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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v PACERSMay 20, 2014Erik SpoelstraINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: Game Two Miami Heat - 87 Q. Erik, what was the thinking behind that decision of putting Norris Cole on Lance Stephenson? How do you think it worked out? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Dribble penetration. He was really hurting us getting into the paint. He was putting pressure on the entire defense. Norris is one of our better pick‑and‑roll defenders. We were just going to test it out for a few possessions. We did it last game, and we just rolled with it. He was playing well enough that I just kept him in there. We let it roll the fourth quarter and played him longer than his normal rotation. Q. Coach, LeBron was pretty quiet through three quarters, and all of a sudden he exploded with 12 in the fourth quarter. Talk to us about what that means. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: You have to have great mental stability because there's going to be possessions where they defend you, they play you well. This is a hotly contested series, two teams that defend, physical, and you just have to keep on staying with it and staying with it. He wasn't in a rhythm through the first 30 minutes of the game, and he just found a way to break free on a couple cuts, transition, and that just kind of got him going. At this point, it's just whatever it takes. Chris Bosh had an impact on this win as well, and people will look at that final line. It's just whatever it takes. However you can contribute to help us win. Q. Coach, do you feel like the free‑throw discrepancy, you all got more attempts in this game than last game. Do you think that made the biggest difference in this win? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know, but we didn't have a lot of them, though. So we were off on everything defensively the last game, we were late, and we were fouling, and just very sloppy. Q. Erik, what did you think of the difference in the defense tonight compared to Game 1? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: There's certainly a better disposition, a better commitment to that end. You're not always going to win those possessions. They're big. They present some different challenges for our defense, but we have to be who we are, and we have to do it in ways that aren't totally predictable. But there has to be a better commitment on that side of the court. Q. Erik, was Dwyane any worse for wear after the collision with Paul George? And can you talk a little bit about the defensive job he did with Paul? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I mean, that's just‑‑ that's a great battle going both ways. You have two great two‑way players. Paul, obviously, was matched up on LeBron going down the end, but Dwyane has been one of the finer, more dynamic two‑way players in this league for a long time. He understands that as well as anybody that you can impact a win on both sides of the court. So that wasn't only creating the offense for us on the other end, it's taking a challenge on one of the best scorers in the league. And just trying to be there. Trying to be, that is all you can do. It's trying to be there in front of him so he doesn't get open looks and free throws at the rim. It's better said than done. It looked great now, but we'll just have to see when we get back to Miami. Q. Coach, the demeanor stayed the same throughout the game. It's like you all didn't panic. Is that something that comes in the huddle? Something that comes from you? Or does it just come from you all going through the stages of winning championships where you don't panic at all? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know. You have to stay the course. There's a lot of emotions during a very competitive playoff series. You can't get wrapped up in anything about the moment. That's one of the most difficult things to do in this profession is to stay on that possession, on task, and not get wrapped up in what happened or what possibly could happen. Q. Coach, you may have already hit on what my question is. Do you ever look at a point, especially this evening, all the lead changes back and forth? The third quarter just seemed like it was what‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: It felt like a playoff game. That's what it felt like. Q. Did you ever look and say, that's the turning point for the Heat this evening? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Not necessarily. You just have to keep on pecking at the game and keep on working it. You don't know when you'll have an opportunity, and you have to be able to play through all the ebbs and flows and up and downs. We're finally able to put together a little bit of momentum to the end of the third quarter and then throughout the fourth quarter where we were able to gain some confidence from that. But it still was competitive all the way down to the stretch. Q. Erik, you started Udonis this evening as opposed to Battier. What was the thought process in that? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I mean, he started before. We've done both lineups. The biggest thing is whoever we have out there. It's not about who, it's how and what. What are we doing? Are we committed to how we want to play? And we were much more committed tonight. Udonis gave us a great disposition to start the game. But Shane's minutes were very important as well, those eight minutes. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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