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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v PACERSMay 25, 2014Dwyane WadeMIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day Q. Last year when you guys met in this round, it was George and LeBron the whole time, it seemed. This time it's very different. How much of a luxury do you think it is for LeBron to not have to constantly shadow a guy like that? DWYANE WADE: I mean, obviously, he's a dynamic defensive player. It's great to be able to use his defense abilities in multiple areas. He started on David West in the first game, guarded Paul George, went to George Hill, and now Lance Stephenson in the last game. So he's one of those defenders that can do that. So it's good for him and also for our team so you don't give a guy the same look. You're switching up a little bit and throw him off a little. Q. What do you think Stephenson accomplished by yakking in the second quarter at LeBron like that? DWYANE WADE: I don't know. Q. Did LeBron seem more engaged to you after that started? Pounding the floor and getting in the stands like he did? DWYANE WADE: Yeah, defensively picking up a little bit more, getting a little bit closer to the defender, et cetera. So it was good for him to give him a challenge as well, play a game within a game. So it was good. Q. When was the last time your personal confidence in fourth quarters was what it seems to be like right now? DWYANE WADE: I mean, I'm pretty confident in the fourth. Right now I've just been involved‑‑ the toughest part is when you're not‑‑ you feel like you're out of rhythm the whole game. Then the fourth quarter comes, and you're really out of it. When you're involved most of the game, even if the shots aren't going, even if the players aren't there, you still feel confident in the fourth. So I always have confidence in those moments. Sometimes more than others, depending on the calls, the play calls, et cetera. I try to keep that calm in the fourth. Q. Particularly the way the regular season ended, maybe with the unplanned duration of that absence, did you need a confidence boost in the playoffs to kind of remind you what you have done in the past in those moments? DWYANE WADE: No doubt. You need it, no question about it. We all do. So for me, the first round was me just kind of trying to get my footing a little bit, trying to do some of the things that I was capable of doing, trying to see if I could do it. Then the second round came a little more and then the third round. Like I said, ideally for me, missing the last 2 1/2 weeks wasn't ideal, but that's what happened. Now I'm in the groove and the flow that I want to be in, and also understanding that the game of basketball is tricky. You can get out of it in a second, and you've got to figure out a way still to compete and help your teammates win. Q. We all know in general in the fourth quarter the stakes go up, the intensity goes up. For those of us who aren't out on the floor, can you describe what it feels like in the fourth quarter of a playoff game? How you've got to ratchet it up? DWYANE WADE: It's just winning time, man. It's just those moments where you've either got it or you don't got it, in the sense of being able to flip that switch and go into the next level, which it takes. How you play in the first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, you can't play that way in the fourth quarter if you're going to win ball games. It's not a flip of a switch like, oh, now we're going to play. It's more so of having another level to go to in the fourth quarter. When you're as tired as you're going to get, when everyone has seen it all, in the sense of play calling and what you've done earlier, you've just got to ratchet it up a notch and be able to come out and be a little more special than you've been in the first three quarters. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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