|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA FINALS: HEAT v THUNDERJune 12, 2012Erik SpoelstraOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA: Game One COACH SPOELSTRA: I'll turn in my card in a half hour or so. There won't be any surprises on who I play. Q. Having been to this rodeo now last year, the guys who were first‑timers last year, do you notice any change in the way they're handling things? COACH SPOELSTRA: It's tough to say. We'll see when we get out there. You never take it for granted. Considering what we went through in this playoff series, and even in our regular season, you realize just how tough it is to get here. You're hopeful that you're healthy enough, and we had to go through some adversity with that, you hope you're playing well enough at the right time, and you have to survive. It is tough. We were talking about it on the plane, I think I mentioned this the last couple times, you can never take it for granted, getting to this point. You know, one of the trips that we thought that we were for sure going to go, when our staff was‑‑ in 2005 when we lost in Game 7 at home, we thought for sure, that whole year, that we were going, up by seven with five minutes to go, and then boom, it's over. So you can't take these moments for granted. Q. As you've been debating about Bosh starting, not starting, what are some of the factors that you're considering because I assume they're a little different than the last set of games? COACH SPOELSTRA: Yeah, I considered everything, gave it a great deal of thought, and talked to everybody. We're not holding any secrets right now. It's just about our guys focusing on the game plan. The eight guys that are going to play will not be a surprise. Q. Do you think there's any advantage to be gained from not disclosing? COACH SPOELSTRA: No, I really don't. I mean, I'd be willing to tell Oklahoma City. I don't think it's a competitive advantage. I just‑‑ one of the few times that hopefully we can control a little bit of the noise out there, we don't have to get into the debate about the pluses or minuses about it before the game. The guys can just focus in, get into their iPads and focus on the game. Q. Most coaches seem to shorten their bench the deeper into the Playoffs it goes, you and the Thunder seem to have done that. Does that continue into The Finals? COACH SPOELSTRA: Well, our rotation is bigger now that we've added Chris Bosh to our rotation. When he went out and then Ronny had a slight tweak, we had to really tighten the rotation. But yeah, we'll go a little bit deeper, and then the game will decide the rest. Q. Would you cap Chris's minutes at all in terms of where he is physically right now? COACH SPOELSTRA: No, I'm in constant communication with not only Chris but our training staff, and I think he can handle more, I'm not sure. Once we get out there and the energy and adrenaline and all that, he's still only played three games, so he went 14 minutes to 20 minutes to 31 minutes. He had to come out a couple times last game due to wind. I have no problem doing that right now. The rotation will be more based on that than it will be a set rotation. When he needs to get a breather, or even for that matter Dwyane and LeBron, I'll work to get them one, but it won't be necessarily a designated set six minutes. Q. About the breathers, Durant went 48 in Game 7, I think LeBron did or came close in 6 and/or 7. Not to be cavalier about it because I'm not the one doing it, but this late in the year is there any thought of‑ especially if Durant goes 48 ‑ if will LeBron wants to stay in, he stays in? COACH SPOELSTRA: Well, there's always a thought with it. To be fair, the last game he was not coming out (laughing). He had a look on his face where there's no way I could have said, hey, sit on the bench, even for a couple minutes. He has to expend a great deal of energy. We were able to manage his minutes pretty much at a career low level for the majority of the regular season, and you get to this point, we have 12 days left, I know he has the mentality that he'll do whatever it takes, and so I want him fresh. So I'll work to try to get him some rest, and ideally it won't be 48, 53, whatever it is. Hopefully I'll be able to get him some breaks in the first and second half. 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
|