|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA FINALS: MAVERICKS v HEATJune 6, 2011Rick CarlisleDALLAS, TEXAS: Practice Day Q. Rick, what was Brendan able to do today? Can you give us an update on his condition? COACH RICK CARLISLE: Did some light shooting, as you saw. He's been doing a little better each day. I think we're probably listing him day to day. He'll probably again be a game-time decision. Q. On another subject, what can you guys do to try to get Dwyane Wade out of his rhythm or at least try to make things more difficult for him? COACH RICK CARLISLE: Execution of coverages is a big thing. Keeping him out of transition is a big thing. A lot of his easy baskets are coming off our turnovers. Limiting the number of untimely turnovers is always important against good teams. He's a great player, but we've got to do -- and it's hard work, but we've got to do a better job. Q. Rick, a lot has been made of Miami's defense. Can you sort of talk specifically what they do that gives you guys the most problems. COACH RICK CARLISLE: They are very solid. They've got a system that's very effective, and they put you in positions where you've got to get the ball moving and try to get them moving around a little bit so that you can attack them. They do a great job at the point of attack. And so it puts a bigger premium on stopping them so that you can get the ball and run it and get it up the floor. Because if you take it out of the basket and try to go against their set defense, they're one of the very best in the league. Q. How would you evaluate their recovery ability in terms of once you do make a move, their ability to come out of double teams and cover after that? Limiting their space, basically is what I'm getting to. COACH RICK CARLISLE: They're extremely athletic. The caliber of athlete they have is, you know, top level. Their schemes are very solid. So you get guys like Wade, James, Bosh, Chalmers is a good defender, Bibby is knowledgeable, Miller has got length and he moves well, you know, Haslem is smart and Anthony is athletic and has length. So they're tough. Q. Coach, it seems like as the series goes on, both teams are starting to attack the dribble more versus just playing position. Is that kind of a product of teams getting to feel each other out a little bit? Also, is the theme of the two losses kind of missed opportunities for you guys? COACH RICK CARLISLE: The theme of all three losses, if you're going to characterize them as losses, because a team had to lose each of the three games, would be, you know, missed opportunities. Truthfully, in last night's game, other than getting up five early in the first quarter, the runs that they made throughout the game at pivotal times are what hurt us. We got up 14 to 9, and then six of our next be eight possessions were what we would consider to be subpar. We had an opportunity to take that from a five to maybe an eight or nine-point lead, and we were unable to do it. They cut into it and then it was a one-point game. At the end of the first quarter was a period that really hurt us, because they scored seven points in under a minute. It was a 7-0 run. So we can't allow those things to happen. Really, the remainder of the game we played well enough to win. We won each quarter by one or two points, and those were positive. But it's a good example of how the first quarter carries over to the fourth quarter. Q. Last night before the game you said that your game is on the ground, their game is in the air. Can you just elaborate on what that means? I hope it's not too dumb a question. Can you describe what you meant by that. COACH RICK CARLISLE: Maybe it was a dumb statement by me. I don't know. Because of the threat that each of their star players presents, when those guys pump fake and get you in the air, they're very good at drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line. So we need to be in position so we can close out and can stay on the ground as much as possible. If we get in situations where we're having to come over and get in the air and try to block shots, it means that we've had defensive breakdowns elsewhere. And those breakdowns most likely can be prevented by being in the best position possible and being down on the ground in a stance. I'm not sure how valid a statement it is. They're a very athletic team. We're a team that relies on our length and our schemes and our system to help us through tough situations. They've got a great system as well, but we've just got to really be tight with our coverage and execution. Q. I guess along those lines a little bit, how tough is it to make adjustments on Wade and not get into some sort of chain reaction that opens up more things for LeBron and the other guys in this ongoing chess match? COACH RICK CARLISLE: Well, when you're talking about guys like Wade, Dirk, James, I mean, you're talking about all top five players in the league. So those guys cause problems, and what we've got to do is we've got to approach it -- we've got to guard each of those two great players with really all five of our guys. Hey, you change the matchups occasionally when you can to give different looks and to spell guys and give them some rest, but, really, your coverages have got to be really tight, really tuned in, your focus has got to be laser-like, and, you know, it's tough because they put you in some tough spots. Q. Rick, Caron got some extra work today. Is he ready to finally return for Game 4? COACH RICK CARLISLE: No. No, he's not. Q. And in terms of Brewer and Stevenson, DeShawn got 90 seconds in the second half, and then didn't play anymore. And Corey, do you finally think about giving him some more minutes from an athleticism standpoint? And why was DeShawn pulled so early in the second half? COACH RICK CARLISLE: It was a coaching decision. Stevenson is playing well. He's shooting 60% for the series. He's shooting the three really well. He's one of our best defenders, and he's got a lot more experience than a lot of our guys. He's been a starter for us for the majority of the season. They hit us with a run. I decided to get a different guy in there and change the dynamics a little bit. When that happens, you hope it works out. Q. Coach, Miami seemed to change your approach offensively last night, attacking the basket a lot more. How much different was it for you guys to defend the Heat with their constant basket attacks last night? COACH RICK CARLISLE: They were aggressive for sure. They played a better game all around than they did in Game 2. I think our goal going into Game 4 is we've got to put one of those 48-minute games together. Last night every time we gained some traction, they would hit us with a 6-0 run or an 8-0 run or they would chip away at our five-point lead. And so this time of year when you're dealing with teams of this caliber, if you have a lull offensively or defensively, the other team is going to take advantage of it. They did a better job of cashing in on those opportunities last night than we did. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|