Saturday, June 18, 2005
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.
Back to top
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 title 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.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
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.
Back to top
