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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVALIERS vs CELTICS


May 23, 2018


Tyronn Lue


Boston, Massachusetts: Gam Five

Q. Just curious if in the course of the series if you've run into Kyrie Irving and what your conversations were like with him.
TYRONN LUE: No, I haven't seen him. I saw him on the bench at the end, but no, haven't run into him.

Q. Games 3 and 4, what have you seen on film that has shown you that your defense is that much better than what it was in Games 1 and 2?
TYRONN LUE: I think being physical at all five positions, trying to keep a body on body. I think we're doing a good job of trying to pressure Al Horford because he initiates a lot of their offense. After Games 1 and 2, we stopped switching as much as we have in the past. We're trying to keep the same matchups that we like so we don't switch and they take advantage of us in the post. We're doing some good things.

Q. By the way that some of the playoff opponents you've had this postseason so far have elected not to double-team LeBron James, do you think they're trying to wear him down through extra usage? Or how do you guys respond to that defensive strategy?
TYRONN LUE: I don't know. He's a great passer, so even if you double-team him, he's going to pick you apart. People have different philosophies. I know when I played here, our thing was make him score the basketball and try to take away everyone else. You've got to pick your poison because he can pick you apart. With our shooting ability, if we're making threes, we're a tough team. So I don't know.

Q. You put a particular emphasis on preventing turnovers in this game. How do you do that?
TYRONN LUE: I think we've got to just take away the careless turnovers. They're a good defensive team. Marcus Smart and those guys get a lot of deflections. He gets a lot of steals. We're going to have some turnovers, but we're going to have to take away the ones where we can convert in transition or easy, simple plays that we've got to convert and not have these silly turnovers.

Q. Aside from just not getting in foul trouble, what's the key for Kevin Love to have a better Game 5 than he had Game 4?
TYRONN LUE: I think just staying aggressive. I think if they continue to switch, he has to play against the matchups, take his shots. Foul trouble hurt him last game, but I thought he came in in the fourth quarter and played well and got us over the hump. He just has to stay aggressive and take his shots.

We've got to go to him in the post, and he has to deliver for us.

Q. How much or to what degree do you think your team's experience did benefit you, particularly against a young team, in Games 3 and 4? Do you think it was a lot?
TYRONN LUE: I don't know. Just going back home and our fans are great. We need that support. Guys came back and they played well at home. We've got to try to carry that over to Game 5 here tonight and bring the same intensity but just do a better job of taking care of the basketball. I think you can get away with it at home having 19 turnovers, but you can't get away with it on the road. We've got to do a better job of protecting the basketball.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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