again, the worst thing about the break is there's no other basketball on (laughter), and for us it's awful because what do you watch? I'm not watching anything else. So I was hearing how we kept changing the different defenses against LeBron, and I was thinking, "wow, I didn't know that."
So, you know, we play our defense, and we're not going to change our defense. Obviously you have to stay home more with Gasol, there's no doubt about that, because he not only is a great post player, he can shoot the ball, as well, and so does Odom. That's part of what makes them so difficult, their ability to spread the floor with the fours and fives. Most teams spread it with their ones, twos and threes shooting; they step their fours and fives off and they can spread it with them, and that's different for us. A little bit of that is was with Ilgauskas and with Rasheed.
The good thing about playing Detroit, they were a great shooting team. I think the two best shooting teams in the NBA are Detroit and the Lakers, and we just played one of them. That poses problems for us. Getting back to McDyess, we made an adjustment, we didn't change our defense. We just made a better focus on getting back to McDyess, and we have to do the same with Gasol.

Q. You've got Paul, Ray and Kevin in their first Finals. It may not be fair, but are guys who win a championship viewed differently?
COACH DOC RIVERS: Yeah, clearly. Coaches are, players are, organizations are, there's no doubt about that. And hopefully that's what everybody wants. You know, obviously with our team that's clearly true, but I'm just saying overall league-wide, that's what you play for. That's what you should play for. Yeah, there's no doubt. That's why Kobe is viewed differently. As tough as people have been on Kobe, could you imagine if he had never won a title how tough it would be.

Q. The guys who haven't won, though, the guys like Barkley and Patrick --
COACH DOC RIVERS: Yeah, they're viewed differently. I never think they should be. Patrick Ewing is one of the greatest centers to ever play the game, ever, whether he won a title or not. He shouldn't be faulted. He had teammates like me (laughter). That clearly didn't help his case (laughter).
But really, Patrick, he's one of the greatest of all time.

Q. With the Lakers and Celtics in The Finals again, there's so much in the styles, everybody is talking about matching Bird and Jerry West and Bill Russell and all these images. How much do you think these players are conscious of trying to live up to that?
COACH DOC RIVERS: I don't know if they're conscious of living up to it. They are definitely conscious of it. I think you have to be a mushroom or something if you're not. It's on every day. Everybody talks about it. I mean, I've watched more Laker-Boston games over the last three days on NBATV, on ESPN, I mean, it's been great. It's just fun to watch.
But I think our guys are focused on their goal and the process of it, not the results or not the fanfare around it. I think we've had great focus in practices.
We have a job to do, and that's all we're focused on. But it's still nice that it is the Lakers, and it's fun.

Q. Do you think they're more conscious of trying to establish their own legacy?
COACH DOC RIVERS: Yeah, absolutely. I think they understand because it's the Lakers and the Celtics that it's talked about more, but the bottom line is they're only going to remember the winners, and they want to be part of that.

Q. A lot of people are talking, of course, about your defense and their offense. What about their defense, specifically their interior defense?
COACH DOC RIVERS: Yeah, it's good. They're a better defensive team than people give them credit for. I liken them a little bit to the Showtime Lakers. Everybody saw the flash with the Showtime Lakers, no one saw the grit, and that's the reason they won is their grit. They're a great defensive team, a great interior defensive team. You never hear about the Riley teams being a great defensive team, but they were.
They're very good. They do a great job of denials on elbows and wings, and we're going to have to deal with that pressure.

Q. In terms of coaching match-ups, how would you describe the difference and experience level between you and Phil Jackson?
COACH DOC RIVERS: Probably night and day would be the two. I mean, I've never been here and Phil has. He's not only been here, he's won, what, nine of them, lost one. No, there's no comparison.

Q. How do you think that's going to come into play?
COACH DOC RIVERS: I don't know if it will. I'm going to coach my team and he's going to coach his team. Like I said last series, we couldn't match Detroit's experience. They've been through so many more than us, why try? I'm not going to try, I'm just going to do my job.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297