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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS v HEATJune 3, 2012Erik SpoelstraBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game Four Miami Heat - 91 COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, no one said this was going to be easy, and that's what we talked about in the locker room. We had a couple of real good opportunities there. It was a heck of a half, but it certainly wasn't a heck of a game. The way we came out in the first half, we weren't as committed as we can be. That's the way you have to be against this team. You have to collectively be willing to get into the pit and get your hands dirty for however many minutes it may be. Oftentimes it won't be necessarily pretty. Both teams defend, both teams get after it and you have to find different ways to come out ahead. In the second half we got into the grind, into the fight. Had to expend a lot of energy to get to that point, but it doesn't matter how you get to that point. We had a couple of opportunities to win it, and we didn't. So we'll gather ourselves, get some rest and get ready for the next game in Miami. Q. Coach, you found a good combination in the third quarter by making some substitutions. Are you planning on staying with that‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: This series is probably as unconventional as any series I've been a part of. And probably as much as I've seen both teams making adjustments game to game, both teams have had to gothrough a lot of adversity through this series. We're reinventing ourselves daily. So that unit we came out there with in the third quarter, I thought Norris Cole sparked us, gave us some energy. He kept himself ready, and we knew, at some point we told him to keep himself ready, that the way he plays and his speed might be a factor in this series. Q. Can you describe what you ran in that last play. It seemed like it was supposed to be run for Chalmers. Either way it didn't‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, no, there was a couple of different layers to that. Yeah, we were going to look and see if we could get a cheap one. If not, it was going to come back to Dwyane, to what you saw, pick‑and‑roll with he and Shane. We got a clean look at it. That's pretty much all you can ask for at that point. Q. Coach, what was the play you were running to end the regulation? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Oh, it was another multi‑layer thing to try to get LeBron on the run. And then at that point the play broke down a little bit, so he had to put the ball on the floor and make a play. He had the right idea. I think UD was open for a count there in the corner. But you have to pass it over a 7'6" guy, so it wasn't really a clean pass. We had our opportunities. We feel fine about the second half. We think we can play better. Q. Can you talk about what inspired your lineup adjustment going with Joel. You went with Udonis the rest of the second half for the most part. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Right, as the series is getting tougher, more physical, it's not a coincidence that I'm increasing UD's minutes. Same thing with Joel. Guys just have to be ready. This thing is fluid as we're going. Q. Erik, can you talk about what a challenge it was to manage the fouls, and how LeBron couldn't play as aggressive as usual down the stretch. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Is there a textbook for that? I don't really know. I had to get him out for a couple of minutes. It was five and change in the game when he got his fifth. So at that point you just have to roll the dice and cross your fingers. But yeah, we had a couple of guys in foul trouble. That proved to be costly at the end. That's a shame. You hope that both teams you have their guys and may the best team win. Q. Coach, can you just talk about the trapping on Rondo was clearly different strategy for you guys going forward. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We're going to continue to have to give him different looks, so he's not always in the same rhythm, just trying to pick us apart and get everybody going. That will be the same as we evaluate and we move forward. If we stayed with that steady diet, that's our identity, but if we do that consistently, they'll figure it out. Q. Coach, are you comfortable with Dwyane's looks, his offensive game, the shots just aren't going down. How would you explain his night tonight? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, he competed. That's the most important thing. He was ferocious, particularly defensively. He made some real big defensive plays. He's attacking. You have to give that defense credit. It's not like you're going to always get clean looks, and that's what the playoffs are about, trying to make adjustments. And we'll continue to try to get him in places where he can be aggressive. Q. What did the Celtics do differently defensively in the overtime to slow the game down? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, I mean, you lose one of your big options. We were running a lot of triggers with him involved, and so we had to evolve and go to something else. That unit hasn't done a whole lot together. So we were just trying to survive at that point. Hey, at the end you get a chance to win it. After 50‑plus minutes and losing the MVP, you'll take that. THE MODERATOR: All right, Coach. Thanks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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