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NBA FINALS: HEAT v THUNDERJune 20, 2012Erik SpoelstraMIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day Q.  What was last night like? What was this morning coming into work like for you? I know you're preaching same approach, Game 5, same preparation, all that. But in this moment where none of you have ever been, at least this unit has ever been collectively, how tough is it to keep that same approach? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, that's the way you have to treat it. If you start changing the routine and now start making it about the result other than focusing on the process of the next 24 hours preparing for another, it's going to be another battle. 48 minutes. We have to get ready for that. So we went to work today. It was a normal day of work, long film session, went through some things in practice, and now we're going to try to rest up and get our bodies and minds right for this battle tomorrow night. Q. And I know you made reference to it last night, obviously we all know what happened to LeBron. It seems unusually warm in the building again today. Are you concerned at all about that? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No. I think we'll be able to better hydrate and be more proactive now that we know what the environment is like. Hey, we're from down here, so hopefully it'll be to our advantage. Q. Did LeBron work at all today? How does he look physically? How is he moving? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, he feels better. He was able to rehydrate, get some rest. Hopefully by tomorrow he'll feel even better. But he was able to go through our practice, which was more of a glorified walk‑through. Q. What exactly did you do at practice? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Walk‑through situations. Q. How much did you learn last year about the mental piece of this and how relentless you have to be, relentlessly tough you have to be, to get all the way through and finish and actually win a championship? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, it's incredible. You can't ever take it for granted. I remember when I was an assistant for Pat, he used to say this all the time, you never know you're going to win it until you actually do, and that's how we felt that year every single round. You never really felt like you were going to win it, and then it just happened. You've got to absolutely immerse yourself into the process and the focus. It's Game 5. We want to treat it as a Game 7. But we are preparing for Game 5 to protect our home court and to take care of that business. It's been well documented the experience we went through last year and the pain and all that. It doesn't guarantee anything. Experience is a great teacher. You know, hopefully all those experiences will help us. Q. After watching the film on Westbrook last night, the kind of game he had, was it anything you didn't do or did do that you need to change or was he just in one of those zones? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Both. He was tremendous, and I don't think the film does it justice how explosive he was playing. And so we have to do everything quicker, and there's got to be a quicker synapse probably in our mind before our bodies to get that earlier step closer to get a body in front of him. If we're reacting to him, it's too late. You have to be there waiting, multiple bodies in front of him, and we certainly have to make it much tougher than we did last night. Q. What, if anything, are you guys doing to cause them to shoot so poorly on three‑pointers this series? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: You know, I don't know. We're trying to focus on our defense. You see some that are make or miss. That's the bottom line. We're trying to play true to our identity, and that's to be aggressive, to attack, to hopefully force some mistakes, to really try to protect that paint, and then make great efforts to get to that three‑point line. You know, I don't know if we've affected them or not. I don't know. Q. With the way LeBron was both being patient in the post and moving the ball and then looking for his own attack once he saw the double move off of him, this has been sometimes more of a story line than it has been important for you to see, but it seemed like it was one of the more balanced post games he's had this season. What have you seen him improve in over last year and what is he doing so well? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, the first thing was for us to take another step forward from last year as a basketball team offensively. He knew that we would need a bigger post presence from him, and he's been able to provide that. Dwyane has been able to provide that for us for our team to take the next step. He's reading situations, whether they're coming down and trapping him, or if they're not, he's being very patient to make sure he gets an opportunity in the paint, either for himself or for creating an open shot for somebody else. We'll continue to try to establish that. The more we play inside out, the more we're able to attack the paint, the more dangerous we are as a team. Q. You were part of a team long ago that came back from 3‑1, one of the few times. You know what they're going through, what they're thinking, what's going through their mind. How dangerous is a team like they are right now in that situation? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Well, they're always dangerous. Come on, this series has been decided by four or five plays every single game. We have to generate, again, the physical and mental toughness, again, to go through it. It's going to be a grind, and we have to be prepared for that. Our guys understand. That team is relentless, they're not going to stop coming, so we have to make sure that we're swinging and throwing all of our stuff out there. We're not leaving anything in the locker room, and that's what we talked about today, that we need to really, really get ready for probably the toughest game of the series tomorrow night. Q. What else did you talk about, the four or five plays being among them? Can you see it taking with your players, when the message is actually playing out? Do you see them absorbing it more? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, because we've been in a lot of these situations where it's those four or five plays that make the difference. We've done that a lot during this playoff stretch where it hasn't always gone according to our game plan and according to our identity, and sometimes you just need to figure out and find ways to win. And a lot of times those are just making winning plays. It can be on either end of the court. I think the last couple games we've been more consistent to our identity, but it still comes down to making those winning plays. These are months of habits of building it, and you can't overthink it. At that point in the moment of truth you've got to trust your instincts and just make it happen. Q. In the past two games you've won both rebounds and points in the paint. Coming into Game 3 did you feel you had an advantage on the interior? And is that something you tried to play toward? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, not because we think we have an advantage. I don't think there's much of an advantage either way, either team. It's who can impose their identity more consistently. That's how we play. We're an aggressive, attacking team. When we don't play like that, it hasn't been a successful formula. I say that out of absolute respect for Oklahoma City, but we learned this a while ago. It's been more about us and how we play, and the karma of the game that comes from that. Q. Was it a part of the general game plan coming in? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: It always is. It always is.  If we don't attack, it's not a successful formula. Q. You've won sort of with offense and defense throughout the season, but when you're in a series like this and this level, is there any sort of satisfaction in knowing that you've been able to win games in this series both sort of ugly and more offensively? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, what you see over the years and the history of playoff basketball are the teams that are resourceful, that find different ways to win, because it becomes so competitive. What you're talking about here, this is the ultimate competition, these two teams. I don't think there's much separation between either team. It's a high level of competition, and that's the beauty of it. We talk about it all the time. Often times it's everything in between that it'll come down to, and you've just got to find a different way, because you're going to get knocked down on the canvas at some point. I can't even count how many times we've been punched and hit the ground this playoff run, you know, and even the last two games where we've been down, but you've just got to keep on digging and stay the course. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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