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NBA FINALS: HEAT v SPURSJune 6, 2014Erik SpoelstraSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Practice Day Q. Can you tell us what LeBron has been going through and what you guys have been doing for treatment? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, all the hydration, intravenous fluids, trying to build everything back up. He feels better today and we'll continue to treat him until Sunday. Q. Spo, first off, are you guys planning to do anything on court today or is it a film day? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Today is a film meeting today. Q. So he wouldn't have done anything physical today? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No. Q. At this point I know it's 54 hours off, any concerns? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We just have to see, day‑to‑day. It's too early to tell right now. We will continue to treat him, he's as diligent as any athlete I've seen. So he will take care of himself, get rest, and do what he needs to do and obviously, we will have full alert on it. Q. Spo, I know LeBron has had a history with cramping. Where does last night's issue compare with others? And how have you handled him in the past? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Let's separate the past to last night. Last night was such an extreme situation and you have to be able to differentiate the two. Now, Game 4 in Oklahoma City that everybody knows about, since then we think that our staff and LeBron's diligence has really taken care of that matter, just in terms of his preparation before games, what he's doing during games in terms of always filling himself up with electrolytes, fluids, cramping pills when necessary. All of those things, we have been much more on top of it since Game 4 of Oklahoma City. We have had minimal issues with it, and he's been able to handle it much better than before. Last night was so extreme. That's the toughest part for people to understand. Look, he was burning through his fluids and calories at an extraordinary rate, so about halfway through the first quarter we understood that this was a different environment. The preparation he had to the game was excellent. It needed to go to another extreme level, he took seven cramping pills. He was taking electrolytes the entire game, during halftime, building up his fluids. Every timeout we took him out of the game, far more frequently than we ever have in the past. You know, the biggest issue that I think is lost out there is how competitive LeBron James is when you get to this level. Most athletes pace themselves, it's not a coincidence and a secret and why we have had the success we have had with the best player in the world, when he pushes his body past the point of regular limits for a competitive advantage. I think it's an extremely admirable trait. But last night was extreme. It was very extreme. Q. Coach, after looking at the tape, how do you evaluate your team's defense? And where does it have to improve for Game 2? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Obviously we have to do some things better, and they make it tough. That's what's great about this match‑up. You have two teams that are trying to do what they do, and you can exploit the other team, but it's going to go back and forth, who can get to who. They move the ball extremely well, had us moving around. We were able to force some turnovers, make them uncomfortable. We need to find a little bit of a happy medium. I'm sure they're saying the same thing. At the end of the day, regardless of how we got to that point we're up seven. And going down the stretch, we pride ourselves in our defense, our fourth‑quarter defense, if we would have been able to defend at our normal rate, regardless of the offense, we would have given ourselves a chance to win. Q. Have you administered any medical tests on LeBron to diagnose and pinpoint what is causing this beyond simple hydration? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Like I said, the last two years we've been much more diligent with preparation, the science behind it. And he's been extremely dedicated to his preparation. He's one of the most dedicated athletes I've seen. So in the days leading up to a competition, he knows exactly how many fluids he needs to put into his body, the electrolytes, potassium, all the things going down the stretch, to get yourself ready for a game. We think we have done a much better job collectively. Himself, us, the science of it. Last night was extreme. It's like trying to play you know, an NBA basketball game in a hot yoga environment. It's not ideal. We're not making excuses for it, we're trying to adapt on the fly and it was at an extreme level and he was competing at an extremely high level. The only other answer would have been to pace himself, and he doesn't have that in his DNA. Q. Specifically have you done any medical tests to reveal‑‑ COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yes, we've done everything and like I said, the last two years we've had a much better handle on it. It took an extreme example, we understand why there is such attention to it. Only thing in hindsight maybe I could have done in the first half was maybe to rest him more and look at him more as a 28, 30‑minute player last night, but how realistic is that in an NBA Finals game. Q. After watching the tape will you be happy getting the same shots you got last night, in Game 2? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Some of them. Some of them. Again, it's elite level competition. So they got us in some tough possessions. We turned it over a few more times than we wanted to. We settled on a few possessions and there were quite a few possessions where we got to where we wanted to. Some of those we missed open shots. So it was a mixed bag of everything, what you can expect at elite level competition. You're not always going to get what you want, and you have to try to work it and win more possessions than you're losing. Q. Coach, Duncan and Splitter were 14‑for‑16 combined, all those shots were in the paint. Most of them were layups. Was that more concerning than the threes? And how do you limit those catches and those touches? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: It's part of our pick‑and‑roll defense. We have to do some things better, more committed, five‑man against a very good passing team. They're well schooled. Some things that we need to adjust on. That's what we'll figure out in the next couple of days. Q. Knowing how competitive LeBron is and how much he wanted to play, how tough was it when he stood up and wanted to play, to tell him no and have him sit down? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: That's who he is, it's in his DNA. Every time I would look down the bench he would stand up and start to do this, and when he stood up with three and change to go, I told him "Not a chance. Sit down and we'll take care of this." It's not the first time we've played without him and in some extreme circumstances, regular season or postseason. We weren't able to get it done. He's a competitor at the highest level. So it was killing him being on that sideline, but you also have your health to look after. Look, 99.9 percentile of people have never pushed their body to that level. At that level where you're past the point where your tank is empty and your body shuts down. And, again, for a competitor and for the best player in the game at this level to constantly push his body past that point, I think, is incredibly admirable. Q. Spo, I know some of the guys said they changed uniforms and cold towels. Did you have fans in there? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, we had a lot of ice. The locker room wasn't as warm as it was out in the arena. Now, it wasn't cool. We had ice, guys were hydrating, guys were doing everything they needed to do. I think our best quarter was probably the third quarter fighting through it, and I think the biggest thing was stop talking about it. The first half it was on all of our minds, but those were the circumstances. Both teams need to deal with it, we needed to deal with it. Stop letting it become something in our minds. And the third quarter was probably our best quarter. And then with nine and change, we go up seven and it just went spiralling down from there. But you have to credit the Spurs, they played great basketball going down the stretch, really on both ends. We're not making any excuses for it. It was an extreme unfortunate situation for both teams. It probably won't happen again, ever. Now, we might have to deal with the absolute opposite in Game 7, who knows. It will be 55 degrees in the arena, unless they don't get it fixed, which if they don't there should be a fine. Q. Coach, how would you describe your relationship with Pat Riley? And in what extent did he help you grow as a coach? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I've told that story a million times. I think everybody in this room knows how important he is to me. I started out at 25 years old in this organization and I've learned the business, the business of this profession, the business of basketball, the business of coaching for 19 years, and he's been my biggest mentor with that. So it's pretty obvious. Q. Mario's foul rate is up in the playoffs and it's gotten to the point where you haven't been able to play him big minutes in a lot of games. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: That hurt last night, 17 minutes. We were managing the minutes the best that we could and getting guys in and out, played nine guys and nobody played deep minutes, but those extra 15 or 16 minutes from Rio probably would have helped. And he needs to be more attentive to technique and earlier in his thought process. Things are happening very quickly obviously at this level of competition and your preparation before the play happens is paramount. Now, Rio is very important to our success, he understands that, and I believe he will be better with the next game. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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