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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v PACERSMay 30, 2014Chris BoshMIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Six Indiana Pacers - 92 Q.  Chris, defensively you guys did a much better job on Hibbert than you did a year ago. Can you explain why you were able to do that? CHRIS BOSH: Well, we changed up our coverage a little bit. We wanted to play more ball‑you‑basket style. We felt that last year we kind of exposed ourselves and our defense to their size. Sometimes you just have to trust our instinct of playing great post line defense. I mean, it's something that we work on from the beginning of training camp. Coach gave us the freedom to really just go ahead and trust each other and play good defense and live with the results. Q. Chris, has the magnitude of going there four straight times, has it hit you guys yet? Spo said he talked about it day one down in the Bahamas. What do you remember from that conversation? CHRIS BOSH: Well, just getting there, having a chance to win is always a special thing. We always talk about not taking it for granted from day one. So just really putting in the work, as hard as it may be. We know it's a very long season. It has its rewards in the end if we stick together and do what we're supposed to do. But it hasn't really hit us yet. I would rather it hit me in two weeks. So we have a lot more work to do. This is fine and all, but this is not what we want. It's only another stepping stone to our ultimate goal. Q. Talking about this being just a stepping stone, how much time do you give yourself to enjoy it? CHRIS BOSH: I give myself like 36 hours, only because we have a day off tomorrow. And then we don't play until, what, June 5th. We've got a little time. We can just deflate a little bit, get this series out of us, get a little bit of rest, and then eventually start the process over again for a new opponent. Q. Chris, have you thought at all that either of these teams you would face next would be particularly hungry to take you down? CHRIS BOSH: Oh, yeah, absolutely. We know what that feels like, and we weren't awarded the opportunity to play the team that put us out. We still would like that opportunity, but it will never happen. Yeah, I mean, it's extra motivation for those guys, both of those teams. We understand that. So it's just something that we have to deal with, and we know that they're going to be very passionate, and they're going to play some good basketball. So whoever we play, we just have to continue to keep our approach the same and play good basketball. But I'm looking forward to my day off, with all that said. Q. Chris, I know you didn't care about your numbers against this team when you were winning regardless, but the last few games, what clicked for you against this team? CHRIS BOSH: I don't know, nothing in particular. I just wanted to play good basketball. It was nothing that I told myself, I didn't have to hype myself up. It was just a lot of different people from my family, inside my circle and our coaching staff and players that gave me inspiration, and they've continued to believe in me, no matter what happens. That really fueled me a lot, and I didn't really want to let them down. So I wanted to kind of really elevate my game, play a lot better, and really just have a particular focus in order to get that job done. Q. Chris, kind of offbeat topic here, but regarding the fanbase here in Miami, what have you noticed, I guess, in the evolution of that since you first got here till now? CHRIS BOSH: The fans? Well, it's just‑‑ it's becoming to be more of a basketball town. We've worked hard, and ever since we got here, we understood there was a lot of pressure on us. But the fans, they've always supported us no matter what happened, through everything. Now, today was extremely loud. I can only imagine how tough it is to play here. It's turned into an advantage for us, a huge advantage, and we've turned this home court into something extremely tough, tough place to win together. Q. Chris, at any point as that lead was growing and growing, were you surprised at how large that lead had gotten? Shocked at all that it was coming so easy? CHRIS BOSH: No. I don't think it was coming easy, but I wasn't shocked too much. It's what we wanted to do. We wanted to play a very good game, and we didn't want to really let our foot off the gas in any type of capacity. And I say that with all due respect. They're a very good team. But we know what we've been through. We know what was at stake for us, and when we combine really just all that passion, experience, and really dedication to the cause, good things happen for us. Q. Chris, you have guarded and beaten a lot of great bigs over the years, Joakim Noah, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan. What kind of challenge did Roy Hibbert, going against him in this series, you personally, what did that feel like? CHRIS BOSH: Well, really just size. Everyone wanted to talk about the success of last year, and I really took the personal challenge to do a better job, especially when Bird, when he went down a little bit and he wasn't able to go, I knew I was back at the full‑time five position. So I didn't want him dominating to be a part of conversation. I wanted to do a very good job defensively, and offensively, when it was time for me to work, I wanted to make the right decisions. I stuck by that, and my teammates, like I said before, they've always encouraged me to do well on both ends, and it's worked out. Q. How difficult was it for you guys in this series to restrain yourselves from engaging too much with Lance Stephenson? And then specifically, how you reacted to that foul that he had on Norris Cole during tonight's game. CHRIS BOSH: It's just a thing, no matter what happens, you have to play in between the lines. You play basketball. When you're in the playoffs and you're at this high of a level, that's all that it's about. Everything else gets pushed to the side. Great teams, good teams, you focus on what's important. So all that stuff, it was never important to us. All that was important was for us to play our game, for us to try to get back The Finals. We've done that, and we have another shot at a championship. Q. And the foul? CHRIS BOSH: I didn't see it too much. I think the referees made the correct call. I don't think it was intentional or anything. But that's questions you ask when there's been so much chatter back and forth. Q. Chris, you guys came out with outstanding energy on both sides of the court right from the opening tip. How much did the thought of going back to Indiana make this like a Game 7 for you guys? CHRIS BOSH: Oh, no, there was no thought about going back to Indiana. Like you said, this was our Game 7. We've always said we're going to protect this home court no matter what happens. We feel that, when teams come here to play, they don't stand a chance, and that's the mentality that we have because we know that the home crowd is going to give us energy, and we're going to play our game, we're going to play well, especially in crunch‑time situations like today was. We have a bunch of crazy guys in that locker room who love nothing but pressure. So it was an awesome experience today. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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