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NBA FINALS: HEAT v SPURSJune 7, 2014Tony ParkerSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Practice Day Q.  Pop jokingly mentioned that Tim has been trying to convince him for years that he should be playing some point guard. I wanted to see what you thought about it and how you think Tim would play that. TONY PARKER: Are we still talking about that? I can't believe they brought it up in the NBA Finals (laughter). It's been a joke that Timmy thinks he's a great quarterback, that he can be a good passer. I disagree with that. I want to keep my spot, Mark. Obviously Timmy is a great passer, so every time Timmy takes the ball and he brings it up, I have to leave him alone. At least once every ten games he can bring it up. Q. So you're not worried about losing your job first of all, right? TONY PARKER: From Timmy? No. (Laughter.) Q. Tony, the schedule is what it is, you got a couple of days off, it's been good to rest, but overthinking some things, is that a problem for you? TONY PARKER: Great question but I think for us, rest is good. I'll take the rest even if, you know, like you say, you think a lot, and you can't wait to go back out there and play. But if I had to choose, I think for our team the rest is good. Q. Tony, after Game 1 you talked about Danny Green and staying in his ear and making sure he was confident going into the fourth quarter. As a leader of a team, how important is that to make sure a guy who is struggling, to make sure he does what he needs to do at the end of the game? TONY PARKER: It's part of my job to be a leader and make sure teammates stay confident, especially Danny, Kawhi and Marco, because with ball movement they are going to get a lot of open shots. So if we wanted any chance to beat Miami, we got to make shots. And I was proud of Danny to step up in the fourth quarter and make some big ones. Q. Knowing how hard it is to win in postseason, how amazing is it in your mind, to not only win so many home games eight straight, but by the margin you are, 15‑plus points for eight straight games? TONY PARKER: I think it's great but at the same time I don't think it guarantees anything. We know in the NBA it can go real fast. Against Dallas, you know, we thought we were doing pretty well at home on a lot of games in the regular season, and we lost Game 2. So gave us some good focus for Portland and OKC, and hopefully we can do the same thing against Miami. It's not easy but we play well and hopefully we can do it again. Q. Tony, you said yesterday with the 23 turnovers you guys kind of felt lucky for the win. After reviewing the tape and everything, what kind of adjustments, if any, are you guys going to try to make in Game 2? TONY PARKER: I think the key for us is do the first easy pass. Don't try to invent something, just play our game. We need to have the pace and we know Miami is a great defensive team and they have a great rotation, they're fast but if we do the first easy pass and move the ball at the end, you know, I think we will get good shots. If we try to force it too much against that team, it's very dangerous, because then it's fast breaks and they get confidence and get easy baskets. Q. The Heat set a record with 12 straight wins after a playoff loss. Among the great teams that you've played along the way, do they set up as a more resilient team the way they keep coming back from adversity during this run? TONY PARKER: Definitely. That's why they are two‑time champs. To win championships, you have to face adversity and come back from any situation, and they've proved that over the years. That's why it's our job to stay focused and we know it's just one game, and we know they're capable to come back and win at our place. Q. Just to back pedal off that last question, you guys were in the same position last year going into Game 2. Does that bring up any concerns for you guys? TONY PARKER: Definitely. Definitely. That's why I think we can't be satisfied. Because we was in the same situation and we know they can win here, and so we just have to go out there and play our game and try to win this one. I think it's a big game for the series. Q. Tony, yesterday when he was talking about how he was being mocked and ridiculed on social media for the cramps, LeBron called himself the easiest target in sports. When you hear that, what do you think of that statement? TONY PARKER: I don't think LeBron cares about all the media stuff. I think he just wants to win a championship and he plays for his family, the city of Miami, and his teammates. He's very strong mentally. I don't worry about him. I think he's going to be great tomorrow, 100% and he's the best player in the world. So I don't think he cares about that. Q. In San Antonio you guys are shielding to some extent from some of that criticism, but why do you think he is such an easy target for media and fans? TONY PARKER: I don't know. I don't know. For me personally, he's got the ultimate respect and he's the best player in our league. Q. You guys have evolved the offense from the '03, '04, '05 championships, when it was dumping‑into‑Timmy time. How did you have to evolve your game with this more motion‑based offense? TONY PARKER: We been playing together for the last three or four years, high pace, move the ball, try to score more points. As the league evolved and a lot of teams score a lot of points, we had to change a little bit of our game. And before we were half‑court team, pass it to Timmy. But that's the beauty of Coach Pop and Timmy and everybody in this organization, we try to adapt. And I think our game has arrived to a point where we can score but we can play defense. We can play any kind of style. Q. How did you change within that? TONY PARKER: For me personally it was great because I like playing up‑tempo and high pace. In 2011 when Pop came to see me and he said, "Timmy is getting a little bit older, we're going to go through you in the offense." It was a great honor and challenge for me to try to carry the offense. Q. Tony you were talking about talking to Danny Green and Kawhi when they're struggling, do you say anything specific to them other than "keep shooting"? TONY PARKER: I say stuff in French, "keep shooting". Q. Do they understand that? TONY PARKER: Yeah, they understand. Q. Pop mentioned and he has in the past, the way he manages minutes throughout the years maybe has taken away from individual statistics, maybe you could have more assists and Tim more points. Why has it been easy for you, Tim, and Manu to submerge ego and not worry about individual stats? TONY PARKER: Because all three of us see the big picture; we want to win championships. I think that's the big key of our success here in San Antonio all those years is Timmy, Manu, myself, we never let our ego, it was the team first and that's the most important. I always trust Pop's judgment. I trust the way he sees, you know, for our team the big picture to win at the end. So I don't care about all that stuff, as long as we get the ring at the end, and so far he's right. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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