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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v BULLS

May 25, 2011

Dwyane Wade

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Practice Day

Q. Dwyane, you all talk about you want to go up and get this done tomorrow? What is it going to take?
DWYANE WADE: It's going to take 48 minutes, maybe more. Just consistent effort on the defensive end of the floor. Winning the 50-50 game, competing on the glass, and just executing our offense.

Q. Speaking of effort, put some meaning to that. What are you looking at?
DWYANE WADE: Just getting the kinks out. You don't become good at this game just because you wake up and you become good. You have to work at it. I've always been that way. When times are going good, I'm working on it. When times are not, I'm working on it to see what's wrong. So just getting the kinks out.

Q. Just a word about LeBron. A couple of times yesterday, particularly in the fourth quarter, but even from the first into the second, he was impacting the game with his offense and also his distribution. How important is it to have a guy who can do both, to really impact the game at high levels?
DWYANE WADE: He's special. He's one of a kind. There hasn't been many guys of his size that's been able to impact the game like him. I think -- obviously in '07 he played very well. But I think this is the best basketball both ends of the floor that he's playing in his career. We need every bit of it. It's amazing to see a guy with that motor to play 45 minutes that hard, that intelligent and that efficient. He's an amazing player.

Q. Have you two talked about your Finals experience, and also about how much time has passed?
DWYANE WADE: Not really. Obviously we had a conversation over the period of the year. LeBron didn't win a game in the Finals. He's still four wins away from his goal. And we won one, and we talked about that. I don't talk about it a lot. That's the past. Times are different now. Situations are different. Teams are different.
Obviously we lean on our experience of being able to be in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time apiece and what it took to get to the Finals.

Q. What would it mean for you to get back? You're working extra on your game to make sure that you don't let this opportunity slip away.
DWYANE WADE: Yes, it's an opportunity. You don't want it to slip away. We understand that. You know, we have a little momentum. We understand they're going back home, and the crowd is going to be amazing. Their energy and effort is going to be amazing. We're going to have to withstand all that and be there at the end of the ballgame and be able to win it.
So we want all our guns blazing. We want everyone to come out and be aggressive and feel confident. So whatever you got to do. That's what I'm trying to do, making sure that I can be there for my guys when they need me. I might have a big night, I might not have a big night. It's all about making sure you do what you can at this point to make sure you can win.

Q. You said you're not 100%, that nobody is at this point of the season. What percentage would you say you are --
DWYANE WADE: I don't do percentages. No one is. I've been saying that all year. There's guys that's been (Indiscernible) in the NBA that's back to working out again, and we're still playing basketball. So obviously no one is 100% at all.

Q. But you seem to embrace that role on the road. You guys have embraced hostile crowds and succeeded quite well.
DWYANE WADE: We have. Big win for us going into Game 4 in Boston and winning the game. Them guys played unbelievable in Game 3, really showed championship effort. Stood there and took everything in Game 4 and won in overtime. We made big plays down the stretch to win that ballgame. But most importantly, defensively we won it. We've done it before, I've done it before. You look forward to the challenge as a competitor to go up on the road and see what you're made of.

Q. What's it like on the road to occasionally take a crowd out of the game?
DWYANE WADE: It's the best feeling. It's a great feeling. Obviously we love playing in front of the home crowd. We get excited. But when you hush a crowd, you take them out of the game and they're silent, I think that's sweet.

Q. What can you guys take away from Game 4 up in Philly? Obviously the stakes much different, but a chance to close a team out? That was probably one of your slowest first quarters really in this whole playoff run. Are there lessons to be learned from that, even though obviously a different team, different time?
DWYANE WADE: Well, you try to learn lessons from your past experiences. We came out very sluggish. It took a lot for us to get back in the game. We had to go on like a 22-4 run to get back in it. It took a lot out of us.
That's why at the end of the game we didn't have to close it out. Just coming out with the effort we need early, understanding this team is going to come out with the same mentality.
Offensively you see early last night we struggled coming out of the gate. But I thought our defense was very key to at least hold them to 19 points in the first quarter.

Q. How tough is it to match the energy of a team that is close to (Indiscernible)?
DWYANE WADE: When they're home, they're going to come out with a lot. But we're desperate. We're a desperate team as well. We didn't work this hard to put ourselves in the position to be 3-1 to not be able to match the energy and effort. This team is high energy, this team is high effort. That's what they're great at. Obviously all series we've been battling to try to match that as well. But I think we're up for the challenge.

Q. When you're this high, what do you have to do to remain uncomfortable going into the next game?
DWYANE WADE: Just approach it as the next game. Not even think about the series as what it is. We have to go in there and try to get a win just like we did in Game 2. Come out with that same mentality. There's no tomorrow. We have to get this game. It's a must-win. Put yourself in position on the road to win a ballgame.

Q. Are you working on your dunks?
DWYANE WADE: No, I didn't work on the dunks. I missed one.

Q. Missed two.
DWYANE WADE: Whatever. I'll make the next one. It might be a nice one. So you'll see.

Q. How good do you guys feel for Mike Miller with what he's going through?
DWYANE WADE: We feel great for him. We understand obviously professionally what he's went through all year with the injuries, the struggle to get into the rhythm, to get into the flow. Obviously personally what he's going through. I told him after the game no matter what happened all year, at this moment this was the biggest game, this was the best game you could have played for us. This is what we needed. Nothing else matters at this point.
Now Michael is getting his confidence back. We understand -- he understands what we need from him. He's always been a good rebounder. Now he's making shots, getting comfortable and shooting the ball. He can be key for us in the next game, especially on the road.

Q. You guys seem to have gotten better each series as the playoffs have gone on. Is there any reason beyond Mike Miller and Udonis?
DWYANE WADE: We're just getting comfortable with each other. Obviously, you know, you get guys come off the bench and be able to help a lot. With UD, with the effort he brings, he impacted the game so much last night. He didn't even have to put the ball in the basket in that sense. And Michael coming in and making big shots. Some games it's been James Jones, some games it's been Mario Chalmers. It's been different guys. We need it if we're going to be the team we want to become.

Q. Defensively are you guys the best you have been all season? Or have you been better?
DWYANE WADE: I think it's the best we've been. We have a comfort with each other. We understand. Obviously, there's going to be times we're going to have a few breakdowns, but we learn from it fast and come back and we get it straight. Defensively we understand what's going to win ultimately the championship for us. It's going to have to be on the defensive end.
Obviously we have offensive firepower. We're not a team to score 120 points. It hasn't been our DNA. It won't be our DNA. We're a team that will win by getting stops and getting out and getting easy buckets and then coming down and executing well enough to be able to get enough points to win the ballgame.

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