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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS v HEATMay 31, 2012Erik SpoelstraBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Practice Day COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I'm going through it like the last four or five hours with the staff, going through everything, to evaluate and take a step back and let's be objective about it. He was sensational last night. There were some things we were able to do that we liked that didn't necessarily slow him down. But he's that dynamic of a player and he's that gifted that he's going to require what we talked about, and that's the respect of multiple defenders and multiple coverages. And we were doing that throughout the game, and he was making perfect reads. Q. Is one way you can look at it is that one of their players gave one of the all‑time great playoff performances, we overcame a 15‑point deficit, we weren't good at the line, and we still won? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I think the only thing you point to of that is that you have to find different ways. Each game is its own journey. It really is. And a lot of times it doesn't play out how you plan it to. And you just have to‑‑ you get hit on the ground, and you have to pick yourself up and find a way to win. Last night we had to find a way to grind. They came out and knocked us down early. And from there we just had to keep on digging. Rondo really set the tone, got us back on our heels. But at the same time we have to objectively look at that. We never want to give up that many open opportunities for him, particularly wide‑open rhythm jumpshots. But that was probably one of their season lows in assists as well. Q. You have obviously two of the more attacking‑style players in the league. But does it sort of get under your skin when coach after coach talk about Miami'sability ‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We don't buy any of that. That's normal playoff talk. That's who we've been all year long, and what we've been trying to hammer and hold each other accountable to is that's our identity. When we get away from that identity, it hasn't been a successful formula. We're going to attack. Everybody knows how we want to play. If we can get some of those in the open court or work different triggers to be able to get those attacks, get to the rim, get to the free‑throw line, it's not like this is something that's new right now. We're a league leader in free‑throw attempts during the season for a reason. Those guys have an attack mentality. They bring a physical presence to their guys. Q. Is there ever a concern that it might be officiated differently on the road than at home? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, you'll have different challenges on the road than at home and dealing with a lot of different things. I think those are all distractions. And when we get caught up in that, everybody does. The staff, the players, we all become frustrated at some point. But the more you allow that to become a bigger issue‑‑ I think we've been able to compartmentalize and focus on what really matters, and that's the possession of the game, try to win the game, rather than get caught up on all the things that we can't control. That's not in our circle of influence. It's a very difficult thing to do when you get competitive and passionate in the moment. I think we've done a better job of it really this year than last year. Q.  Erik, will Bosh travel? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yes. Q. Any possibilities of him playing? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, we want him around so we can work with him, work with Rey and work with Keith. He's done three straight workouts. He just finished one again. The same workout. A little bit different, but it's a rehab/basketball workout. Q. How far away do you think he is from coming back‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: It's too early to tell right now. I think we're all encouraged that he's actually able to do some work. Q. Erik, you talk about dealing with the jumpshots. You may be undecided, but are you going to play more on Rondo now or is it kind of‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I'm not sure yet. I'm still‑‑ literally just peeled me away from film and trying to sit back and be objective about it, after a sensational performance by a great player, you have to take a step back. You have to watch the film a couple of times and try to look at it objectively. It's a dangerous thing. He's most dangerous when he's getting in the paint, getting to the rim and obviously getting other people involved. But you also don't want to give him free‑throw line warmup jumpshots. So it's the balance that we're going to try to have to figure out. And I don't have an answer to that right now. Q. You obviously had LeBron and Wade on Rondo for stretches. How tempting is it to have them on him virtually the whole time? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, you can't. Q. It would be too taxing? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Not necessarily. I think he deserves the respect of multiple things. He's that smart. He'll figure it out. And if it's the same guy, the same coverage, he'll figure it out. They also have a handful of other Hall of Famers that we have to deal with as well. And LeBron and Dwyane have to defend those guys. Q. Are you pleased with how you all responded both with more isos and Wade's play in the third quarter after they trapped him a lot and doubled him a lot in the first half? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, under duress, I think we showed a lot of progress in this postseason, and last night, down the stretch, and the ball movement. The trust plays and getting off the ball, moving it to the weak side. We always have an opportunity to bring it back to our attackers. But 24 assists, and a lot of those when it was under duress, when previously that might have been a habit to do it on your own. But there was a lot of trust last night. Q. Do you rethink at all a starting center in light of Joel starting the second half last night? Or do you think you'll stick with (Indiscernible)‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Everything is always on the table now with Chris out. It doesn't change. I don't anticipate any major change right now. Q. Erik, you talked about how Dwyane will come down here and work on his free‑throws by himself. Does that free‑throw shooting sort of worry you a little bit, or is that something you address and just let the guys just sort of‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, we work on it. I don't think it's something we're going to overemphasize. We work on it all the time. The guys spend a lot of time on that. I like the fact that we're getting to the line. That's the most important thing. When you get to the line in the fourth quarter and (Indiscernible) ways of doing that, yeah, there's probably a reality of some level of fatigue as well. Those are physical plays you have to make to get to the line. But that's the successful formula when we're in attack mode. Not necessarily if they're all going in. Q. After a game like that, tough game, do you get a chance to exhale? When do you exhale? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, you can't. They can't either. This is way too competitive. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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