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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v BULLS

May 23, 2011

Tom Thibodeau

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day

Q. Do you believe that security has to be better? Some of the things that were said to some of your players last night went above and beyond what normal fans would say in trying to throw an opposing team off its game.
TOM THIBODEAU: We've just got to -- that's part of it. We have to control our emotions. I want our guys to be passionate. But I also want them to be under control. So it's a tough environment, and whatever the circumstances are, I don't want them distracted with any of that stuff. I want them concentrating on the game.

Q. Did you hear the incident --
TOM THIBODEAU: No, I didn't.

Q. Jo said he didn't want to be a distraction. Is he?
TOM THIBODEAU: No. We have to lock in and get ready for the next game.

Q. What do you have to do to counter their defense? Two games in a row they've been able to almost play your style of lock-down defense on the Bulls?
TOM THIBODEAU: They're a great defensive team. The first thing we have to do is rebound the ball and get out in transition, try to get some easy baskets. And then if their defense is set, you can't dance and hold the ball. The ball has to move. Players have to move. You have to go side to side and look to where it's (Indiscernible)

Q. How do you get more room for Derrick Rose to do what he does to penetrate the lane to score baskets?
TOM THIBODEAU: I think you have to make some perimeter shots. I think that opens things up. I thought Carlos was very effective inside. But we have to make more jumpshots. If we do that, it will open things up for us.

Q. Coach, what did you -- did you talk to Noah about it? And what did you say to him about it?
TOM THIBODEAU: We haven't really had a chance yet to talk. I'm sure if he said something that's inappropriate, you know, he's apologized, and hopefully he learned from it. We're all human. We all make mistakes. Hopefully that's the case.

Q. Were you worried that early foul was going to take him out of his normal energetic kind of mode?
TOM THIBODEAU: Yeah. I want him to be aggressive. Sometimes that's the way it goes. We feel good about our bench guys. But he knows -- Jo knows how to play with fouls. He has to be more aggressive. He's got to keep playing through things.
You're on the road. Sometimes things are going your way, sometimes they're not. You just have to do your job, go on to the next step, get ready for the next play.

Q. What's Omer's status for tomorrow?
TOM THIBODEAU: He has a lower leg injury. It's day-to-day. He'll get treatment today, and Fred will check on him tomorrow.

Q. If he's not ready to go, will Kurt step up for him?
TOM THIBODEAU: Most likely, yes.

Q. Is Kurt even an option because of his ability to space --
TOM THIBODEAU: Kurt is always an option because of his ability to defend, rebound and hit the spot-upshot. He's a great screener. He can make your offense very effective.

Q. Have you ever reacted to a fan?
TOM THIBODEAU: I can't recall. I usually don't hear anything. It's part of the game. Like I said, if you get caught up with that stuff, than you're not concentrating on what's really important, which is the game and doing your job. That's what we want all our players to do.

Q. How hard is it to tune out?
TOM THIBODEAU: Well, you know, the fans are on top of you. I think it takes discipline. Sometimes it's the heat of the moment. We all get caught up in things that sometimes we shouldn't. But I think that it's important to have that discipline, particularly on the road. You know what the environment is going to be like going in. So I think you want to already have your plan in place as to how you're going to respond to things.

Q. Would it be wrong to make a judgment about Jo because of the word he used?
TOM THIBODEAU: Yeah. Jo is Jo. Again, it's his passion that makes him special. I think that he's an emotional guy. But I would rather he stay under control with just passion. You guys have been around him. You know he's a great guy. If he made a mistake, I'm sure he'll apologize and learn from it.

Q. As far as environment goes, any time you go on the road, there's always somebody saying something, right?
TOM THIBODEAU: Yes, I mean, that's part of it in this league. The fans are passionate. They have great fans down here. We have great fans in Chicago. You can't get distracted with that. That's what I'm concerned with. I want our guys to be focused in on the game.

Q. Coach, what is your message to your team as you go into Game 4?
TOM THIBODEAU: Again, each game reveals a lot to you, both good and bad. So you try to study, learn, make your corrections, make your adjustments, get ready for the next game.

Q. Your guys are growing -- so many of them have never been this far in the playoffs, it's a real learning experience for your young players. How do you think they are growing from this?
TOM THIBODEAU: I think it's important for everybody. Not just the young players, but for all players. You never want to stay the same. You always want to get better. I think when you look at the great players in this league, that's what they're always doing. They're always adding to what they already know and how they play, their skill set. That's what I want our guys to do.
Each game, I think, reveals something. Hopefully we're learning from each situation.

Q. It's almost like you don't know what you need until you get into situations like this, isn't it?
TOM THIBODEAU: Experience is a great teacher. So I think the more we go through different things, the better prepared you are. As long as we're learning and moving forward -- and I think our team all year long has had a great approach. We come in each day. It doesn't really change. Study, correct, get ready for the next one.

Q. As far as the offense goes, is it just a matter of doing what you can do, but doing it better?
TOM THIBODEAU: Yeah, well, you're always trying to do better. They're a tough team to score against. We look at the fourth quarter, we like to close better. It's, again, another close game. Four-point game with 6:30 to go. We have to do better to close the game out.

Q. Tom, when you were with the Celtics, those guys were all veterans that first postseason. Is a postseason a separate learning process for a new team?
TOM THIBODEAU: Well, the interesting thing about that Celtic team was those guys were all coming off -- coming from different teams. All three of the main guys were not in the playoffs the year before, but they were smart, tough, and I think they saw it as an opportunity, and they realized they were at a point in their careers where they had a chance to win it all.

Q. Is the postseason like a unique pressure situation where you get different challenges and you have to --
TOM THIBODEAU: Yeah, I think you're going to be challenged in every way possible. I think the important thing to understand is that if you have done everything possible to prepare yourself, that's all you have to worry about. You shouldn't feel pressure if you've done that.
If you put the work in, if you study, prepare, you play. You don't worry about any outside pressure. Don't get distracted. Just do your job. You have to think about the next play, whatever your responsibility is.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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