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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v BULLS

May 26, 2011

Tom Thibodeau

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Game Five

Miami Heat 83
Chicago Bulls 80

Q. Coach, could you describe what happened to your team offensively and what you're going to do to tweak that from this point forward?
COACH TOM THIBODEAU: They played great defense, so it was hard to get good shots. But my hat is off to them. I thought they played tough. They earned it. And we got to get a lot better next year.

Q. Tom, what can a guy like Derrick learn from this series in general and just having to carry teams or try to do the scoring in the fourth quarter, things like that?
COACH TOM THIBODEAU: Experience is a great teacher. He'll study, he'll prepare, he'll get better. I hope our team will get better. Sometimes you have to go through things and experience them before you understand how tough and hard -- all these games were tough, hard-fought games that came down to the end.
Sometimes you have to will it, and it's a hustle play here, a hustle play there, and that's the difference. Sometimes things aren't going your way and you have to be able to navigate through that stuff, you have to continue to concentrate, you have to play with poise. Going down the stretch, there were a lot of things that went against us. But that's all part of it. And hopefully you learn from that, and the next time around you do better.

Q. Tom, what's your recollection of the game stretch run? It's kind of the snowball effect and how they came back at you and LeBron's fantastic plays at the end, obviously.
COACH TOM THIBODEAU: When he's making jumpshots like that, they are very difficult to beat. We did some things that led them back into the game. I thought they got to the line too much. So they were able to make up ground with the clock stopped. I also thought that took away from our aggressiveness. I thought we were aggressive. I thought we moved our feet well. We had some tough calls go against us, and then we backed up. You can't back up against these guys.

Q. Down the stretch there, how much of that do you think is just the fact that this is the first time for most of your guys through this? How much is maybe inexperience, they let that slip away and get rattled? How much is talent on the other side?
COACH TOM THIBODEAU: And I do think experience helps. But that being said, all these games came down to the end. If we make the other night in Miami, maybe it's a different series. Eight seconds left and you have a chance to win. We didn't do it.
Tonight we had the lead, and we couldn't hold on to it. Like I said, hopefully you learn from that. You move on. I think you use this experience to drive you so you can improve for next year.

Q. Tom, if I can ask you about Miami: You were with a Boston team that came together in one year and did very well. What do you make of how these guys pulled it together in one year after their 9-8 start in trying to define roles to get to where they are now?
COACH TOM THIBODEAU: I think a couple of things. They were fantastic defensively from the start. And then I thought they had a very tough early schedule, and they took on injury. I think now they're healthy. They've gained the experience of the season. So that's a very well-balanced team. They have Wade and James who can break you down off the dribble, they have Bosh in the post, who can get you points there. And he's also a tough matchup because of his ability to face up, shoot, and put it on the floor.
And then when you look at the guys, Anthony is a defensive presence. Chalmers is an excellent point guard who can start for some teams. Bibby is a veteran that's been around forever. Miller is playing well, and Haslem, I don't think you can say enough about Haslem. Haslem has been a tough player in this league for a long time, and I think he's one of those guys you can't measure by statistics. I think he brings a lot of heart and toughness to a team.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach.
COACH TOM THIBODEAU: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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