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NBA FINALS: MAVERICKS v HEAT

May 30, 2011

Rick Carlisle

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day

Q. Rick, when Spo was in here a little bit ago, he was talking about how it's not really the time, he thinks, to think about the potential prize, how it's important for his team to stay in the moment and keep working. Do you have the same approach with your guys now? Or do you talk about the stakes a little bit more, now that you're in the last round?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Our time is spent preparing for the next situation. For us it's the beginning of Game 1. And that's what we're getting focused on. We know how well and how efficiently we're going to have to play and we're looking forward to that challenge.

Q. Rick, have you looked at the storylines for each team? The Heat had to come together and build chemistry. The Mavericks have had chemistry for a while with a veteran core. Those guys had to learn how to get through the first round and second round of the playoffs. How much do you think both teams are going to draw from those experiences in the series?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Both teams have had similar roads to get to this point. Our playoff records are identical. Miami has only lost one game in each of three series. So they've been dominant, even though they have had their share of close games.
Our series have been a little bit different than normal. They've just been a little unconventional. But the thing that's been important for us is we've maintained the focus. We understand our style of play, that we have to play together. We have to play at an extremely high level to be successful. The defensive end is a huge part of it.

Q. Hey, Coach, what's Abby going to bring for show and tell now?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: She's had some other things to bring in. I had a little replica of the Boston Garden where the roof, you could pull the roof off and look in and see the yellow and orange seats. She got a kick out of that. That was broken anyway. We let her have that one.

Q. Spo was in here and he talked about at this time of the year just consistency from your basketball team, keeping with who they are, and keeping with your basketball team and what kind of play they foster. How important is that at this time, that sort of mentality of keeping consistency, is what you've been doing all season long?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Both teams have systems that they believe in that have brought them success to this point, and so one of the interesting things about the series is the teams are a little different. They're structured differently than we are. Our style of play is -- we try to do a lot of the same things well that they do. But our personnel is different. The way we have to approach games to win is going to be different than them.
But, yeah, you do what you do. You spend a lot of time prepping for the opponent on the one hand. On the other hand, you have to make sure you're studying your own game and are ready to play your own game well at the same time.

Q. Rick, is there any chance that Caron can play at any point in the series? Or has he been ruled out before it starts?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: He hasn't been ruled out. It's unlikely that Caron will play. Probably. But if you would have asked me on January 1st, the night when he went down in Milwaukee -- when he went down on the floor, his right kneecap came about three or four inches up into his thigh, because the patella tendon snapped. He was on the floor, and he took his right hand and he took his patella -- he took his kneecap and he shoved it back into place. He got up and walked off the floor on his own power.
At that time, we didn't know what the injury was. I had heard the thing about the kneecap. And after the game, I just said Caron, not for nothing, I don't know what you got in there, but I know it's serious. I think you know it's serious. I've never seen anybody do that before. He just said, well -- and this was in Milwaukee, and his hometown of Racine is not far. He said, "Well, my momma and my grandma were sitting in the stands. I wasn't going to let them watch me be carried off on a stretcher."
I wouldn't bet against that guy.

Q. Do you have any ties to Lisbon anymore?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Lisbon? Yes. Are you from there?

Q. I'm from upstate, but not Lisbon.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Really?

Q. I grew up near Placid.
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Basically my family still lives there.

Q. Do you get up there much?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: We get up there once or twice a year. It's Ogdensburg, New York, and Lisbon, New York which are kind of right next to each other. I was an Ogdensburg official resident but I went to school in Lisbon. That's the breakdown on that if anybody cares. I know the answer to that.
But, yeah, that's a great area. But not many people know about it.

Q. Rick, I'm curious in practice, whose job has it been to replicate LeBron James?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Well, we've done that by committee somewhat. Dominique Jones has been doing it some and Brewer has been doing it some. Those guys have done a terrific job. You are trying to simulate a guy that's many would argue is unsimulatable.
They have done a great job in -- Dominique is a kind of guy because of his ball-handling abilities and the ability to penetrate, he's given us a good go the last couple of days.

Q. Rick, I'm sure you've seen LeBron and Dwyane's free-throws and their minutes they've been logging here these playoff series. How daunting a challenge is it for you guys to have to encounter these two guys in this series?
COACH RICK CARLISLE: Well, it's very challenging. We're coming off of a series where we had two guys very similar. Durant and Westbrook were getting to the line tons. It's extremely difficult.
Where it becomes very challenging is your big guys get engaged a lot in coverages out in the perimeter. James and Wade both do a great job of attacking in those types of situations. So we're going to have to be aggressive. We're going to have to be in position, because when those guys are scoring the ball, penetrating, and getting to the free-throw line and getting other people involved in getting good shots, they are extremely difficult to beat.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach.
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