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NBA FINALS: HEAT v THUNDERJune 12, 2012Scott BrooksOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA: Game One Q. Does it matter to you whether Bosh starts or comes off the bench? COACH BROOKS: No, it doesn't, doesn't matter whoever they play. They have a lot of good things they do for their team. It doesn't matter who we guard. We have guys that can guard multiple positions, so it really doesn't matter. We'll find out soon. Q. Do you treat this like any other game? I mean, The Finals, first time for most of your guys, any different pregame or anything like that? COACH BROOKS: Nothing changes on that end. Obviously it's The Finals, it's not an exhibition game, it's not any other game. We know that. We understand where we are. But what we do every day is we do the same routine, we focus on improving, we focus on studying what they do, and we put it on the shoot around and then pregame and then going into the game, nothing changes. It's basketball. Q. What would stop you from playing Durant 48 again, just seeing how many games he can go? COACH BROOKS: Have you talked to him? He loves to play. You know, Kevin wants to play all the time, and I've said it many times before, every time I take Kevin out, I usually take him out four or five minutes per half, and sometimes he takes it as a benching, and he doesn't understand he needs to rest so he can be ready to play the last eight minutes. But we'll play him as long as he can play at a high level with good energy and defensive energy, we'll play him. But 48 is probably a tad too much, 47. Q. Every team loves its fans. What's the impact on your team, home crowds versus road crowds? COACH BROOKS: Well, we have great fans. I'm sure Miami, they feel the same way, but we have a unique situation here. We have a group of fans that really support and have been united and really cheered one thing. It's OSU, OU, and I've been here for four years, and I cannot imagine a bigger rivalry in any college football. But those fans cheer one thing, and it's the Thunder. It's a great situation. Our fans, I've always said this, they don't cheer for us, they embrace our players. It doesn't matter who plays, everybody that goes in there, they feel the same type of respect and love that all the players feel on this team. Q. What effect do you see on the road from whatever reception your team gets on the road? How do they handle that? COACH BROOKS: Well, we've always been a good road team because we just focus on playing basketball, and we're a good team. You're not going to win a lot of games if you can't play. We have players that play, and we don't let the road atmosphere‑‑ we've been in some very hostile environments and you have to play very good to win. We've been a very road team in the Playoffs, and we've been a very good road team all year. Q. With Miami using such a short bench, how do you use your bench? Do you shorten it up so your bench players don't have to play against their best guys? COACH BROOKS: Well, I trust our guys. My job is to believe in them. If I don't believe in our guys, it's not fair to them. But we trust our guys. That doesn't mean they're going to play. I'm going to play the best players that are going to help us win the game. But those other guys have to be ready. And I give DC a lot of credit. He didn't play much. He played in San Antonio, played three minutes, made three shots, had eight points. You just have stay ready. Nazr hasn't played much, Nick hasn't played much the last few games, but those guys are a big part of our team. It takes all of our guys to be successful. They just have to be ready. But right now it's usually a shorter rotation. Q. Russell was asked to pass more last series. He was setting screens off the ball. What's his role this series? COACH BROOKS: We still like Russell to score. I like him to score. He is not‑‑ there's not many. We can dissect his game all we want. The bottom line, he's a good player. He plays hard, doesn't miss games. He practices just like he plays. Is he a perfect player? No, nobody on our team, nor am I a perfect coach, but what we do is come to work every day and do our job. He has to score for us. We want him to score for us. He also has to control the game and play defense on their best or one of their best players, if that's the point guard or the two guard. He can guard multiple positions, but we need him to score. He's a talented player. He can get to the basket, can get to the free throw line. His pull‑up game is good, last series it wasn't as good. But we feel that he can have‑‑ he can make that shot. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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