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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v PACERSMay 25, 2014David WestMIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day Q. Beside general stuff like taking care of the ball, which I know you guys want to do, in the late‑game situations when it's a close game, what are you guys supposed to be doing? What would you like to do? Simplify the offense? DAVID WEST: We've got to shoot the ball better, got to finish. We had breakdowns in transition yesterday. That really cost us. Q. Defensively, what all can you do off that pick‑and‑roll? It seems like that caused trouble for you all with Dwyane Wade. DAVID WEST: We've got to guard the ball. Guard the ball, first and foremost. We've got to make him a little bit more uncomfortable than he is. He's just playing the game at way too high of a comfort level in terms of we're just not putting enough pressure on him. All the guys on the floor need to guard him and get him out of his comfort zone. He's really lining his shots up, taking his time, which we can't allow. Q. Is it big? Can you stop a floater like that? DAVID WEST: We've got to make some adjustments. That's a shot they tried to go to last year against us in the playoffs. We were able to adjust to it. He just can't be as comfortable as he's been. Q. How much do guys just kind of welcome jawing back and forth with one another? If it's like a Lance or a LeBron, just in terms of igniting the competitive spirit on the floor? DAVID WEST: There's a time and place for it, but it can't consume you. You've got to go out, and your mind has to be cleared so we can execute and compete at the highest level. Q. You guys have faced being down in the series throughout the playoffs. How much resiliency do you feel this team still has? DAVID WEST: Again, every game is different. Every game takes on an identity of its own. So we've just got to be prepared to come out and play a better game. Obviously, we like the way we started the game yesterday. Hopefully, we can get off to the same type of start. We've just got to control the tempo, control the pace. Can't let them speed this up. Q. Obviously, Paul had his foul situation, but does he still need to take it up another notch in terms of elevating the play for this team and matching what the Heat are getting from LeBron and Dwyane Wade? DAVID WEST: I don't know. We're not built the same way that they're built. We don't want Paul forcing and thinking he has to do too much. Everybody's got to step up. Everybody's got to play a little better. We've got to compete, first and foremost, a little bit harder. They're way too comfortable, shooting, I think, 50‑plus percent in all three games. That's just not us. They're too comfortable. A team that's shooting that high of a percentage, that just means they're getting the shots that they want. So we have to do something to change that. Q. How would you characterize where the mood of this team is? What do you sense in terms of the vibe and energy in practice today, in the building right now, and moving forward? DAVID WEST: We're pretty upbeat. We don't get down on ourselves. We understand it's a new day. The next game is a different game. We even the series up, everything that's happened before that really doesn't mean anything. So our focus is to come out, put together our best game of the series in Game 4, and hopefully get out of here with a win. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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