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NBA FINALS: MAGIC v LAKERS

June 4, 2009

Dwight Howard

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game One

Orlando Magic - 75
Los Angeles Lakers - 100

Q. The main question that I have for you is regarding the defense that the Lakers put up against you. How much concern is it that they found some kind of a magic potion if you'll pardon the pun? And are you concerned about your shooting?
DWIGHT HOWARD: No, I'm not concerned. Tonight was just an off-night as a team we only made 23 shots and Kobe made 16 by himself. We've never had a shooting night this bad. We've just got to come out and play a lot harder than we did tonight. Even when we're not making shots, we've got to give a better effort. Our effort tonight, it just wasn't there. Nobody's effort was there. We didn't go for any loose balls, we just wasn't fighting. That's not Magic basketball.

Q. It seemed that rebounds and points in the paint were you guys' downfall tonight, and you only got six shots. What can you guys do differently?
DWIGHT HOWARD: It's only one game. Game 2 we're going to go back, watch film, figure out a way to move the ball a lot better. You know, I'm not concerned about getting six shots. It happens in games.
Our job that we have to do better is rebound, and tonight we didn't rebound. Coach talked about it as soon as we found out we were playing. He said, we have to rebound, and as a team they kicked our butts on the boards.

Q. Dwight, you mentioned Kobe. What can you do better defensively against him?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Pray that he doesn't miss.

Q. Is that the Stan strategy?
DWIGHT HOWARD: No, with Kobe, we have to get up into him more. Tonight he got a lot of rhythm jump shots just like he was coming off a screen and wide open jump shots. So we have to get into him more and apply a little bit more pressure, and hopefully he misses. Defensively as a team we wasn't ready to go, and they made shots.

Q. What's it like to be out there on the court when he's got a third quarter going like that?
DWIGHT HOWARD: It's tough. You know, when he's got everything going, every shot in the world, nothing we can do about that. The things that we can do is play harder, play more aggressive. On the defensive end, go for more loose balls. We can control that stuff. But somebody making those unbelievable shots, there's nothing we can do about it. But the stuff we can control, we've got to control, and tonight we didn't.

Q. Were you surprised that they didn't double-team you? And what did you think about their coverage was so successful?
DWIGHT HOWARD: They didn't single coverage. What they did was when I caught in the post, they really sat in my lap and they forced me to pass it out for guys to shoot, and they mixed it up. They forced me baseline, and when I tried to turn baseline they had somebody waiting for me right there. You know, I saw that during the game. I just wasn't patient enough to pick it apart.
But we're going to watch film, going to watch the game tonight, and come back Game 2 with a better effort. It's not about what they did. I think for us it's just our effort wasn't there.

Q. Were you surprised after the first quarter, you had a sluggish first quarter personally, that you were still up by two after 12 minutes?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Yeah, I was surprised because even though we were up by two, they were shooting like 56 percent from the field, and when a team is shooting that good, it's tough. As the game began to go on, they started to go up and our level just went down, and we can't have that.

Q. Having this unique match-up against the Lakers they have basically two seven-footers. You tried in the fourth quarter to play along Marcin Gortat. Do you think it's something that can work out the next game?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't know. It's only one game. There's no need to switch up any game plans. I think like I've been telling you guys, our effort has to get a lot better. That's the only thing that I'm concerned with is how hard we're going to play. We're going to have nights where we get our butts kicked, but you know, our effort has to be there every night.

Q. You had a 40-point performance in your last close-out game against Cleveland. Talk about the energy level coming into LA. Do you think the energy level low? Did that take a lot out of you?
DWIGHT HOWARD: No, we just didn't play with a lot of energy tonight. I don't think it had anything to do with our last game. We had a couple days to recover. I think we just didn't come out ready tonight. A lot of the guys said they expected it to be like that in our first game in The Finals. But we always come back stronger, and I'm looking forward to Game 2. Like I said, we're going to watch film, going to find out what we need to do better as a team. But it all starts with effort and energy, and tonight it just wasn't there.

Q. This being your first game in The Finals, did maybe that contribute to this? Maybe you were on your heels a little bit?
DWIGHT HOWARD: Well, personally it felt like a normal game. I know the stakes are higher or whatever, but it felt kind of normal. The only thing that was different is you're seeing the big trophy everywhere you look. But other than that, it felt normal.
I think as a team we came out flat and our energy just wasn't there. That's the biggest thing. We may lose games because we miss shots, but when our energy is as low as it was tonight, we can't win. That was the thing tonight, energy and effort.

Q. Is that one of the things when you guys are looking at film and when you're talking, is that one of the things you're going to have to address, how to get that energy level back up and that enthusiasm back?
DWIGHT HOWARD: We talked about that already. When we step on the court we have to understand in order for our team to win, we have to play hard for 48 minutes. There's no way our coach can put that in us. We have to believe it and we have to go out there and play.

Q. You come to The Finals, play the LA Lakers and lose by 25. Can you describe the feeling inside the locker room of the Magic?
DWIGHT HOWARD: The feeling in the locker room, we've been beaten bad before. You know, we have to bounce back. Nobody is upset or angry that we lost. We just understand what we have to do as a team. Once we came in the locker room after the game, nobody had their head down. Like I've been telling you guys the whole press conference, it's effort and energy. We understand as a team that it has to be hard for 48 minutes. We have to play with effort and energy for 48 minutes. That's the only way we're going to win.

Q. What kind of effect did having Jameer Nelson back on the floor with you guys have, if any?
DWIGHT HOWARD: I don't think it had any effect. Jameer played good in there. It was his first game back. We understand it's a little transition for him. But we're going to keep fighting. Jameer is a fighter. I'm happy with what he did tonight. With the loss, he came in, made some great plays on the offensive end. He's a little rusty, but hey, it's one game.

End of FastScripts

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