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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v BULLSMay 16, 2011Tom ThibodeauCHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day Q. Home court was not that much of a factor in the Atlanta series, but do you expect it to be more of a factor -- TOM THIBODEAU: You have to be ready. Moving forward the next game, you have to concentrate on that game. So that's all we're doing. The fact that it's home, it's important for us to play well, because it's our next game. But we can't rely on just being home to think that's why we're going to win. Q. Why do you think you've had so much success keeping this team on point all season? If you look to any player, they say, "We can play better. There's a ton we have to clean up." TOM THIBODEAU: Because I think you build your habits throughout the course of the season. We wanted to be consistent with our approach. We didn't want to change from game to game or situation to situation, whether you were facing back-to-back, early start, late start, whatever it is. In this league, if you look, you can find an excuse every night, or you can make it good. You prepare the same way, build the right habits, do the right things and put everything you have in it. Q. Surely you've been around NBA teams that did not accept that, you know, procedure, though, or it might have gone different agendas, different ways. Is it a luxury to have that as a coach? TOM THIBODEAU: Well, I think the serious teams do. When you look at the teams that do well year after year, that's the approach they take. They improve as the season goes along. They're all well balanced. They build the right habits. They play hard, and they play for each other. Q. Do you feel your team is improving as the playoffs go along? TOM THIBODEAU: I'm hopeful. That's what we strive for. Every day in the season we want to improve. Q. When Wade and LeBron go 12 for 32, what have you done right? TOM THIBODEAU: Well, the thing is you don't guard those guys individually. You have to guard them collectively. They missed some shots that they normally make. So we know we're going to have to do a much better job in the next game. Q. You've been associated with two teams now that have had obviously good defensive success against LeBron. Do you feel like you have a good sense for -- I'm not saying you solved the guy, but do you feel like you have a good sense for how to attack -- TOM THIBODEAU: Well, you know, I think you want your team committed to defense. They're great players. You want to make them work for their points. I think to their credit, both Wade and James, they're both unselfish. When they're double-teamed, they're going to pass the ball. And then from there you have to be able to react out and cover the next situation. But because they play unselfishly, sometimes people think they're not doing a lot. But they are. They are creating easy offense for others. Then the challenge for us is to protect the paint and get back out and try to cover all the other guys. Q. What is the key to the team defense being successful? Is it communication? Is it energy? When everything is clicking. TOM THIBODEAU: It's probably -- it's a lot of things put into one, where you have to tie everyone together. Whether it's your defensive transition, your catch-and-shoot defense, your pick-and-roll defense, your post defense, your isolation defense, if one guy is breaking down, your whole system will break down. So they have to communicate, they have to make multiple effort, they have to challenge shots, and they have to finish their defense. Q. At what point in this season do you feel your players understood your defensive concepts? TOM THIBODEAU: It's not that complicated. It's pretty simple. Honestly, I think the big thing is it starts with your offense, like taking care of the ball and taking the right shots, which allows you to get back and get set. And then we try to play the ball a certain way, and everyone else has a responsibility to help. And from there, we want to make sure we're challenging shots, try to make our opponent take contested twos and finish our defense. Q. One of the things Erik said over in the Heat practice today is he hopes that they can match the energy, effort and enthusiasm you guys feed off of off Noah. Do you think it's possible to exceed Noah's effort and enthusiasm? TOM THIBODEAU: I think that's one of his strengths, is the fact that he can play with great energy every day, whether it's in practice or the games. But I think we have a number of guys who do that. Q. How does his leadership (Indiscernible)? TOM THIBODEAU: When you look at the leadership of the team and you look at Derrick, Luol, Joakim and Carlos, they help drive the team. I think every day they do a great job in practice. They set the tone for practice. All the things they do, they don't try to take any practices off. They practice hard. We also have great veteran leadership at the end of the bench. Guys like Kurt Thomas, Scalabrine and Bogans. They've done a great job, so you have a team that's committed. And we know we still have a long way to go, and we have to get a lot better. Q. Tom, the way Luol played yesterday, does that basically sum up the season pretty much -- TOM THIBODEAU: Well, you guys have been around. He's been very consistent all year long. His defense, his rebounding, his passing, his activity. And it's not only his individual defense; his team defense. It has a lot to do with the team being a good defensive team because of his ability to guard multiple positions consistently, makes multiple efforts. And sometimes you overlook all the stuff that he's doing out there. But I think to his teammates and coaches, we certainly understand how important he is to our team. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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