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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v PACERSMay 30, 2014Paul GeorgeMIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Six Indiana Pacers - 92 Q.  Paul, it's been a long roller coaster season for you guys. I know it's just happened, just came to an end so abruptly. But just the frustration level, for the third year in a row, the same roadblock stops your guys' postseason dreams. PAUL GEORGE: Yes, it is frustrating, especially when we set out a goal to earn the No.1 seed, and we didn't get to that goal of playing a Game 7 on our floor. We've got to give them credit for coming into our building in Game 2 to really change this whole series up. Q. Paul, it just ended a few minutes ago, obviously, and I'm sure there hasn't been a lot of time for reflection, but do you think this core, as constructed next season and the years to come, will be good enough to challenge for the level the Heat are at right now? PAUL GEORGE: For the most part, what we've got on our side is youth. For us to continue to keep getting to the Conference Finals, it's good. It's something that we can look forward to. Eventually, we've got to be able to get past this point with how young we are and the experience we continue to keep gaining. That's the only positive light that we have on our young future. Q. Paul, what happened tonight? Was it the defensive shortcomings for your team, or was it Miami being able to crank it up to that championship level that you guys just haven't been able to reach yet? PAUL GEORGE: A little bit of everything. They came out, and I thought LeBron really just imposed his will to start this game off. Every time he caught the ball, he was ducking his head, getting to the basket. He really just sunk his teeth all over this game. He was tough. He was tough for us to really just overcome. Everybody was just on board. They came out hot, and it was hard to just slow them down and get a stop because they were making everything, it felt like. That's where this game was lost. Q. Over the past two years, you're just three wins away from you guys having back‑to‑back trips to The Finals. Does it feel like you're that close, or does it feel like there's still a wide gap? PAUL GEORGE: You know at times it feels like we're there, and then there's games where it still feels like we're not at that point yet. Coach says it, I mean, in order for us to beat this team, we've got to play like champions. More times than not, we didn't do so. Q. Lance‑‑ a lot's been made about his future with the Pacers. Do you want to see number 1 by your side next season? PAUL GEORGE: I don't know. That's for Larry, Kevin, for them to decide. It would be great. We came into this league together. It would be great for us to continue our journey together. But he's played a huge year this whole season and in this postseason. So it's definitely put pressure on us to make decisions going forward with Lance. Q. Playing into the fourth quarter, even though the game was obviously out of hand, what was going through your mind in the early stages of that fourth quarter being down, and how will that fuel you this off‑season? PAUL GEORGE: This fourth quarter tonight? I mean, I wouldn't really even count the performance I had in the fourth quarter. At that point, we was just down 30.  That rhythm‑‑ I needed that rhythm in the first half. But it is motivation. It is motivation to be better. I really put this loss on us. If I came out making shots and the offense was flowing through me, then this game would have turned out a little different. Q. Why were you guys never able to get to the level you were at earlier in the season? PAUL GEORGE: I don't know. If I could answer that, we definitely would have been playing at that level. Q. Just to piggy‑back on that, Paul, do you think you got a handle on all the problems that you guys had to overcome? And did you think you got to the point where you had actually overcome them? PAUL GEORGE: What are you asking me again? Q. I don't even know. The problems that started, I guess, after All‑Star Break, do you have a sense of what they were? And do you think that you were able‑‑ as a team, that you guys were able to get over them? PAUL GEORGE: I just think, for a lot of guys, we hit a wall, for one. And then there was pressure for us to play at a level that we were supposed to be playing at. I think we were just getting pulled from multiple directions, from dealing with success early. We didn't think‑‑ at some point in the season, we felt we could turn on a switch and play when we needed to play, and it's hard to do that when teams are coming after you. We weren't the team coming after teams anymore. We were being the hunted. And it's hard to try to carry that mindset that we can just turn the switch on and play when we needed to play. I think that took a lot out of this team as well as just hitting the wall. Q. Paul, why was Roy Hibbert so much less of a factor in this series than he was a year ago? And how much did that hurt you guys? PAUL GEORGE: I mean, it hurt us. But I think it's more on us than Roy. Last year we did a great job, just finding Roy and giving Roy the ball where he needed the ball. This series, we really didn't get to that. So it was more on us. It's not on Roy. Q. Paul, you mentioned a few minutes ago that the offense didn't flow through you in that first half. Why was that the case? PAUL GEORGE: No, I mentioned the offense flowed through me. I just wasn't making shots. If I was making those shots, this game would have been different. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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