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NBA FINALS: SPURS v HEATJune 13, 2013Erik SpoelstraSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Game Four Q.  Are you going to tell us your lineup right now or are you going to wait? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, I'll turn in my card in 45 minutes. I don't know why everybody is asking me today. Q. There's a report out there that Mike might start. Have you thought about that? Or is that an idea that's‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Our conversations really the last 24 hours have been just how we get to a place where we can play our game more consistently and hopefully play our best game of the series tonight. It was a miserable day yesterday. We all owned it. And the last 24 hours have been just about preparing for this moment. But I don't know, there's been wild rumors. My phone has been texting off the hook. Everywhere I go in this arena everybody is asking me about the lineup. I guess you guys know something I don't know. Q. Erik, to follow that up, there was word that you worked with a different starting lineup at shootaround; is that correct? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, we worked with the normal lineup that we have, which is about eight guys that sub for each other. Q. The normal starting lineup? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: It's about eight guys that sub in and out for each other. Q. And the other part of that is, you have been willing to change lineups, if need be, even during The Finals; you did that in 2011. Even with Mario. Is that a difficult decision or do you break down the numbers and break down the video and say to yourself, doesn't matter if it's Finals or playoffs, if the moment is right‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Look, any decision is tough. That's part of this seat. We've developed enough of a trust that the guys understand I'll make any decision that we feel is necessary to help us without hesitation, because there isn't time. So it's not personal whenever we do it. When you're dealing with the human element, those things are never easy. Q. Erik, we talk so much about how easy LeBron makes the game for other people when he's on. When he's not able to get to the spots that he wants to on the floor and not able to make the opposing defense move as much as he wants to, how tough does it become for some of the other players that have been used to him being able to create and get them the kinds of shots that they want to get? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I mean, that's part of the competition when you're playing two teams that are very similar with a small margin for error. So in Game 2 you can probably answer that question yourself. In Game 3 we just weren't committed completely to getting to our game. A large part of that is who we're playing and their ability to dictate and oppose their identity during the course of the game. So we'll have to see how tonight unveils. But our objective is to hopefully have our best game of the series tonight. If that happens, LJ has a big fingerprint on virtually every single possession. Q. Erik, do you find that with the way that Mike is shooting in this series from three that you do have better spacing when he's on the floor and it does open things up more for LeBron or whoever else gets to the rim? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Shooters are a big part of what we do. That's been the case all year long. We're also not getting to another part of our game: Attacking, getting to the paint, getting to the rim. You have to credit their defense. No question about it. It's a symbiotic relationship. Our attackers and our shooters, we need both working together. Some nights it's our shooters that have more of an impact. Sometimes, because of their reputations, our attackers have more of a chance. Our focus is trying to get to our game. There's lots of different layers to it. Defense certainly impacting that side of the floor helps us. But we need to impose our identity more than we did last game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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