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NBA FINALS: HEAT v THUNDERJune 13, 2012Erik SpoelstraOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA: Practice Day Q. You said last night you're going to go‑‑ you have to see who's really available. What did you mean by that? Is it a question of injuries? Is it a question of who's capable‑‑ COACH SPOELSTRA: No, JJ had a migraine, okay, so he wasn't available right before the game. But whether‑‑ I'll probably go a little bit deeper into the rotation obviously, try to get the guys a little more rest. But we're not making any excuses. Their two top guys played the same amount of minutes. Regardless of how we got there, whatever happened during the course of the game, that game was still decided by four or five plays. They made the four or five plays, man. When we were finishing up our last series in that fourth quarter against Boston, we made the four or five plays during the fourth quarter, and that changed everybody's perspective. We have enough. Fatigue wasn't an issue last night, and so our focus will be on playing more to our identity tomorrow night. They imposed their identity more than we did in that game. We didn't feel we played well. They're a part of that, okay, but we didn't play to our identity. And yet we still were four or five plays from coming away with a win. That's some of the resourcefulness about our group. Usually at the end of games we find a way. Q. In the last two rounds you played teams that had the same starting lineup every game, Indiana and Boston, and basically the same approach every game. You because of Chris Bosh's absence and return have changed lineups and changed approaches to a degree. How much of a challenge is it for you and how much of a challenge is it for players to not have the continuity that the Celtics, the Pacers and‑‑ COACH SPOELSTRA: Who cares. That's what we're done with. The Playoffs are about survival, it really is. So when Chris Bosh went out, I mentioned this at the time, and I told him, hey, Chris, I love you, but I didn't want the video guys to even put any clips of him involved in anything that we were doing. I didn't even want to see him on the court when I was watching, and we had to reinvent ourselves. That's the reality of the Playoffs. And so now this is a great positive that we have a player like Chris coming back, but the reality of that is, yes, you have to make an adjustment, and we think it's a positive adjustment, but the lineup does change and it does have a ripple effect on other players. We've added some other depth up front. Q. When you look back at last night and maybe some of the switching, was there maybe too much switching on defense? Does that take some of the bite out of your defense when you're doing that? COACH SPOELSTRA: Possibly. Possibly. We're an aggressive, disruptive defensive team. Now, I don't mind it at times. We can be very disruptive when we switch, as well. But it flattened out some of our aggressiveness, which makes us unique. So regardless, last night was not decided by schematics. It was decided by force. It was decided by will. It was decided by energy. Both these teams have that ability. They imposed that on us last night, and that's the reality. Everything else was probably everything in between. Q. What can you do to get Chris some shots in the paint? COACH SPOELSTRA: Well, we've got to be more aggressive with our triggers, but now he's got his feet wet, four games. The last two games he's been able to handle more minutes. I think we can start to incorporate him more to who he was and his strengths right before he got injured. He was so accommodating the last three or four games just trying to fit in. But we need him to be a little bit more who he is, and so the same type of menu he was getting before I think you'll see. Q. You guys went from Carmelo to Pierce in the East, some of the great threes in this league. Is Durant on a different level right now? COACH SPOELSTRA: He's a great player, and that's how we view every round is it's another challenge. It's its own challenge, and they're a team in our way. And so he does some things at his size that are extremely unique, great shooter, he's great in transition. He had those 10 in transition that really got him going, another couple bail‑out threes from an offensive rebound, we didn't match up with him, and another spot‑up open three that really got his confidence going. So by the time he got to the fourth quarter he was in an incredible rhythm. Again, it comes down to us, good, bad, everything in between, we have to impose our will, impose our identity on the game, and we did not do that last night, and we did not do that with him. Q. You said that you liked the way this was, ending one round and went right to the next, the quick turnaround, but the way the fourth quarter was, were you guys tired? COACH SPOELSTRA: No, that's not an excuse. It's not. You know, at this point, there's 10 days left in the season. There were four or five plays to be made, regardless of the minutes. Both teams have played quite a few minutes up to this point, and we're very capable, and our guys understand that. Q. This is a second‑guess question if you don't mind. COACH SPOELSTRA: I'm used to that world. Q. Shane Battier came out and hit his first three shots, three‑pointers. Why did you sub him out so early? COACH SPOELSTRA: I subbed him out for a big one minute, and he came right back. He finished the first quarter. Q. But at the time you put Miller in for him and he was hot. COACH SPOELSTRA: He just needed a quick breath. If you noticed, that's what I was doing in the first half. He finished the first quarter. Q. Are you concerned about obviously these two guys, Perk and Ibaka are big scorers, but is their size a concern and is there a consideration now where you're mentioning Bosh? COACH SPOELSTRA: We don't think last night was decided by size. I don't think Collison is the biggest player on the court, but he had an incredible impact on the game with his motor, his engine, his relentlessness. That's who we feel we are, as well, and we didn't impose our will on the game, the energy and the possession‑saving plays, the kind of plays that he made down the stretch. That's not about size. Q. You mentioned Bosh doing more. Is he going back to the starting lineup? COACH SPOELSTRA: Yeah, I don't know if I'll do that. It's more important how he's playing and where we're putting him in positions where he can be aggressive. Q. You've mentioned often tuning out the noise, controlling the noise by not saying last night whether Chris was starting or not or whether James had a concussion. Is it possible that by drawing attention to that kind of noise that you're actually just bringing it up in the first place, that it's not coming from the outside, it's coming from you? COACH SPOELSTRA: I don't think so, no. I mean, I think we've been able to compartmentalize pretty well. We weren't trying to create any drama. There was obviously going to be a big topic, but we've gotten in the habit of not discussing the pros and cons and the benefits and the negatives before it actually happens. We want our guys just to focus on the game, and then afterwards‑‑ obviously you guys have job to do, but that doesn't have anything to do with us preparing for a game. Q. Does that benefit the team in any way? COACH SPOELSTRA: The focus? Yeah, if we can just focus on the game, yeah. We live in a different world probably than most teams. Q. On the match‑ups tomorrow night, what will go into your thinking on whether to put LeBron, start him actually on KD or keep Shane on? COACH SPOELSTRA: I don't think that was an issue at the beginning. I mean, I really don't. That's why I've coined his nickname one through five. He's going to be guarding one through five regardless if I do it at the beginning or not, and he had several possessions during the course of the game on Durant. Starting him in that fashion, I don't think that had an impact, negatively or positively. He got off to a great start. I don't think that was the reason. Q. How would you assess Dwyane Wade's play last night? And you mentioned getting back to who you were. Was he who he usually is on the court? COACH SPOELSTRA: Well, again, normally typically we're used to having the advantage and fast break opportunities, and they dominated that area 24 to 4. Typically we see that the other way in our swing, maybe not that dramatic, but again, when we defend and we impose our will by being disruptive and aggressive, it opens up opportunities for us in the open court. And when we get our attackers in the open court, their confidence soars. In the half court we have to find ways to execute with more precision, to get him in places he can be aggressive and get into the paint. Q. And is he dealing with health issues? COACH SPOELSTRA: No, he's fine at this point. And I've said this time and time again, no one feels 100 percent. There's 10 days left. Our guys are ready for this challenge, and we'll rest today, and our shoot‑around will be about as light as you can possibly have it tomorrow. They'll be ready to go tomorrow night. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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