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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PACERS v HEATMay 26, 2013Erik SpoelstraINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: Game Three Miami Heat 114 COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: What we talked about in the locker room tonight was a team win. And we just tried to focus on the task of playing one possession at a time and trying to play those possessions well. We had a lot of contributions tonight. So it was a good step forward. But we know how competitive this series is. We already have to start putting this behind us, and now start getting ready for the next challenge, the next battle in Game 4. Q. Was that as offensively efficient a first half as you've seen from your team? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: More focused to getting to our identity, and more committed to not settling and not letting them off the hook with shots they want us to take. It's a very good defensive team, so you have to be committed to moving the ball, letting other guys make the plays. It's a tough team to self‑will against. They're too good, they pack the paint and they play that defense against one‑on‑one play as well as anybody in the league. So it was a better team effort, even though we only had 21 assists. The ball was moving. More guys were involved, and we're a better team when it's that case. Q. Spo, how do you explain the way you guys seem to bounce back after playoff losses this year and previous years? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We were disappointed. That's where you have to embrace the competition. Look, Game 2, I'm sure there's so many storylines out there, but the fact is they beat us. There's two competitive teams going after it. They made more plays going down the stretch. There's no excuses. They beat us. So our guys didn't feel good about that. We had a four‑point lead with five minutes to go in our building, and we didn't close out the game the way we're capable of. They made more plays down the stretch. So we had 48 hours to lament it and leave it behind us. And now focus on trying the next challenge. And that's what it's got to be right now, is the next challenge, the next game, because it doesn't matter how much you win by. This series is competitive. That's a very good basketball team. So we have to be focused and get ready for another one. Q. Erik, LeBron's move into the post, was that something the staff saw against Paul George, or was that more LeBron taking the initiative? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, it wasn't something we saw against a very good defender. It was something we wanted to get to just to help us settle us and get into a more aggressive attack. Because Paul George and that defense is a very good‑‑ he's a very good defender and he can do it in a lot of different ways. But we wanted to be a little more aggressive, a little more committed to getting into the paint and seeing what would happen. And LeBron was very committed and focused to not settle. That aggressiveness set the tone. Q. Can you talk about Udonis Haslem when he's hitting that jumper, how much it opens things up, how much it changes him and maybe how good you felt for him having that kind of moment. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Look, we know Udonis Haslem now for ten years. He's been in more playoff battles arguably than anybody else in that locker room. And he's played his biggest in the biggest moments, when you need him, when there's adversity. I'm a coach that studies numbers, looks at numbers, and in the ten years that I've gotten to know UD, I know that he's not defined and cannot be defined by numbers. He's defined by winning plays and a toughness that most players don't have. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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