|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NBA FINALS: HEAT v SPURSJune 10, 2014Erik SpoelstraMIAMI, FLORIDA: Game Three Q.  LeBron said before Game 2 he didn't quite feel normal then. How close do you think he is now? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know. You'd have to ask him a percentage. He came in yesterday, he was able to do some things. Today he went through the whole shootaround. I didn't notice any lingering effect. But I would treat it like I did Game 2. I'll just have to see how he is during the course of the game and communicate with him more than I have previously. Q. Are you planning to go with the same rotation? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I wouldn't say about the rotation, I'm just going to communicate with him. Q. You've used LeBron against Tony Parker in spots. Is there a certain amount that you don't want to go beyond with that with him to have him chasing Tony around so much? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, I have to see how the game plays out. I'm open to whatever. Obviously LeBron is our most versatile defender. He knows it's 1 through 5 in this series, and it literally is. We have to pick our spots and treat Tony Parker with the respect that he deserves. He's one of the best players in this league, and you have to give him multiple looks in these games. Q.  You've got some good performances from your bench throughout the postseason. As this series goes deeper, how confident are you that your bench guys are going to be able to give you more as you go on? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, we're always confident. It could be anybody. It could be an impact that doesn't show up in the boxscore. A lot of our reserves are able to make that impact. It may not be on a final boxscore. You know, we've said it all along, our depth is absolutely necessary for this team. It could be a different guy each night, so while I didn't necessarily plan on Shane playing the other night or playing small, those guys are still right in the forefront of my mind. The game dictates it, and we have to trust that we'll find a way to make an impact. Q. You and Manny Pacquiao are two popular sports figures in the Philippines. What is your assessment that he's going to coach a team in the Philippines? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: It doesn't surprise me. He's a tremendous fan of basketball. A tremendous fan of the NBA, he plays pickup all the time. I'm sure Freddie Roach doesn't appreciate that, but it doesn't surprise me. I'll try to make it out and see if I can catch a game this summer. Q. The versatility of this guy as a preacher, a boxer, a politician, and now a player/coach, any chance you might invite him to be part of the team? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: That won't happen, but I'd love to have him come out and spend some time with the team. But he has an incredible way of managing all the different things on his plate. I couldn't do that. Q. As a person who played the game at a level at some point in your life, maybe a tough question: But who would you rather play with, LeBron or Michael Jordan? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know. You'd have to catch me in the summer for a question like that. But when I was playing, it's ham and eggs at that level. I think players would love to play with a player as unselfish as LeBron. Q. Do you think it would be a tough choice for a lot of NBA players? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: I don't know. You know, it's different eras. You know you're going to have a chance to win, that is the bottom line with the big guy. I just love him. Q. What are some of the intangibles I guess in terms of team leadership between LeBron and Duncan? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, absolutely different personalities, but they have winning mentalities. I don't know Tim Duncan. I just see how he's had an impact for almost two decades, but you have to be incredibly gifted and you have to be dedicated to your craft. At some point in your career you have to reinvent yourself. It starts with your lifestyle and what you're doing off the court, and how you're preparing for an 82‑game grind. He looks as fit now as he did arguably in his early 20s. But probably you could make a case that both of them understand the big picture of winning and what it takes, and all the different roles that play a part in it as much as anybody. I say that without knowing Tim. Q.  On an unrelated topic, what have you noticed or recognized between the evolution of the fan support here, the fandom in Miami since 2010, since this began? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: In what regard? Q. Just in terms of whether it be the intelligence level, the fan support or in general. COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: The one ancillary benefit of having a team like this for four years in South Florida is you start to slowly change the culture of basketball in Miami. It's a great sports town. When I first got down here it was only a football city, but now you're starting to see a legion of kids and young generation of NBA fans that weren't necessarily here 15, 20 years ago. Q. You've had an awful lot of horn sets in Game 2. I was wondering if that was to get Chris Bosh more aggressive on offense? COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: You have to. What we call it is trying to figure the series out. They're a tough team to score against. We have to search for something, you know, that gets us to our game. Chris spacing the floor, facilitating and being aggressive is important for us. It's a tough balance, not many guys would be willing to try to tackle that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|