Did anyone else catch Pop at the podium today? If you didn't and have the opportunity later, it was hilarious. I'm sure they'll show some of it on the local news tonight as well.
The one where after Larry Brown said he felt "sorry" for us, Pop just said:
"You guys bought that? Larry doesn't feel sorry. He's messing with you."
(or something to that effect)
You know, the Psyche of the Spurs may not be as bad as we thought. We've seen how the Pistons respond with their backs against the wall. Now it's the Spurs turn...
That was from yesterday - also quite funny. Today was even better. I'm sure that Kori will post a transcript later.
Didn't catch Pop, but I did see Timmy. He's looking upbeat and smiled a few times. Good to see he's not all depressed and mopy.
Are YOU still depressed and mopy?
Noooo! I know we are going to win. And then we will party. And all will be right again in the world.
He feels sorry for us? Larry Borwn. Bring your guacamole and aguacates to game 6 for that .
Larry didn't say he felt sorry for the Spurs. He said he felt bad for Pop as a friend. But, he in no way intimated he felt bad for winning.
GREGG POPOVICH
Q. I wish I could start out with a funny question for you, but on a serious note, you got a firsthand taste of that resiliency of the Pistons, can you talk about the way they bounce back every series in the postseason, what that means.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Yeah, they did it last year, too. They have got a great, as you say, ability to be resilient and to come back fully confident, change their execution in the sense that from one night to the next it goes from poor to excellent. Defense goes from pretty good to great. Poor rebounding to great rebounding, you know, that sort of thing. They really come back well when they don't play well, and that's always been a characteristic of us, too, but I think they have really done it well the last two games.
Q. Is it harder for you going up against Coach Larry Brown, not because he's a great coach but because he's a good friend?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: It's strange, it's a strange feeling. The strange feeling is when you win a game, actually because you feel for the other guy. As we've said, not so much that you're going to give it away, but it's a strange feeling when you're going against a good friend.
Q. What can you do to create more scoring opportunities in the paint, not only for Tim, but what can you do to open things up for your guards who had an easier time driving the lane in the first couple of games?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Well, we can keep the basketball more than anything. We have to have more possessions and when we turn the basketball over as much as we have, that's the No. 1 thing that keeps us from having more opportunities.
Against these guys, it's a double whammy, because when you do it, they are down the court and it's part of their offense and they are scoring. In the halfcourt we played good defense, but to give them those points, not only adds to their score, but limits our ability to get any points on the board and that's what generally has been tough for us.
Timmy, he's catching the ball, he just has to figure out a way to get in the hole. He's getting enough touches in the halfcourt, he'll continue to get the ball, they are not fronting him or anything like that. So he's getting the basketball. We've just got to play better.
Q. A lot of people have talked about the importance of Game 5, in this 2 3 2 format, has it almost become a home court disadvantage?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I think philosophically, or at least on paper, one would probably say that if you have the home court advantage to start, and you get one on the road, it's a huge advantage.
The other side of the coin is, if the Spurs have a home court advantage and you don't get one on the road, then it becomes a disadvantage. I think that's in general an accurate way to look at the series. So it's a huge game as far as I look at it, I think it's monstrous to try to get the fifth game. To say anything different I would probably be disingenuous, because in my heart, you know, we knew we had to get a game. Sure, you want to get them both and all that kind of baloney, but you want to get a game on the road in this format without a doubt.
Q. I understand that today was more of a Serbian type of film session. I'm wondering what you were trying to get across to guys.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I wonder where you guys get your information sometimes. We just had a film session a half an hour ago.
Q. Yeah.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: So you're saying there's a leak on my team? (Laughter).
Q. You have to get Gordon Liddy to fix it.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: He doesn't fix things real well. Ask Richard. He doesn't fix real well, or else he had some other people that didn't do it very well.
Q. So what were you trying to get across today?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Just like, you know, any film, you know, Coach had a film session at some point, I'm sure. They won. We all have film sessions. Win or lose you're going to go in and point out what you did well or what you did poorly. That's part of the deal, you know, to keep players up to speed, because people talk about things on TV, in the print media. Very honestly, a lot of it is inaccurate. People think they see things in the game and what happened, and that's not what happened. When you look at the film, even coaches and players, you know, you think something happened in the game and you look at the film and you go, geez, that's not what I thought I saw in the game at all. So to see the film and to pick out the most important parts and specifically show players what they did well or not well in pick and roll or transition D or whatever it is, is important for them for the following game, so we did that. And I guess you're referring to the approach or how heated the session might have been. Let's just say it was heart felt. (Laughter).
Q. One more thing, how important
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I'm trying to be serious. We have a big game tomorrow.
Q. How important is it, also, you mentioned to point out, especially after you've lost a game, the positive things that were done in a game.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: That's part of the film, too. We did this well, okay, how tough is this, can we please do this. That's what we're trying to do, why don't we do more of that, this is not the way we want to do this. Sure, it goes back and forth. Some is positive and some is negative.
Q. What's it going to take to get Tony cranked up to where he was earlier in the series?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: We've talked a lot the last two days, the last two games I think have been more about what's between the ears and what's in the chest, has sort of been our mantra. With Tony, it's between the ears. He's a young guy, he's 23, he has good games and he has bad games. But for him, he's best when he approaches each game as a scoring guard, as an attack guard, as an aggressive guard, rather than starting the game as a distributor and I'm going to keep the team together guard. So we want to get him back in that sort of frame of mind.
Q. Just to follow up to the film session, one player described you as almost giddy, because you're ready to get back out on the floor and see what kind of character, see how they respond, is that an accurate description, "giddy"?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Can you give me an exact description of "giddy" before I answer that?
Q. I have no idea. One of your players used that word and it went over my head and that's why I'm asking you.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: "Giddy" means a lot of different things to different people. One can be giddy for a variety of reasons. Let's name a few. (Laughter).
Q. Okay.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: A bonus check makes one giddy. A glass of fine wine that's bought cheaply makes me giddy. And in a basketball sense, I'm trying to think about what would make one giddy on the court, and the only thing that would make my giddy get up would be a win.
I mean, you're going to raise up on a win, but on a loss, you know, there's no giddy in the loss. A whole lot of giddy in a win. But I don't remember giddy in the film session. We did have one funny part in the film session and if you can figure that out you would be a of an investigator and that was in the first five minutes in the game. If you can find out when that was, you'll get a kick out of it. Other than that, it was all basketball.
Q. That's why I come to you, Pop.
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: Right.
Q. Your press offense has been very good at teams that press better than the Pistons do, I think that's sort of fair to say. Are they different to make you adjust something that you do on the press offense?
COACH GREGG POPOVICH: I think what we have done is been very physical, and I think that we have had some players react very poorly to it. For instance, it's not a good idea to bring the ball up the court along the sideline when your defender is waiting across halfcourt and you see a very large person to your right coming at the same time. One would want to cross the court with the ball or get rid of it. But the worst thing to do is to dribble across the halfcourt line so that two people can jump all over you. So we are doing our best to explain that to a couple of individuals, but other than that, I think we're okay.
TIM DUNCAN
Q. What do you think about the Pistons' ability to bounce back in a series like they have done the whole postseason?
TIM DUNCAN: Yeah, they have made it their repertoire, that's what they do. They were down and they were out, you can call it what you want, heart of a champion or whatever it may be, but their ability to adjust to a series and fight back through it, it's been remarkable.
Q. What are some of your memories of Father's Day in your past and what do you anticipate that day meaning to you in the future?
TIM DUNCAN: Wow, deep question. I think just like anyone else, I remember being around my dad and getting up and attempting to make some sort of breakfast type meal and taking it to him in the morning. And as for future plans, I hope to be part of the same as that, to see my kids or kid or whatever it may be doing that for me, and having that kind of nostalgia feel.
Q. Are you okay with playing a game on Father's Day?
TIM DUNCAN: Yeah. I'm just fine.
Q. Over these last few games, how much more difficult has it been to create space in the paint and to get more effective passes down the low post?
TIM DUNCAN: Their adjustment has been to crowd and pack the lane, and it's been very difficult, of course, as you've seen with our scoring, with my scoring, with the way they have been able to defend us. So we just have to do a little bit better job understanding that that's what they are going to do, they are going to get in that lane and we are going to have to move the ball and make their bodies move.
Q. And beyond moving the ball, Robert Horry talked about the quickness of your guards, saying that they needed to be a little more crafty to get around guys, maybe get some better passing angles, what other tangible things can you point to?
TIM DUNCAN: I think crafty, intelligent, just understanding what's in front of them, what's in front of all of us. I think we should have to attack the game with a little more intelligence, understanding what they are doing, understanding the physical nature and their great helps on defense and it if we can use that against them, have them overrotate, whatever it may be, that's going to be the way that we're going to be effective against them.
Q. Have you seen big men this athletic, and to who would you compare them, if you have?
TIM DUNCAN: There where are a couple guys around the league, in a pair or in a group of them, I think they complement each other very well with their styles. They are all 6 9, 6 10 and they are all very long and they are all very strong and they are all very active, and this references the Wallaces of course and Antonio. And they play together very well I think their biggest strengths are not only individually, they are great defenders, but they are great defenders as peers. I'm just talking about the big guys, they defend well, they cover each other's back, they rotate for each other. So they work well together.
Q. Can you just reflect on the last two games and what you could use from that to maybe help you the rest of the series?
TIM DUNCAN: I think the last two games I don't know where to start with that. There's so many things I can use from it, and a lot of it I've touched on with some of the other questions: Just being more intelligent, just understanding what their focus is, how they want to really pack it into the lane, making quick decisions when it's time, and involve the other teammates when it's time. Not only just sitting there trying to pound the ball but score the ball. I've got to be able to draw and kick and use their aggressiveness against them.
Q. Do you and Manu, when you have time like this to reflect, sit there and mentally beat yourself up over things?
TIM DUNCAN: I think we have done a great job of talking to each other and using this time more than individual sitting down and really beating ourselves up individually; really talking to each other and trying to get everybody on the same page. We had some time to do that here in the last day or so, and I think that will help us, if nothing else, more than anything.
Q. Yesterday Rasheed in describing the differences between you and him, your personalities, he said that you were day and he was night. How would you describe the differences between you and Rasheed?
TIM DUNCAN: I would describe me as night and him as day. (Laughter).
MANU GINOBILI
Q. How much pressure or responsibility, I guess you could say, do you and Tony feel in having to get the offense going?
MANU GINOBILI: Well, probably the same as Tim and the rest of our teammates. We are not the kind of team that we feel like somebody's got to step up to play better; we all feel that responsibility. We all know that we all are struggling. We didn't play well at all in Games 3 and 4, and that we've really got to step up.
And it's not a matter of getting it going on the offense and scoring or making more shots. I think it's a matter of playing more aggressively, more determination, passing the ball and do the little things to make your team better. So I don't think it's a matter of Tony scoring 25 or me scoring 25, something like that.
Q. I'm doing a piece on flopping and some of the Pistons even some of your teammates said that you have a reputation for drawing calls every now and then. I'm curious if you take offense to that, if you admit to it and if so, what are the keys to selling the call?
MANU GINOBILI: I don't know, I never had to talk about that. I don't know, I just think that you've got to be in the right spot mainly, then if you it's not about flopping on it's probably more exaggerating a little bit, the call. But, you know, you caught me off guard. (Laughter) I didn't expect to be answering about this. I just play the way I feel. I try to be in the right spot to draw a charge or something like that.
Q. I didn't mean it in a negative term, I just wondered if there's an art to it or something that players do, or why some players are more successful at doing it than others.
MANU GINOBILI: I really don't know. You got me. I don't know. (Laughter).
Q. Does the two days off help decrease the pain in your thigh, and also, what do you make of Tim Duncan saying that it really starts with him, this team, this offense?
MANU GINOBILI: Well, yeah, of course, Tim is our main guy. Everybody knows that. But I'm not so sure that it starts only with him. I think it starts with him, with me, with Tony, with Bruce, with Nazr and everybody. This is a team. Nobody is more guilty because, you know, score less points or didn't play so well. We all got to help each other and the responsibility is with us. It's a good thing that the leader of this team takes so much responsibility and takes it so seriously, but we all know that it's a matter of everybody.
And, yeah, about the two days off, it helps. It helps. I played pretty comfortable in Game 4. It doesn't hurt me so much. Game 3 was worse. So my thigh is getting better, doing treatments and it's not going to be a problem for Game 5 at all.
Q. Robert Horry has said of the Detroit big men, they are too long and they jump too well. What is it like trying to drive the lane against those guys?
MANU GINOBILI: Well, it's not easy to find a couple of big guys that are both long and athletic. Usually one is slow or doesn't jump so high or well and you've got all three of them, because when McDyess comes from the bench he does it, too. That's probably what makes them a great defensive team.
If you see one by one their personnel, it is not that they are the all time best defensive team, but when you go by the first line, then you've got to meet one of those guys, and they are, as I said before, very long, athletic, and so they make things harder.
Q. Larry Brown has always preached playing the game inside out and Popovich has bought into that big time. You guys have all said repeatedly, it all starts with Tim, but with him limited in his scoring, what can you do to open things up inside?
MANU GINOBILI: I think it's limited in the scoring because he didn't play well the last two games. I don't think that any of the big men in this league can really limit him to ten or 14 points. I mean, if he's coming into a game, he's going to score.
So, I'm not so worried about that because I know that he's going to step up. But it's hard for us of course, when we are used to, during most of the season, to give him the ball and draw double teams and things like that.
But I think we did try to stop it in 1 and 2, but we moved the ball better anyway, and we were able to go to the hole better, things that we usually do and that we didn't do in the last two games.
I'm not so convinced that it's only Tim's responsibility. It's about Tim, Tony, me and everybody.
Q. Forget the responsibility for a moment, just in terms of concrete things you can point to, what do you do to create more opportunities in the paint?
MANU GINOBILI: Move the ball better. It's way easier to penetrate when the ball has moved from one side to the other than when somebody is holding the ball and waiting to penetrate. If we put the ball inside, even if it's not in the paint, when it comes up and you revert the ball, when you create movement, it's always easier. So that's where we have been making mistakes. We hold the ball too much off the dribble, on a pick and roll, and we forgot to move the ball, and we are much better when we do.
Q. Talk a little bit about some of the positives you've been able to take out of these last two games.
MANU GINOBILI: It's kind of hard. I really can't think of something that we did as planned. We played well for a couple of minutes and then we stopped; another two or three minutes and then we stopped, I think one of the good things I saw was Devin came back, played well, and confidently, and we needed him. But besides that, I don't think we played good in any aspect of the game. Probably the five on five when they stopped, we guarded pretty well, but we let them run too much, offensively, second chance balls and things like that.
So I can't think of anything, no.
Q. I'm wondering to see if you can just reflect individually on your first two games and on your last two games.
MANU GINOBILI: Sorry?
Q. Just wondering if you can reflect just individually, not as a team, but individually on your first two games and your last two games.
MANU GINOBILI: It was really the opposite thing. In the first two games I was able to go to the basket more, draw some attention and keep the ball and I've been committing too many turnovers in these two games. As I said before, that was one of the main mistakes that the team did.
But besides that, I think I was kind of, you know, kicking our heels like the whole team did. Their pressure limited us, and we stopped. We cannot stop playing, so we've just got to be very aggressive, keep moving the ball and attacking the same we we did in the first two games.
ROBERT HORRY
Q: Can you talk about Father’s Day?
Horry: Father’s Day? It’s a great day. Without fathers none of us would be here.
Q: Do you mind playing on Father’s Day. Would you rather have a day off?
Horry: No I don’t mind. Father’s Day is a day for those fathers to do what they want to do and most father’s like basketball. So they can sit back in their lounge chair, lay down on their couch, like I like to do, and watch some good basketball.
Q: Did you guys have a chance to sit back and regroup a little bit? Have these two days been good for you?
Horry: It’s good because you can dissect the film a whole more. You don’t want to wear a team out by watching film over and over and over in one day. Today we dissected it, had a little bit yesterday, had a little bit today. It’s easy to break it down and pin point exactly what you are doing wrong and the things you can do right?
Q: But from a mental standpoint, were these two days off good for you guys?
Horry: Not really because one thing I really don’t like about NBA Finals is that you really don’t have practice time. You don’t have time to really practice situations because there are a lot of situations on the court where I think that we need practice time to go over so we can do them exactly right, so we can get a victory. But you do what you have to do and you deal with it.
Q: Gregg Popovich said that the reason the Spurs lost in Detroit is because the Spurs did not respond to the Pistons’ physical play. Would you agree with that?
Horry: I agree with that. Pop is always right. It’s amazing how the film doesn’t lie. How you can think you’re doing thing right on the court and think you’re hustling but when you look at that film you’re like, damn I though I got back on that, but you really didn’t. There are a lot of points that he’s pointing out in the film session. That’s why these past two days have been really good for us.
Q: What are you expecting from Tim Duncan in the next game?
Horry: I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Tim Duncan. I’m hoping he’ll be the best that he can be and do what he needs to do to help us win.
Q: He’s the leader on the team. How does he lead the team?
Horry: By example. I think this team is so funny that however Tim plays, it kind of dwindles down to the rest of us. If he plays well, we play well. If he plays poorly then I think we kind of play poorly at times. But for the most part I think it’s going to have to be more than just Tim. Everybody wants to put all this on Tim, Tim, Tim. But it’s a total team effort.
TONY PARKER
Q: Talk about the effect of their defense on setting up your offense.
Parker: They are playing great defense that gets pressure on us, so it’s harder to get in our offense. When they make us hurry and try to get some turnovers, so we just have to make sure we take our time and be patient and like we said after Game 3, but we really need to do it, push the ball in transition and do our stuff and not let that pressure defense get us out of what we like to do.
Q: Compare this to the situation in 2003 against the Nets when you were tied 2-2 going into Game 5 on the road.
Parker: Exact same situation, big game -- that could be the game that decides the series. Game 5 is always critical and it’s just a matter that everybody understands how huge it is and everybody has to come together and be focused and show some heart.
Q: How important is not to go home tomorrow down 3-2?
Parker: Definitely, everybody knows it’s a must-win tomorrow; we definitely need to get this one. It’s going be hard to win two at home, I think everybody understands that Detroit is a very good team and I think everybody understands that it’s going to be a big game and we need to match their energy. It’s going to be very tough, very physical and we cannot let them outplay us.
Q: Talk about the confidence swing in this series.
Parker: Momentum can change very quickly, after our first two wins everybody thought Detroit was finished, but we knew they were a very good team and they were going to come back. And they played well for two games, and now we have to react to show how proud we are and how we are going to come back from those two losses.
Q: Is it easier to wipe out blowout losses from your memory than close losses?
Parker: We have to, it’s the NBA Finals. Game 5 is coming up and it’s the biggest game of the season, Game 4 is behind us, we can’t let that affect us.
BRUCE BOWEN
Q: Do you guys have to just play like you’re not going to get a call and don’t worry about it?
Bowen: It’s funny. You don’t come into games saying you’re going to do this or going to do that complaining to the officials, and sometimes you feel like you get wronged and then you say something, and something else happens, and then you say a little more. At some point, you have to understand that you can’t do that. You have to keep your focus and keep moving forward and kind of weather that storm.
Q: Can you talk about being undrafted and making the transition from being a scorer and becoming a premiere defender?
Bowen: I think it’s just a matter of trying to achieve the goal you set for yourself. I used France as a stepping stone to get here. Everyday, I was reading the USA Today, seeing who got called up from the CBA and things of that nature, so it gave me hope, because I felt like if I continued to do well in France, I would have an opportunity once I got back to the states.
Q: So, once you got here, you thought that being a defensive specialist was the right way to go?
Bowen: Not necessarily. It just kind of happened that way. My thing was trying to get on the court anyway I could. If that was through defense, so be it. As I started to do those things, I noticed I stayed on the court a little longer. That’s kind of how it happened.
Q: How much pressure are you guys feeling?
Bowen: It’s a big game for us. It’s a big game mentally more than anything else, because it’s not about x’s and o’s at this point. If we go out and compete the way we’re capable of competing, I think we’ll have success. But when we lose focus or don’t bring the aggression, those are the things a coach can’t put into you. The coach can compare the game plan for you and you go out and execute that plan, but it’s the other things like being able to fight against their aggression. Those are things coaches can’t put into you, so it’s important that we have that more than anything else tomorrow night.
Q: What is it like going up against this team?
Bowen: It’s like looking in the mirror at times. They have a great defensive mindset, and their coach stresses defense more so than anything else, just like our coach does. They’re very aggressive in the halfcourt defense, they create turnovers and those turnovers are creating scoring opportunities.
NAZR MOHAMMED
Q: How is your confidence level right now?
Mohammed: Still pretty high. It would be different if the series wasn’t tied, or we didn’t win two games and played pretty well in those two games we won. It’s high, but at the same time we’re still disappointed about the last two games. But there’s no time to dwell on the last two games. We have to make corrections and get out there ready to play.
Q: Is this a must-win game for you?
Mohammed: Yes. It’s Game 5, it’s the next game. Every time it’s the next game it’s a must-win. At this point, when you’re in the Finals, every next game is a must-win.
Q: How do you expect Tim Duncan to bounce back?
Mohammed: I expect Tim to be Tim. He’s one of the best players in the game. He’s going to go out there and do what he’s supposed to do – rebound, spin and take good shots, that’s what I expect.
Q: How do you explain the Jekyll and Hyde series, the first two games you guys dominated, and here it’s like two different teams out there?
Mohammed: I don’t know the reason why. I just know the reason why we didn’t play well here – too many turnovers and giving up the offensive boards. But I can’t really explain why it’s been the way it’s been.
Q: Pop has talked a lot about their physical play putting you guys on your heels. What can you do to change that?
Mohammed: You have to match physical play with physical play. And you have to match intensity with intensity. That’s the only way to do it. There’s no way else in the world to match physical play except with the same type of play.
Q: Is it beyond Xs and Os then, it’s all heart and physical play?
Mohammed: Definitely. Both teams are well coached; both teams have great players, so we kind of know what to do. It’s not like within the first four games anyone has changed plays or changed things that we do. It’s just been rebounding, which is a physical thing, and it’s been turnovers, which is physical slash mental. But we just have to take of those two things.
Q: Talk about the difference between Ben Wallace in Games 1 and 2 vs. Games 3 and 4, a completely different player.
Mohammed: I kinda disagree with that. I think statistically, yes, he’s a completely different player. But I think he has the same mindset going into every game. He goes out and tries to rebound and defend, and sometimes it’s going right for you and sometimes it’s not. In the first two games, statistically it didn’t show that it was going right for him and in the last two it did.
LARRY BROWN
Q. Your team has come from behind three series now, just talk about the resiliency and where they get their resiliency from.
COACH LARRY BROWN: Well, you know, I have to answer that kind of question all the time. I think it goes back to, you know, when Joe started, I think he tried to bring guys in with a tough mentality and a lot of the kids, if you look on our roster, didn't have the easiest road in terms of becoming NBA players. I look at Nazr and Bruce and Tony Massenburg, guys that I coached, we have a lot of similar guys. So he brought in a culture of, you know, tough minded kids that respect the game and respect their teammates, and I think it has a positive effect when things go bad.
I think Rick (Carlisle) started the defensive mentality and the unselfish play, and we won 50 games with him. You know, before that, we had not been to the playoffs in a long time, and I think all of those experiences helped us last year because we had a similar road I think last year. We lost Game 5 against New Jersey in triple overtime and then won Game 6 and 7, we had a critical game at Indiana last year, we lost our second home game against Milwaukee. It's always been that way. And I don't think it's ever easy, winning a championship anyway.
Q. Pop says the reason why the Spurs have lost two straight here, they have not responded well to the Pistons' physical play, would you agree?
COACH LARRY BROWN: Well, he emphasized physical play, and then said "great defense" after that. I think if you would have heard my comments after Games 1 and 2, I didn't think we matched their energy. I don't know, I think they both work hand in hand. I think, I really believe all of the things that they did that dominate the first two games, we did to win the last two. And if you can look at all the hustle points, it's pretty obvious who has won. You know, the board has been better for us the last two games than it was the first two. Fast break points, blocked shots, points off turnovers. So I don't know how physical we are, but I know both teams defend and both teams try to play the right way, and I think we played our very best the last two games, and that's what it's taken.
Q. Your players have said the last two games they played with a lot more energy and aggressiveness. As a coach, what did you do to help bring that out in them?
COACH LARRY BROWN: Well, I think sometimes the films don't lie, and if you have as much pride as our guys a lot of times this year, I think a lot of the guys on our team have played with a little chip on their shoulder because even though for me all summer, I have had a lot of people say really positive things about our team, a lot of people said it was because of the Lakers' problems that we had won. And I don't think people realized the Lakers beat San Antonio to get to us.
But a lot of it is because of the injuries they had and the problems that obviously people talked about and a lot of people maybe said we had to validate winning a championship. I never felt that way. We have a ring, we have a banner and we're all pretty proud of it.
When we got down 2 0 and got beat as badly as we got beaten, I think they understood that, you know, this is a series where we've got to play a lot harder than we did to win. You know, to win a championship, you've got to be pretty special and compete at a high level, and they understood we could do better. It wasn't anything that I did or the coaching staff did.
As a coach, I think the best thing that's happened to me here is that I'm allowed to coach. I have empowered our players. They kind of police each other. Again, that goes back to Joe and what he's brought here.
Q. Coach, you've said sometimes feel good stories or the good stories in the league don't get a lot of publicity; Antonio McDyess what should people know about the year he's had and the person he is?
COACH LARRY BROWN: Well, fortunately, you know, the last well, the fact that we're here, he's been I guess he really appreciates now coming back, because he obviously had some periods over the last three and a half years that he thought about giving it up.
So, you know, getting to this point, he thanks everybody every day, you know, like he has nothing to do with it, and that's just what he's about. I felt all along, watching him and Grant Hill and what they have endured, the fact that they could play this year and make such a contribution and bounce back and play at such a high level is phenomenal, because I don't know how you can go through what they went through and keep showing up every day.
And then what he's done the last few games, the last three games in particular, I think people have recognized the contribution he's made, so they are starting to talk about him again. I even hear comments about, he did something like he did in Phoenix or like he did in Denver early in his career, and that's kind of nice.
There's no better guy in our league than that kid. I mean, he is real and I think everybody in the locker room is thrilled for what's happened to him.
Q. Just curious, you talked about your high opinion of Rasheed and now that you've known him and coached him for a couple of years, before that, was your opinion of him any different? Did you think he was at all flaky or anything like that?
COACH LARRY BROWN: Well, I'm a Carolina guy. So when I was in Philly and Indiana, we used to practice in Chapel Hill in preseason and I always go back there. I had a high opinion of him as a person and as a player a long time ago, way before he got into this league.
My brother got to coach him, Mo Cheeks got to coach him. I've known a lot of his teammates, so I'm not surprised by what he's about. Being in Philly, if you ask people in Philadelphia of the things he's done without anybody knowing about it for the community and young people, it's remarkable. You know, a lot of people in our league do things and they get more out of it than actually, you know well, I won't get into that.
But he's special. You know, he's a poor sport. That's all. When he thinks something is not right, he reacts and sometimes acts silly, but it doesn't take away from who he is in my mind. He's a great player, but a better guy.
I've spoken to other coaches that have been with him and they all say the very same thing I'm saying. I'm proud, I'm proud of him, because, you know, I didn't have to argue with Joe to get him here or Mr. D. When I took the job, Mr. Davidson told me he cares about having good people involved in our organization, and when we brought up Rasheed's name, he didn't back down from it. I think there's no way we win the Championship last year and get here this year without him.
I'm thrilled that you people even asked that question, because the more you ask it, the more we get to respond and I think people realize just what he is about.
Q. Given what's happened in the last two games, given your history in San Antonio, the team's history in San Antonio, can you talk about the magnitude of Game 5, just in terms of the opportunity that's before you right now?
COACH LARRY BROWN: Well, this has been the wildest series. After the first two games, I felt like coming back from Athens, how I felt. And then to understand how important Game 3 was and then how important Game 4 was, and I told the guys today, again, I feel stupid. This is the most important game we'll ever have played, and I really believe that. I think we're going to have to play our very best, because obviously they have not lost at home very much. We haven't won there in ten years, I think. And they are a team that I believe everybody in our locker room thinks is unbelievably well coached and has great character and is going to compete at a high level.
So this is pretty important. And it's nice, it's really fun to be involved in it, to be honest. It's something I hope I can explain to my players that when we talked about Games 6 and 7 at Miami that we just wanted to go out and play and enjoy it. I hope I can make them understand that we need to have that same mentality.
RASHEED WALLACE
Q. We were talking about where your team gets its resolve and its resiliency to bounce back from series deficits like you've done.
RASHEED WALLACE: I would have to say from within. No one here on this squad deals with failure well, and that goes from head coach all the way down to the trainers. No one deals with failure well, and we pretty much think that especially now, it's a best out of three game series, and to come all this way only to lose, after a whole season, down the drain is failure.
So we have to come out there with resiliency and just play, man, just play.
Q. After everything you all have been through this year, what would breaking through and getting a second le mean to you and to the team?
RASHEED WALLACE: It would mean a lot. It would definitely mean a lot. I think this year it was definitely harder than last year, and that's for the simple fact that so many teams coming at us, even in the playoffs and even in the regular season, but hey, we're still here and we're still fighting. We know it's a marathon and not a sprint.
Q. Why did this move to Detroit fit you so well, and what do you like about the team and the franchise and the city that seems to have suited you so well?
RASHEED WALLACE: Just the whole city, it has history, no matter if it's hockey, basketball, have a good history in football. People here are big sports nuts, and that's always a good thing.
As far as the team, I was real happy when I came here. You know, playing with a couple of guys that I already knew from previous teams and knowing what type of people they are off the court, so you know, that made the transition easy.
Q. You guys have said that you played with a lot more energy and aggressiveness the last two games. What did Coach Brown do to help bring that out of you guys?
RASHEED WALLACE: He haven't had to do nothing, really. We knew what the situation we were in when we came back here to The Palace down 2 0. Our coach just went over the regular X's and O's, but we knew what we had to do as players and I think also that's the signs of a good team and a good coach to where he knew that we knew what to do. You know, he didn't have to sit up there and try to beat it in our head, well, we've got to play hard and do this and do that. No, he knew we were going to do that.
Q. Just wondering, the move to here, has it helped you personally? Do you feel like you've benefitted other than just the obvious hardware, that it's helped you as a person or in your career?
RASHEED WALLACE: I mean, it might have helped my career, but as a person, no. It's just moving to a new city. Like if you were to move from your hometown to a new city, you know, it's just things that you deal with. I mean, as far as me personally, nothing really changed too much about me except the area where I'm living at now. I would say that's about it.
Q. Where did you get the idea for the belts and what was that whole procedure like? Did you have to call a bunch of people to find out where you get stuff like that? How did that go?
RASHEED WALLACE: No. It was just a connect that my cousin had, someone that he knew. So it was just one phone call. That's something that I've always wanted to do since high school.
Q. Coach Brown was just in here saying that he was glad he had the opportunity to discuss you with the public, so that people may get to know you at a different level. Do you care about that kind of stuff?
RASHEED WALLACE: Not at all. Not at all, because it's not going to change who I am. It's not going to change the things that I do, so everyone has their opinions and perspective of people, and you know, just because maybe some of your coworkers don't like you or whatever, is that going to change the type of writer that you are? No. You're just going to keep living your life.
Q. Does it bother you, the perception of you in the public is not a big concern?
RASHEED WALLACE: No. Even one of my teammates Richard Hamilton don't like me too much. (Laughter).
Honestly, it doesn't bother me. You've still got to go out there and be the same person that you are. I can't worry about what everyone else thinks of me outside of my home, so that doesn't affect me.
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS
Q: Talk about what Father’s Day means to you.
Billups: Father’s day, I mean I am the king that day, I’m the man. It’s a beautiful day, me growing up, being able to always do something with my dad and my grandfathers. It’s been great, now on the flip side, me being a dad now, it’s a beautiful day. I’m the man like I said, I get spoiled, I get things and they just make me feel appreciated.
Q: The king has to leave the castle tomorrow night to play a game.
Billups: Yeah I do, but it’s a late game. I’ll be able to be at home most of the day and enjoy my daughters like I always do. Like I said, it’s a beautiful day, I don’t remember having to work on my day before, but if anything I love coming to work tomorrow night.
Q: Talk about the difference between Duncan and Ginobili in Games 1 & 2 and Games 3 & 4.
Billups: Those two guys, they are obviously the Spurs’ go-to guys, in the first two games they were unbelievable, they got to their sweet spots, they were aggressive, they got everything they wanted. They came in here and I think our guys stepped up and took the challenge a little more personal and took them out of their sweet spots. Ginobili went down with an injury early in Game 3, and that’s probably had an effect on him. But I think we just played those guys tougher.
Q: What did Larry Brown do for you guys in Game 3 and 4?
Billups: Basically he just told us ‘We’re not playing hard enough, we’re not doing the things we’ve done to get to this point, we didn’t have the same effort in games 1 & 2 that we had in game 6 & 7 of the last series.’ And we’re playing a better team so how can we not play as hard and expect to win. And our effort picked up from Game 3 on and I don’t think that our effort will take any steps back now.
BEN WALLACE
Q: This team seems real at ease right now, real confident. Can you explain that feeling?
Wallace: It’s about being who you are, knowing what you can do. You do this everyday. You work at it everyday. You have to have confidence that you know you can get it done when you step on the floor in an arena full of people.
Q: Does this crowd get you really fired up?
Wallace: This crowd definitely makes a huge difference. As an opponent, if you can’t play in front of a hostile crowd, then you can play in the Palace.
Q: What can we expect to see from this team tomorrow?
Wallace: The same type of energy and effort. That’s all we can guarantee. We can’t guarantee that we’re going to make shots, or get stops, or they’re not going to make shots, but we can put the same energy and effort on the floor.
Q: Can you talk about the coaching matchup between Larry and Pop?
Wallace: They coached together for a number of years. They’ve know each other for a lot of years, so, of course, their teams are going to play similar. It is what it is.
Q: What has been the theme of the last two practices?
Wallace: Just focusing. Stay poised, stay sharp, and realize that we haven’t done nothing but tie the series, and we still have a lot of basketball to play. This team in not beaten, by far.
Q: What has Larry Brown concentrated on the last few days?
Wallace: Coach Brown has being doing what he always does. Preparation, come in here and get us prepared for things we might see, different looks they might throw at us. Set screens, roll to the basket off pick and rolls, crash the board, all the little things.
Q: Is Chauncey Billups as cool as he seems to be, as far as maintaining his focus under pressure?
Wallace: Call him “Smooth.” The man’s nickname is “Smooth.” He’s always cool and calm. He’s the point guard. He’s the one guy out of everybody that we can’t afford to have go out there and lose his head. He has to run the show for us, and he’s always calm and ready to play.
RICHARD HAMILTON
Q. Where do you guys get your resolve and resiliency to bounce back like you have this whole season?
RICHARD HAMILTON: Like I said, with us, we always want to stick together. We're a team that loves each other on and off the court. We feel as though that we're going to win, we're going to win this thing together. If we're going to get out of tough times and things like that, we're going to get out of it together.
We just stay connected, man. We've all got each other's back and things like that.
Q. They have been doubling Tayshaun and trying to get the ball out of his hands, what have you guys done defensively to counteract that?
RICHARD HAMILTON: Well, I think the one thing that we try to do is get him in positions where, you know, he can make plays. A lot of times they try to double team him off the post and things like that, so sometimes get to the post a little bit quicker. Sometimes you have to face up a little bit more so you can see the defense and then actually back the guy down and things like that. I've been telling him certain things that I think he can do with facing his man up a little bit and backing him down and he's been watching tape and seeing different things he can do better.
Q. Are most of the doubles coming off Ben?
RICHARD HAMILTON: Sometimes, yeah, they do. They try to, you know, make Ben into a scorer. They leave him open a lot and things like that but one thing Ben has been doing the last couple of games has really been making them pay for that.
(Phone ringing) Yeah, Rasheed, I'll call you back. (Laughter) He's a nut.
Q. We've heard a lot about how Rasheed's sense of humor is a big thing in your locker room, what does he give you specifically grief about?
RICHARD HAMILTON: Man, he's crazy man. I say he's a big kid. Like I said, I don't think last year we win the Championship without Rasheed Wallace.
When he came to our team, he did so many great things for us, helping us out on the court and off the court. He's silly. He makes everybody laugh, man. When he's acting a certain way in front of y'all guys, we get him in the locker room and we just hammer him, like, what are you doing, man? So he's a silly type dude, man.
Q. Does he have a thing with you or with Chauncey, a thing they will get on you about?
RICHARD HAMILTON: He always talking about, like with me, like where I'm from, Coatesville and he's from Philly, he always used to say man, like when I talk about him, man, you need to post up or something like that man, this guy's got your heart out there man. Man, you grew up watching me play, man, you know where I was from, you were from a smaller town than I was.
He's a silly dude man.
Q. Given your team's record in San Antonio the last few years, how imperative is it to win Game 5?
RICHARD HAMILTON: It's important. Like I said, this is actually our last home game. So we look at it as a game that, you know, we want to give our fans something to go ahead and cheer about. We want to go out there and continue to feed off the energy that we've been giving them the last two games and that they have been giving us. It's important for us to go out there and try to win.
Q. How would you describe the relationship that Coach Brown has with his players?
RICHARD HAMILTON: Oh, we have a great relationship with Coach. Like I said, when Coach came here, there was certain things he wanted everybody to change and things like that. It was tough at the beginning. As the season went on and we started winning and things like that, and he started understanding us and we started understanding him. It's been great ever since.
The times that he was not out there and he had his little injury or whatever you want to call it, you know, we needed him out there. So when he came back out there, he got right back in the mix and we continued to win.
Q. Before Rasheed got here, back when he was in Portland or wherever and you maybe didn't know him as well, did you think any different of him? Did you think he was a flake when he was throwing his head bands and whatever?
RICHARD HAMILTON: I always thought he was silly. He's a silly type guy, man. I knew 'Sheed, so it was nothing new. I never knew how great of a teammate he was, because a guy that you believe it one of the top power forwards in the game, he will believe that he demands the ball every time down the court because he can, if he wants to get that ball down the court. He's talented enough to get it down the court. But he's willing to sacrifice his game to win a championship.
TAYSHAUN PRINCE
Q: What’s the mentality of the team regarding keeping the Spurs out of the paint and defending down low?
Prince: That’s our only chance of winning. Doing what we did the last couple of games as far as keeping them out of the paint. I think that’s what we understand and what we know.
Q: You guys fell behind in the series but can you talk about how the team feels now after four games?
Prince: Obviously we feel a lot better but we still understand what we have to do and how the Spurs are going to come out and react after these two games and how important this Game 5 is going to be. So we have to be prepared.
Q: What kinds of things do you guys talk about and has Ben Wallace done any talking before the last two games or do you guys just know by the way he comes out?
Prince: He didn’t really say anything. But at the same time we all know. We all understand Ben’s approach to certain situations. Like I said, when he comes out the way he did in the beginning of Game 3 then we all know and understand and we definitely follow his lead.
Q: How do you expect Tim Duncan to come out in the next game?
Prince: We expect the Spurs to come out very aggressive. I know you saying Tim Duncan but I expect the Spurs and everybody in general to come out very aggressive and look to attack. Obviously that’s how we got off to a great start these last two games, by attacking first so we just have to try to avoid it.
Q: But what about Tim specifically since he is a superstar?
Prince: Like I said, it’s not just him. Maybe everybody thinks it might start with him but you have to do things as a team.
Q: People talk about the Finals format being a disadvantage for teams that do not have the home court advantage but last year you guys won all three games at home and are in a position to do it again this year. Can you talk about that?
Prince: Last year was a different scenario, when you get a game on the road first. Being down 2-0, being in a more of a desperate need of winning these games, you have to come out here and try to get it done. Definitely Game 5 is going to be an important one for us, but it’s a different situation than last season with Game 1 and even how Game 2 went down against the Lakers. It’s still the same scenario as far as how we have to play here and how we need to come out here and be aggressive and establish something.
ANTONIO MCDYESS
Q: Did you give pause at all regarding the bone graft surgery?
McDyess: I didn’t have a choice. Sounds bad, but when I think about it I’m glad I did it. It was healing so slow that I would never have been ready for last year, so I’m happy I had the opportunity to do it. I knew the Mayo clinic was the best surgical clinic in the state. So I never thought twice about it because I just wanted to get it done and get it over with. But in the end the hip hurt worse than the knee.
Q: Because of the bone they took out of there? How long until you recovered?
McDyess: My hip? It’s funny because I never really had pain in my knee after surgery. I think the first two weeks was the worst, and my tolerance after that took over.
Q: How happy are you at this stage of your career to be in the Finals and maybe win a championship?
McDyess: Man, I’m excited. Like I said, I could have been in a position where I was watching this instead of playing in it. Just to have this opportunity, I feel blessed, and I’m happy to be here.
Q: So far you have been the most effective bench player in the series. How can you explain that?
McDyess: I don’t know. I think for me, I felt that my career was over last year. So when I step between the lines I just try to do what I can and just go out there and relax and play hard.
Q: Seems that home court is very important in this series.
McDyess: Both teams are just protecting the home court. With us, they went 2-0 on us and I feel like our backs were against the wall, we just needed to go out there and play hard. We had an opportunity to come home where the fans can get us in the game, and we came out, relaxed and just played.
Q: You guys seem to have the ability to get mad and turn it around.
McDyess: I’ve never been on a team that – it seems like we play better when our backs are against the wall, and I’ve just never been on a team like this. The whole year was like this. Even in first playoffs, every time it seemed like the pressure was on, we just played better.
Well, not as much as I had been. I can actually read the articles now.
Poor Beno, ouch . . .For instance, it's not a good idea to bring the ball up the court along the sideline when your defender is waiting across halfcourt and you see a very large person to your right coming at the same time. One would want to cross the court with the ball or get rid of it. But the worst thing to do is to dribble across the halfcourt line so that two people can jump all over you. So we are doing our best to explain that to a couple of individuals, but other than that, I think we're okay.
Manu looked pissed when some reporter asked about his flopping.
I didn't think so... but I could be wrong. But i couldn't believe he didn't laugh at the dude and say, "You're doing a piece on flopping??"
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