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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v BULLSMay 23, 2011LeBron JamesDwyane WadeMIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day Q. LeBron, is it possible for them -- obviously they lost the home court in Game 2. They obviously don't want to go back 3-1. Do you expect even more desperation? Does that even exist? LeBRON JAMES: We're playing desperate too. Both teams have been playing hard. We're just as desperate as they is to win another game at home. Q. Dwyane, considering what happened with Joakim Noah in the slur, do you guys feel like you're getting in their heads a little bit and they're getting frustrated? DWYANE WADE: No. That was unfortunate. He got caught up in the moment. No, we're playing -- we're not really worried about it. Obviously in the playoffs in different possessions and things ain't going your way, we all get angry. We want things to go great. He had two fouls early. He wanted to be in the game. He's a competitor. So he was just frustrated from that more than anything. Q. What are you guys doing to Derrick Rose that's at least working somewhat, if not stopping him, but containing him a lot? DWYANE WADE: Like we said, our only job is to make sure when he comes to the basket -- he's one of the best penetrators they have -- that he sees three guys, if not more. Just try to make it tough on him. He's one of the best finishers, so that's all we're doing. We're just trying to put bodies in front of him, try to stay in front of him and make him take tough shots. He's going to hit some. But hopefully we can continue to wear him down at the end of the games where he doesn't make the same ones he made earlier. Q. Is this sort of the strategy teams were using against both of you on your individual teams last year, where there was one guy to key on? How much can you sort of relate to that? DWYANE WADE: I mean, we can relate to it. That's the reason why we're playing together. After so many years of that, you know, you want to do something else. So after some years of that, it was kind of like, all right, I want to do something else. That's the reason we're playing together. But he has a good team. Guys have big games -- Boozer had a big game for them last night. He's in a little different situation than we are. I would say he has a very good team at this stage in his career. Q. Some teams maybe take away his drives, some teams take away his jumper. Does it surprise you sort of how well 2 and 3 you guys have been able to take away the drive and contest? DWYANE WADE: Well, we're just trying to -- he's so fast and so quick. You have to give him some space. Our only job is when he pull up for a jumpshot, just to try to contest. You're not going to block it. He's so athletic, he can get up so high. Put an arm up, and when he comes to the basket, it's a team thing. It's not just one guy. Everybody has to be there. Like I said, he's going to make some tough, unbelievable shots. For the most part over the course of the game, some of those shots are going to get even more difficult when you have guys coming for it. Like I say, he's obviously the head of the state. We understand that as he go, they go. If we can slow him a little bit, that's what we're going to do. Q. Is that the best defense collectively you guys have played during the season so far this year? LeBRON JAMES: I mean, two or three games, I would say. We just bring it to them with a game plan. Guys are finally understanding how important every possession is. This being the semifinals. We were playing great defense in the Boston series at times and the Philly series at times. But I think these games consistently, this is the best we've played. We have to keep it going. Q. LeBron, to be able to finish games the way you are, does it help that you have other guys like Chris and Dwyane, who maybe you don't have to push hard for all 44 of your minutes so there is a little more left? And have you felt a little more left in your tank because of the supporting cast and the guys you have that you can do this more often at the end? LeBRON JAMES: No, I do push hard all my 44 minutes. I don't go out there and dog any of my time on the floor. But I think it's the luxury of having guys that can make plays besides myself. D-Wade can make plays, CB can make plays. Udonis made plays for us last night -- I mean late in the fourth. We have guys that can go get it. That's the luxury of our team. I'm happy to have it. Q. At the same time, are you guys surprised that Derrick has not taken over in the fourth like he usually has been? Or is that a credit to you guys' defense? LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. Just trying to play hard and win basketball games. That's a question for D-Rose I guess. Q. You draw comparisons to Magic Johnson the way you played last night. Do you like playing that style? LeBRON JAMES: I like to play any style. Any time you are compared to a great -- to a hall-of-famer, to a multi-ring championship player like Magic coverage it's humbling, honestly. I can play any style. I try to take what the defense gives me and go with the flow of the game. Q. (Indiscernible) Obviously you get that offense -- how much does the same ring true with those first six, eight minutes, a lot of deflections, blocking a lot of shots, is there such thing as defensive -- LeBRON JAMES: That's what we pride ourselves on. Especially the fourth quarter. We feel like if we go into the lead in the fourth quarter it's going to be tough to beat us because we pride ourselves on defense in the fourth. And we consistently could get stops and get stops and get stops, we have enough guys that can make shots on the other end of the court. We're able to break the game open. That's what we've been able to do the last two games, game 2 and Game 3. We got stops and got stops and got stops, and then we just consistently worked the offense and made a few shots and was able to bust open the game. Q. Did you guys happen to see or hear the way Miami fans heckled Charles Barkley after the game? DWYANE WADE: I heard about it, yeah. Q. What did you think of the way they stuck up for you? That's kind of what the Heat fans -- they were responding to Charles' comments. DWYANE WADE: Yeah, it was great to hear and see for my fans, to stick up for us at this point. Joakim got a little frustrated with it. Good for them. Q. Should the benches, in the time-outs and locker room, be almost segregated? Is it fair for you guys to have microphones that anytime you come off the floor, that anything you say could be picked up in the course of the game? LEBRON JAMES: Emotions get played. I'm not saying with Joakim -- I'm speaking about that was right. I don't think it was right what he said. But emotions does get said throughout the course of the game when you get emotional. We know there's going to be microphones. We know there's going to be cameras around. You have to be cautious about what you say. You try to control your emotions as much as possible, even though it's a very intense game. But we know. It comes with the territory. You get the great press, you get the bad press when you do something wrong. As role models to kids and as role models to people who watch us every day, we understand that. We have to own up to it. Q. Was last night's aggressiveness (Indiscernible) what you expected? LeBRON JAMES: He's a good player. Let's not take away from the fact the guy is a max player. He got max money. He has done some great things in the postseason. If you look at his postseason numbers, he's played extremely well. We knew he wanted to get out there for his team. Eight rebounds and things like that. He played a great game last night. Offensive rebounds, made big shots for his team. We knew that, we talked about it coming into Game 3, he was going to be more aggressive. Derrick Rose was going to be more aggressive. We have to make sure we key in on them and shut down the other guys too. Q. During this series there was talk comparing these teams to your past teams offensively, just from the standpoint how much they rely on Rose and how much your teams relied on you. Is that a valid comparison? Is that what happened in games 2 and 3, you guys shut down Derrick? LeBRON JAMES: Their team is a little bit different than ours. They have two max players. I was the only max player on my team. They got some great complementary players as well. You know, I can relate. I can definitely relate, being -- having the coach of the year and getting the MVP and then going to get out and go against people who have multiple guys that can go against you and break you down. I can relate to what he's going through right now. They have a great team. I'm not about to sit here and say this team is down and out. That's a great team. We are looking forward to the challenge. We know they're going to bring it in Game 4. Q. You were limping a little bit after you went into the crowd -- LeBRON JAMES: Yeah, man. Q. Did you have any after-effects after -- LeBRON JAMES: I'm hurting a little bit right now, but I'll be all right for Game 4. It's the camera -- you guys -- the media and camera guys are too close on the floor, and there ain't no room for comfort. Q. Do you think Bosh is playing more with a chip on his shoulder, especially right now, the most important -- DWYANE WADE: I think he is. I think Boozer's comments helped him. Come out and be very aggressive and focused. At the same time, Chris hasn't been this far in his NBA career, and he's seizing the moment. I think he understands the defense is going to come in and say all right, let's take away LeBron and let's take away Dwyane Wade first. He understands they are not necessarily game-planning for him, and he's attacking it. So that's what we need. He's doing an unbelievable job. Q. How much do you feel he's advanced defensively since he joined the club? DWYANE WADE: So much. When he first got here he was just shooting jumpers. That's where his comfort was. He had to figure everything out. Now he's put an addendum to his game where he's getting isolations, getting pick and rolls to his jumper. He gets rolls to the rim. A lot of things like that. We run different actions for him. He's a very consistent player. He's showing his consistency right now. First game he was 12 for 18. Last one 13 for 18. He's very efficient. That's the kind of player he was before we got him. Q. How much defensively has he advanced? DWYANE WADE: Oh, defensively. He does his job. Like I said, everything is about team. So on the pick and rolls, he does the job of coming out and talking. We got different schemes every run. He does them. The biggest thing is when guys come to the rim is for him to get big, 6'11" plus his wing span. I thought he did a great job of that. He's been doing a better job of it. Q. Heard a lot of descriptions of Chris' celebration, when he screams like that and lets it out. Do you have a way of describing it? Do you get a kick out of it when he does that? DWYANE WADE: Of course I get a kick out of it. I get a kick out of it because my kids do it at home. They do the Chris Bosh. It's hilarious. One thing I talked to him about in the Boston series when we get on the road, I want him to have that same aggression. Game 4, let it out. That's the kind of player he is. It comes out of nowhere. We love it when he does it, because that's when we know he's really in tune to the game. He's been very aggressive. Q. (Indiscernible)? LeBRON JAMES: Makes us a very tough team to beat when he's aggressive like that. Inside and outside. We always say he's the key to our team. He's a relieve guy for us. Anytime things are going slower, me and D-Wade aren't getting anything in the perimeter, not getting anything in the paint, we can always go back to him and know we're going to get a good shot. Number three guy, as far as the shooting percentage in the series, behind D-Wade and -- who was it? DWYANE WADE: Gasol. LeBRON JAMES: Yeah, Gasol. DWYANE WADE: That other guy. LeBRON JAMES: Those other guys. CB is (Indiscernible). He's doing a great job. Just capitalizing on the attention we get. He's making them pay. Q. The screaming impression, any players do it? Anybody on the team do an impression of him? LeBRON JAMES: No, nobody messes with CB. You leave a guy like that alone. You have to worry about the quiet guys always. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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