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NBA FINALS: SPURS v HEATJune 15, 2013Tony ParkerSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Practice Day Q.  Tony, you said the other day that having a couple of days is going to be huge in terms of the hamstring. How is it feeling? TONY PARKER: It feels good. It feels good. I feel like I'm getting stronger with it. My goal is to be close to 100% by tomorrow. I felt confident, being disciplined with all the treatments, with the ice right now. Hopefully I'll be good by tomorrow. Q. Timmy says he views Game 5 as a must‑win since you have to head back to Miami. What's your assessment? TONY PARKER: I agree. It's a must‑win. That's why you play basketball to live those moments. It's a great opportunity for us. It's a big game. We have to win. Simple as that. Q. Could you put your finger on why it is the losing team of the game before seems to find that extra gear in the third quarter thus far? Is it more focus for a longer period of time? Can you put your finger on it? TONY PARKER: I don't try to understand basketball gods or basketball since last year, when we won 20 games and then to lose four in a row. I don't know, it's like that. It's hard to explain. We go back and watch film and see what you can do better. Bottom line, you just have to play better. And we have to play better. Miami stepped up big. Their Big Three played great. And you have to give them a lot of credit. You can't win if you're going to have 18 turnovers and make too many mistakes against a team like that. We have to understand that their identity is to play aggressive defense and they gamble and they're going to take a lot of chances with steals and blocks. We just have to be smarter with our decisions. Q. Tony, Game 4 was maybe the first time that Miami really got into your passing lanes as opposed to some others ways to force turnovers. Is there a point where the familiarity of the series starts to lay towards you have to make adjustments in the way you make passes or is it more just the passes you made in that game that led to those receptions? TONY PARKER: We're going to do what we do. We're going to move the ball and play Spurs basketball. We have to understand they're going to be in passing lanes, we have to be smarter with the ball, stronger with the ball and make better decisions. Q. When Pop was asked about your physical condition, your hamstring, he keeps saying "he's fine", in relation to you. I know you said you're working towards getting to 100%, but do you have any indication you'll be able to go 30‑plus minutes or do you think the way you're feeling right now that maybe in the second half you might struggle again? TONY PARKER: I don't know. We'll see tomorrow, I guess. Huh? Q. Tony, how did you spend halftime of Game 4? Sitting or were you on an exercise bike? Whatever you did in Game 4, will you repeat it tomorrow? TONY PARKER: I was doing stuff with our conditioning coach. I'll do the same thing tomorrow. Q. Stuff? Can you expand on "stuff"? TONY PARKER: Stuff. I'm not going into details. Q. Tony, can you talk about challenge of guarding the Heat's star trio when they've got it going. TONY PARKER: If they're going to play like that, it's going to be hard. Like us when we're making our threes, it's hard to guard us. Same thing with Miami, when they play like that. That's why they're the defending champs. They're a very good team, and Dwyane Wade was huge last game. Got it going. We have to try to slow them down and hopefully they're not going to shoot like that. Q. Is there any particular thing you concentrate on? I mean, you have to pick your poison, I guess, with them. TONY PARKER: Oh, yeah. We'll keep the same strategy, and then we'll go from there. Q. Tony, is there any part of you that it would creep into your mind that tomorrow could be the last time this group, the three of you, plays a Finals game here in San Antonio? TONY PARKER: No. Q. Just because you think you'll get back here that this is not the last time for the Spurs? TONY PARKER: No. I don't think about that. All I have in my mind is Game 5 and we have to win Game 5. Q. Was it maybe a mistake playing Game 4 for you, given how you feel now? TONY PARKER: No. No, because the doctors say it will not change anything if I rest two more days. My hamstring can tear any time now. So if it was the regular season, I would be resting like ten days. But now it's the NBA Finals. If it gets a tear, it's life. Q. Tony, after reviewing the film of Game 4, what specifically was Wade able to do differently than in the first three games? TONY PARKER: He just made shots. He just made shots. He was not shooting the ball well the whole playoffs, and this game he made shots. Give him credit. He's always going to penetrate and get points in the paint, but the biggest difference is he made his outside shots. Q. You said you weren't going to make any noticeable defensive adjustments. Does that go for Wade, too? TONY PARKER: You can't stop everything. If they make shots and they play like they did in Game 4, it's going to be hard and we're going to have to be even more perfect. Q. After Game 4 you talked about Manu's confidence level. A couple of days off heading into Game 5, where do you think his mindset is right now? TONY PARKER: I have a lot of confidence in Manu. He came through for us all those years, and I just have confidence in him. You have to have faith he's going to have a big game. So me, I just trust him. Because I've been playing with him for so long. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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