	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NBA FINALS: MAVERICKS v HEAT

June 9, 2011

Jason Kidd

DALLAS, TEXAS: Game Five

Miami Heat 103
Dallas Mavericks 112

Q. Jason, going back to Miami up 3-2. Talk a little about what kind of adjustments you're going to need to make to go in and close out this series in Game 6.
JASON KIDD: Well, I think we have to play better defense. They shot over 50%, and we got to limit them to one tough shot. LeBron has a triple-double, D-Wade plays -- he's having a great series. So big thing for us is to make them take tough shots and rebound the ball and get out and run.

Q. Hey, Jason, how is the mood of the team after this game? And what's the approach going to be heading back to Miami for the final two?
JASON KIDD: Well, I think we're happy with our performance, but there's always room to get better. So defensively, you know, in that fourth quarter we gave up too many lay-ups to them, and they took the lead. But the big thing is we know it's hard to win on the road. And we have to find a way to win on the road come Sunday and see what happens.

Q. J-Kidd, even though Chalmers knocked down that three to put you guys down at the end of the first, how comfortable were you guys playing after that? You weren't really playing behind the eight ball all night like you had been this whole series.
JASON KIDD: It always seems somewhere at the end of the quarter or half or one of the quarters they make a half-court three. So to get that out of the way in the first was maybe a good sign. (Laughter).
Because we turned the ball over and they come down -- we thought we played a pretty good first quarter where we had the lead. But we turn the ball over, and they make a three and they take the lead. Hopefully we can start making threes at some point, and we did that tonight.
Again, we have to take care of the ball.

Q. Jason, can you talk about where you developed the calm you have out there on the court as a point guard. And did that play any part in it as they took that lead at 5:18 and went on that 6-0 run, as you guys were able to come back and close it out?
JASON KIDD: Well, I think just understanding the game a little bit, I'm still learning. But the big thing is just to not panic. The game is about runs and rhythm. And they made a run on us where they were getting lay-ups. We had to find a way to stop. On the other end, you have to continue to keep playing when they do score. You have to find a way to score on the other end. We did and guys stepped up and made some big plays down the stretch.

Q. What was said in the huddle at that time? They go on the 6-0 run and take that lead.
JASON KIDD: Just to stay together and keep fighting. The big thing is defensively we got to get a stop. Make or miss on the offensive end, we got to find a way to break their rhythm, because they were running the pick-and-rolls and they were slipping out getting lay-up after lay-up. Normally when you do that to a team, you tend to drop your head and compound it by not scoring on the other end. Guys just kept playing, finding a way.

Q. Jason, when you saw that Dwyane Wade left the game in the first half and didn't start in the third quarter, did you and the team sense maybe a feeling that you could have taken a big lead and possibly put the game away?
JASON KIDD: I felt, I don't know how my teammates felt, I knew he was going to come back. This is The Finals. We all knew he was going to come back at some point. But the big thing is LeBron putting pressure on us on the defensive end, where he was penetrating and guys were helping, and he was finding the open guy. Miller made two threes to start that half. So we didn't get off to a good start defensively. But as the game went on, we knew at some point D-Wade would be back and he was going to have an impact on the game.

Q. Jason, you're 38 years old. You're obviously a victory away from possibly your first title. Have you given any thought to that? And if so, what would you say about perseverance once being a young phenom yourself, and how long it's taken you to get to this point? If you could talk about that.
JASON KIDD: I haven't thought about it. I'm just staying in the moment and understanding we have to find a way to win come Sunday. Everything else will fall into place if we can find a way to win. When you come into this league, you feel that you can always win a championship. You just don't understand when you're young just the competition and the level that you have to play with and play as a team. And then there's the business side of basketball, where you can be traded or you lose a teammate or something.
So you learn that about basketball, the business side, but you don't stop working. You're never too young or too old to always improve your game. For me at 38, I've always felt that I had to improve my shooting if I want to be on the floor and help my teammates out. As I've gotten older, it's just about timing, and not so much scoring 20 points or having 15 assists or 10 rebounds. It's just being at the right place at the right time, and feeling that your teammates believe in you.
And Dirk and Jet, Jet made a heck of a play out, driving the ball and throws it out, and being able to knock down that three. Just the trust that he trusted in me I was going to make that shot.

Q. Jason, you've known Dirk for a while now. When you guys won the Western Conference, he ran away from the celebration like somebody was chasing him. He didn't want any part of it. You've known him for a while. Talk about how focused he is right now and how that's going to help you guys stay grounded.
JASON KIDD: Well, I think he's been in this position before in '06, and they've put teams around Dirk for a while now and he hasn't gotten back here. He's enjoying the moment but he's also focused and understands how hard it is to win a championship. So his hard work, he works every day on his game, and I think right now he's just focused on trying to help his team win.

Q. Jason, in the first three games the live ball turnovers were killing you guys. Last two games really curtailed that. What's the difference been?
JASON KIDD: I kept it under four, so that's a good sign. (Laughter) For some reason I've been throwing it to the Heat.
I think we understand how important the ball is against this team, because if you turn it over, by the time you take one step back on defense, they're already dunking it. So we're trying to work. Sometimes it doesn't look like it, but we're not trying to turn the ball over on purpose. You have to give the Heat a lot of credit. They are great on the defensive end.

Q. Jason, you were much more involved offensively as a scorer tonight. Was that a change of mentality or simply a matter of making your shots?
JASON KIDD: I think the lay-up definitely helped. I haven't had a lay-up in a while. Getting the ball to the basket and getting that lay-up gave me a little confidence. My job isn't to score. My job is to get my teammates in a position to be successful. But my teammates get on me sometimes about shooting the ball and looking to score a little bit to help them.
So tonight was one of those games where I had some good looks, and they went in.

Q. Jason, I want to get your observations on the way this series has gone for Jason Terry. A couple of games ago he looked like a little kid with LeBron James hulking over him and completely shutting him down. Now he's been one of your most important fourth-quarter players, as he always is. What did he do differently? And did he pump himself by saying LeBron couldn't hang with him for the whole series?
JASON KIDD: Jet is a very emotional player. He loves the fourth quarter. In his career he's been incredible in the fourth. I think the challenge is for him with LeBron he's got to use his quickness. So LeBron is one of the best defenders in this league. And he made some incredible shots tonight, especially one out there by the American Airlines logo. That was a big shot.
When he gets going, he's tough. No matter who is guarding him.

Q. A couple of games ago your coach made a starting lineup change, got Barea in there, and it really paid off. Why do you think Barea was so effective for the first time in this series? What did he do?
JASON KIDD: I think he was aggressive. In Game 4, he was aggressive in Game 4 where he missed some shots that we all know he makes. And he hasn't backed down. He might be -- what is he listed at 5'10"? We'll go with that. (Laughter). He enjoys that challenge of being a small guy and maybe being overlooked. And, again, he made some big shots, too. But just being aggressive and, again, he only had one turnover. We trust him, J.J., when he has the ball he's going to find the right guy or make the right play. He's done that two games in a row.

Q. How ready and prepared is the team to deliver the knockout blow on Sunday?
JASON KIDD: Look, we're trying to execute our game plan and see if we have the most points come Sunday. We're not looking to knock no one out. We're here to play team basketball and continue to do what we've been doing the last two games.

Q. Jason, with about five minutes remaining, Shawn shifted over to guard Dwyane Wade. Was that a specific effort to keep Dwyane out of the post or what was your understanding of Rick's motivation for that switch?
JASON KIDD: Trix and I talked walking out. I said, do you want to switch? He said, why not? That's just communicating between feeling -- we have to try to give them different looks. They're so talented. When you talk about Wade and LeBron, I mean, you give them the same look, they're going to take advantage of that. So that was just a time where we said we wanted to give them a different look down the stretch.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Jason.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297