|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PACERS v HEATMay 31, 2013LeBron JamesINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: Practice Day Q. You've been in both situations before. You won a championship (Indiscernible) How much harder is it really to go on the road and finish off? LeBRON JAMES: First of all, it's tough to win a playoff game, period. I think the closeout game is always the toughest. You add you're on the road, you're out of your comfort, and it makes it a little tougher. But for us it's a challenge. It's another challenge that we thrive on and we like, and we'll just try to take advantage of it. Q. Dwyane was talking about it a minute ago. When he's not 100%, what do you have to do to kind of make up for the things that he's not able to do and how does that broaden the work? LeBRON JAMES: I just do me. I understand that he's not 100% and he's giving us everything that he has. I got to just be me. Go out and just try to lead our team. (Indiscernible). Q. You mentioned last night you did have to take on more, reference to your Cleveland days. Do you think that might have to be the way it goes from here on out the rest of the series? LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. I played that by our first‑half performance. I didn't like the way we were playing in our first‑half performance. So I went into halftime and said that's what I need to be in the second half. I was able to do that in the third quarter and for the rest of the game. But I think every game is different. Every game presents new challenges and different circumstances. Q. When guys antagonize you, is that like waking up a sleeping giant? LeBRON JAMES: I accept it. I love that type of challenge. I don't shy away from it. I think it's great. It brings emotions to the game. Guys are being competitive. I'm all for it. I can do both. I can talk and I can play at the same time. Q. How do you balance that when guys are really trying to get under your skin? LeBRON JAMES: You can't do that. No way you can get under my skin. I understand what the ultimate task is. I'm able to do multiple things and still be able to concentrate at the task at hand. Q. When you get in that mode, though, do you even remember today what you were yelling at Lance? LeBRON JAMES: No. Absolutely not. No. You know, just letting the game speak for itself, I guess. Q. Going into Indiana's hostile environment, what is the game plan? LeBRON JAMES: It's the same. We want to be very aggressive offensively and defensively, rebound the ball, not turn the ball over on the road, and try to get good shots. If we can take care of our keys going into every game, we give ourselves a good chance to win. Q. In the second half last night you guys were shooting a lot more over them instead of driving to the basket. Is that something you're going to try to implement going into tomorrow night as well? LeBRON JAMES: We took the shots that we had. We didn't over‑attack, that we've been doing at some points some games. The shots that we had we took them. We're a really good shooting team, both from outside and the mid‑range. The mid‑range was there for us last night. And Ray was able to hit a couple of threes. Q. With the Spurs sitting there, is it impossible not to think about them at all? LeBRON JAMES: Yeah, I mean, we know who is the Western Conference Champions. We're focused on that Indiana group, understanding the opportunity that we have. So we look forward to tomorrow night. Q. What are you doing to stay focused? LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. Q. LeBron, with their size, do you think this might be the toughest match‑up for Chris out there in terms of the Eastern Conference teams? LeBRON JAMES: I don't know. It's a question for Chris. Q. You've been the Heat's most reliable three‑point shooter this series. Have you had to maybe step it up a little bit with some of the other shooters not hitting as well as they usually do? LeBRON JAMES: No. For me I can do a little bit of everything. I can shoot from outside, score on the paint, I can score from mid‑range. You know, I'm not trying to compensate for anyone. I'm just trying to do my part, and even do a little bit more. Just try to help. Q. What do you remember in terms of when you walked away from the 2007 Finals, your first trip, your first experience, your first disappointment there? Was there anything you left knowing that night, that series? LeBRON JAMES: That I hope I get another opportunity. I know it's not promised. It was like, wow, that was a great experience for our team. I know at that moment I didn't want that to be the last opportunity I had in The Finals. Q. Did you know even then that maybe there was going to be a time you were just looking across‑‑ you were facing Duncan and Ginobili and Parker‑‑ that you were going to need more maybe to be able to overcome a team like that or to make those repeat trips that you now have made? LeBRON JAMES: Obviously. Obviously I needed more. Our team, we were really good, but we weren't great. And that was a great team. We lost to a better team. So I understand that we needed more. We continued to get better over the years, but we never got to that level. Q. Do you remember some of the things that Duncan said to you then? LeBRON JAMES: No. No. Not besides seeing the stuff on NBA Television and stuff like that. Not really. Q. LeBron, can you talk about having to match their desperation? Obviously they are going to come out desperate in this game. Can you talk about having to match that? LeBRON JAMES: We're desperate too. We're desperate to get back to the NBA Finals. So both teams are desperate in their own sense that they are trying to keep their season alive, and we're trying to advance. We'll see which one clashes the best. 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
|