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NBA SEASON GAME: HEAT v CELTICS

October 26, 2010

Erik Spoelstra

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

HEAT Â– 80
CELTICS Â– 88

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Okay, what I told the team was it was going to be a process with this. I know there are a lot of expectations and a lot of pressure out there, but we have our own timetable, and we knew this wasn't going to be easy. The first half was an indication of that. We did not play well, obviously. If you shoot 27 percent and have the turnovers that we had, we didn't even have a great flow. Some of the shots that we missed were good looks, but it was a frustrating first half for us.
The second half I liked the fact that we at least competed, stayed in the game, ugly game, were able to grind it out. That's the type of mentality we're looking for. Defensively it wasn't horrible, but offensively, yeah, we missed some easy shots and never were able to get into a proper rhythm. But that's not a reason to panic right now. We knew this would be a little bit of a process, and this is the first step.

Q. (No microphone.)
ERIK SPOELSTRA: He's in the locker room, and he'll be fine. This is really his first game. I don't want to build in an excuse for him, but really, he hasn't played. He didn't play in the preseason, so this is his first game since last year when we left this court in May. He's in good shape, he feels good. But obviously this game is about rhythm and timing. He'll get it back quickly.

Q. How long do you give yourself to measure up against how good you want to be? What is the timetable?
ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, every day we're going to work to get better, and I already imagine we'll be much better tomorrow. But it'll be a process. When we were going through our planning in July and August, we knew it wouldn't necessarily hit on all cylinders right away. It's a very good defensive team, a veteran team that didn't make too many changes, and so they've been there. I mean, they've been to The Finals, and it was a tough game. We could have played much better, and I think we will.

Q. Are there any positives?
ERIK SPOELSTRA: Probably the only positive is the fact that -- come on, if you're shooting 27 percent, it's about as poor as you can shoot offensively in the first half and you still have a chance grinding to get it to seven, you make some big plays, at least that's a grind-out mentality that you need in this league. Defensively we did some good things, and even offensively there're some things we can take. But we'll be better than this.

Q. Dwyane and LeBron have both been used to handling the ball a ton the last seven years. They didn't really look comfortable off the ball, neither one of them. How big an adjustment is that for them and what do you do to get them acclimated to playing that way?
ERIK SPOELSTRA: In practice it's looked a lot different than this, and they've looked terrific playing together. I think everybody was just a little bit anxious and wanting to make it work so much. But they've had stretches where they're so unselfish, they're underrated off the ball, and there's many different ways they can be effective. That's their versatility that makes them so successful. So I don't think that will be a problem, certainly not in the preseason that we've had in practices we haven't seen that.

Q. It seemed that LeBron James was more active in the last quarter than the first quarter. Was that part of the initial strategy of the game, to let his teammates get involved more in the first quarter?
ERIK SPOELSTRA: That wasn't necessarily our strategy, to shoot 27 percent and not get into a rhythm. Really it was just trying to get into some kind of flow of the game. Then when we got it close and started to grind back, I think that's more his competitive nature in the second half.

Q. Do you have a concern about getting better shots close to the basket?
ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, we will. I mean, just by nature, the guys that we have on the team -- Chris is a guy who is in the top five in free throw attempts last year. He does get to the basket. Dwyane and LeBron have done that their whole careers. That will come through.
We've had sessions in practice where our defense has been good and yet these guys have been attacking the rim and making great plays to there. We'll continue to get better and get on the same page. But it will take a little bit of a process and time.

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