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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS v HEATJune 2, 2012Ray AllenBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Practice Day RAY ALLEN: I don't believe where we are right now, we're in the same position last year. I don't think we have the same mindset and mentality. Despite losing the first two, I think we're a better team now. And we're a strong core. Even though having bigger bodies last year, just seems like we have more awareness and understanding. Q. Do you feel like it wasn't there last year for you? Or you're just stronger this year? Or what? RAY ALLEN: I just think we have more of an awareness of what we need to do. Q. Ray, can you talk about the flush down the middle last night? RAY ALLEN: It was a little surprise. Yeah, feeling pretty good. A little surprise. It was just one of those situations where we had played where we moved the ball around often. And you're so worried about the shooters, you're worried about Paul in the perimeter. Rondo got down the lane, because you're worried about getting out. I think it was an opportune time for me, because when I got to the paint, they were like, is he going to pass? We have to worry about the three‑point shot? I made it all the way. Q. What's the key to not allowing Dwyane Wade to get into the flow that he's obviously accustomed to getting into? RAY ALLEN: Anytime you have a scorer that gets to the free‑throw line easy, it gives you a rhythm, gets the ball in your hands, get your free‑throws, getting those easy lay‑ups in transition where you don't have to work as hard. Those are the things we have to work on early so they don't get in that offensive flow. Q. Do you anticipate them looking to get him going earlier in Game 4? RAY ALLEN: It's really hard to say. We're prepared for whatever they do. We have a game plan to try to keep them from getting those easy buckets. Q. It looks like this year more and more, instead of saying Dwyane is your responsibility, LeBron is Paul's responsibility, you're giving them some different looks and maybe taking a little bit of the pressure off of any one person to try to stop them? RAY ALLEN: It really changed because our lineup has been very untraditional. You know, when we go small, we can have four guys that are under 6'6" out there on the floor. So with that they go small, they have a shooting lineup in, it puts Rondo on Wade. Marquis was on him a little bit. It puts Keyon on him. So it just changes and we just have to adapt. Q. How does that help you, keeping you and maybe Paul a little bit fresher, getting more down time a little bit from having that constant assignment? RAY ALLEN: For me personally, if I have to stop him, if I have to guard him, that's just what I have to do. The scoring aspect is‑‑ I've always learned that you rest on offense. Defense is where you got to be there 100%. Q. What is it about you guys as a team that Doc knows‑‑ that he knows that it's smarter not to have you guys have traditional practices on all these off days? RAY ALLEN: Right now the film work is important. Staying off your feet. You need what you're going to get from your guys in shoot‑arounds. I think the season prepared us, having such short time in between games. We really have had to focus in on getting stuff we need to get in with shoot‑around. Guys responded well to it. Q. Is this a smarter strategy for a team with a lot of veterans? RAY ALLEN: It's hard to say. It's a strategy. One thing I have learned over the course of my time is that I've been with plenty of coaches that never gave you any days off. You didn't do‑‑ it was always‑‑ coach always felt like you had to be in the gym. Sometimes it was at the detriment of players' bodies. At some point you just break down. Watching film and giving guys rest, you're going to‑‑ with a veteran team, guys know how to get the work in they need. Q. When you took that first three from the corner last night, the crowd was cheering when the ball was still in your hands practically. It's like they still believe it's going in. Or they think you need an extra boost right now. Any idea what's going through their mind that they're still that into it when you have the ball? RAY ALLEN: No. I've always felt that way with this crowd. I've always had great connection with these fans. I do believe that they think every shot I take is going to go in. I believe that. Q. Is there a certain balance that has to be struck to go to Kevin when he's effective, but at the same time not kind of predictable about it and wear him down? RAY ALLEN: You don't want to wear him down. It's like trying to get him to‑‑ it's like you get to the point where you use him to the point where almost he becomes a decoy. It's like you tip to the point where you know you're going to go to him, just like me on the perimeter, you know you're going to get to me, find me a good shot. But then somebody else gets the shot because the defense shades so heavily. So that's kind of what we do with him. If he has it, he has to take advantage of it. He got scores for us. Q. What do you remember the most about the Game 4 overtime loss to Miami last year? RAY ALLEN: Nothing. Q. Nothing goes through your mind at all about it? RAY ALLEN: No. Q. What about being back in that same position this year? RAY ALLEN: I don't attribute anything to this year from last year. I just know that they beat us last year and sent us home. So right now we know what the game plan is for this team. That's where my focus is. Q. Do you get the sense that you've been getting Kevin even closer to the rim lately? RAY ALLEN: That he's been getting closer to the rim? Q. Yeah. You get him the ball even more where you want to? RAY ALLEN: Well, it's interesting, because Kevin, he's a jump‑shooter. But he's had such great match‑ups that we are getting him closer to the rim because we're staying so spaced on the perimeter. It's really it's a simple game that we play, and there's so many things, options we can run him through our offense. At the end of the day, it's just like you stay spaced, give him the ball and see how they guard him. Let him shoot over the top. That's what he's been doing. If you front him over the top, we're going to him. And that's what we've done a lot. And if you don't front him, give him the ball, and he still can shoot over the top of you. You contribute two guys. You have me, Paul, Rondo on the perimeter, then Brandon‑‑ I think Brandon has helped a lot too. I don't think he understands his importance being able to shoot like he does. He's taken a lot of pressure off of him. It's a simple game. When we execute it, everybody is effective and everybody has an impact. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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