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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v BULLS

May 15, 2011

Erik Spoelstra

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Game One

Miami Heat 82
Chicago Bulls 103

COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, there's wins and losses in the playoffs and nothing else. We took it on the chin tonight. Virtually all the effort areas, obviously, the glass, second-chance points was a big factor, and tired, swinging in the second half, in the third quarter in particular. And offensively we got away from things we normally do. We went a little sideways from a lot of those effort battles that we surrendered.

Q. What could you say about the Bulls' defensive effort against Dwyane and LeBron?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: The defense was good. We anticipated that. They're a great defensive team. You have to be able to execute, details, setting guys up, screening, moving the ball. And again, I think because of losing a lot of those effort areas and the second-chance points, it really deflated us and we lost our concentration on the offensive end and the game got away from us. We were hanging around there in the third quarter, keeping it to around six points even when they overwhelmed us on the glass. Then they took it to another level. The offensive rebounding really affected us. We had some great stops, and were not able to come up with a 50-50 ball or a rebound to seal it. And they made us pay for that.

Q. Last time Bosh was here, he was 1-for-18, tonight 12-for-18. Can you say a little about his efforts.
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: He's important to what we do. Everybody knows that. And they were loading up their defense so much to Dwyane and LeBron off the dribble, that he was able to be a recipient in the paint. But that wasn't enough. We need more offensively. But before that even starts, before we can even talk about that end of the floor, we have to finish our defense with all the effort, big-muscle areas. And we did not do that tonight.

Q. Coach, LeBron and Wade weren't aggressive attacking the basket. Between them they had eight free-throws the whole game. Was that the Bulls' defense responsible for that?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: A little bit of both. You have to give them credit where it's due. That's what they've done all season long, is protect the paint, protect the rim, keep teams off the free-throw line. And I think in the second half we got away from what we normally do, and the ball started to stick, hold. And it's got to move. It's got to get from side to side, and you have to execute some triggers. They were switching some of those pick-and-rolls, which stagnated our offense a little bit. But I think our minds really were affected by those second-chance points and them getting that double-digit lead.

Q. Those second-chance opportunities and how they got them, was that too much help on the primary man?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Virtually every situation you can probably give it up. And they're a very good offensive-rebounding team. When you put two on the ball, you're going to have an extra guy there in the paint. And then the shot goes up, and you're playing from behind. Sometimes it was an assault on the rim. Guys coming to help and another guy not pulling the string and making the next rotation to block out. Those were the majority of them.
That's what they do, and it simply overwhelmed us tonight. In the third quarter we held them to 33% shooting and then they extended it to a double-digit lead. That was something that we simply couldn't overcome.

Q. Why do you think the effort in those kinds of plays, why that was a problem? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: A ball on the floor and it's happening fast. They are a quick, athletic team. They can play above the rim. Some of the scraps down the ground, we couldn't come up with them. We had two people sometimes to the ball and tripping over each other and not able to come up with it.
We'll adjust. That won't be the only thing that we have to adjust. But certainly the fistfight under the glass will be a start. And they do put a lot of pressure on you, particularly when you're trying to load your defense, and at times having to keep two on the ball with Rose.

Q. Erik, it's so easy to compare Boston style's defense to Chicago's. How is Chicago's defense different tonight than what you saw the previous round, specifically your problems in moving the ball and keying the ball moving to other guys?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Again, you have to give their defense credit. In the first half we were able to shoot 48%, I believe, and score 48. So the ball was moving. We were able to execute triggers. When they started to overwhelm us on the glass, I think we started to lose focus on the other end of the court. And it affected us. And we got away from what we normally do. Now they did some things that helped keep that ball on one side and stagnated a little bit. But we have to be better. We'll make those judgments in Game 2.

Q. After Bosh had the big first half, there was a long stretch until late in the game where he only had two field goal attempts. Was it a question they were paying more attention to him? Were you not looking as much for Bosh during that period?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: A little bit both. Our execution in the third quarter was so far removed from what we normally do it's tough to say. Chris normally gets his attacks within the flow of the offense and we weren't executing the details of the offense to get to some of those things.

Q. Your big three scored 63, and Deng, Boozer and Rose scored 63. What was more significant, that their three were able to match your superstars or that their bench outscored your bench?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: The 31 second-chance points that were simply relief for them, and it deflated us. It was too much to overcome. All of those tip-ins after 16 to 20 seconds of solid defense really took away some of our focus. And that a lot of times -- I thought that was a major swing there in the third quarter, when we were keeping it to around 6 and hanging around, it just broke open to 10, and it stretched on from there. Those are all relief points that put them over the top.

Q. Coach, how important is it for you to win the next game and not go back to Miami down 2-0?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: The important thing is that we bounce back. We're not thinking about anything else other than getting ourselves right and ready for Game 2. We've been under a lot of adversity this year, and that's what we have to focus on right now. In the playoffs there aren't good performances or bad performances, it's wins and losses. You have to make adjustments and move on, and we'll focus on Game 2, and that's it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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