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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v PACERSMay 29, 2014Erik SpoelstraMIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day Q. A couple of things that bothered you that you emphasized today. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We understand what the series is about. A couple of opportunities we had we didn't take advantage of last night, and you have to credit them. They stepped up their defense, took possession of series, and they forced us into some untimely turnovers. They were able to get second opportunities off their misses as well. Q. Unlike your team to get only eight free throws. What would you point to as the reason for that? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Their defense. That's what they do well. We have to be committed to play five‑man basketball to get our attacks. Obviously, if our main attacker is getting his normal opportunities, that number may look a little bit different, but we have to work together to get those opportunities in the paint, whether they're layup opportunities, kick‑out opportunities, free‑throw opportunities, whatever it may be. Q. Do you want some of your guys to carry the frustration from today into tomorrow, or would you rather it just be today? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I wanted that anger and frustration and emotion today. Tomorrow, clear heads. Q. Do you think that at some point that you have to look at the behavior of Stephenson, not just what he did with LeBron, but the fact that he came up to you when you were in the huddle with your players? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We'll let the league deal with whatever they feel they need to. We're focused on what we have to do to get tomorrow's game. That's the most important thing. Q. Going back to what you were saying a minute ago, that's why you came in today, for the most part? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: And to connect. We didn't want to leave it all to tomorrow. There were some things we wanted to go over, and for time's sake, splitting it up was a little bit more efficient. Q. Everyone talks about adjustments as the series goes on. You guys' game plan, the way you drew it up, totally out the window fairly early last night. Are there things to adjust, or do you anticipate a similar approach tomorrow as you had last night? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, both teams are making adjustments as the series goes on, but it still comes down to the main thing being the main thing, who can impact their game. We have two contrasting styles, and we played that game more on their terms last night, even though we had a chance to win, and we want to be able to see if we can try to get the game won on our terms tomorrow. Q. Erik, you want to win and advance, obviously, but how important would the rest be in the five days you get off? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Not even thinking about that. I know the players are, but the most important thing is, when we get to tomorrow, it's not about the rest. It's not about what the game means. It's not about the context. It's not about any of that. It's about what we need to do to get tomorrow night's game. The main thing being the main thing. Can we impose our identity on the game and play it more on our terms? Q. You said the players are thinking about the rest, though. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I didn't say that. I said they may be. I don't know. Q. What you just said, as a veteran club, do you remind them of what you just said, or do they know it? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: They understand. You have to compartmentalize in a series, and it's all about the task at hand. You can't‑‑ tomorrow we can't even live in the past about the game. That's why we came in today. And you can't think about the future. The only thing you think about is what we need to do to get tomorrow's game. No contest. Q. [Indiscernible]. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, our guys love playing in front of the home fans. Hopefully, it will be a great home environment like it was last weekend. Q. What's the best thing that you guys have done defensively at home? Has it been activity? Has it just been focus? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Those things work hand in hand with our defense‑‑ the activity, the disruption, the focus to be able to do it, the commitment to the effort. Again, it gets back to imposing our identity on the game. Q. Erik, you know you can't really say something to Lance in that spot. Do you wish you could have? Would you have if you could have? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: That has nothing to do with the game. And it's‑‑ look, players‑‑ some players do that. He's not the only one. Jason Kidd used to do that. Q. Ray was limited a little bit in the fourth quarter minutes‑wise. Was that just the flow of the game, or was he in any kind of discomfort that he talked to you about? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, it was just reading the game. Q. Can you give us an update on Birdman? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: He shot free throws today, doing a lot of treatment. That's about it so far. Q. Everybody else okay? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah. Q. In the middle of the third quarter, they seemed to turn up their defensive intensity and maybe overaggressiveness. Are there things that you can do to override that? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, poise for us, getting into our offense is critical. We understand it's a possession series. Taking care of the basketball, getting shots is paramount to mount our offense. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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