NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

May 30, 2023

Aaron Gordon

Denver Nuggets

Practice Day

Q. Aaron, whether it's first round Anthony Edwards, second round KD, third round LeBron and AD or this round, Jimmy Butler, what does your process look like in studying these guys and preparing for them, knowing that you're going to have a war going up against them defensively?

AARON GORDON: Well, we have player personnel sheets and booklets essentially that we can go through and study players' tendencies, what their strengths are, what they like to get to, how they're most effective. Then I just kind of go through that, treat it like a Bible for the next couple of days and just stick to the script.

Q. Aaron, you've gotten a lot of praise for your defense throughout the Playoffs. I don't know if you were regarded as the type of defender that you're regarded as now when you were in Orlando. Are you enjoying showing the world this side of your game, and have you always thought that you've had this kind of defensive level inside of you?

AARON GORDON: Well, I came into the league as a defender. I tell all the young guys coming into the league, find a niche that is going to help you stay in the league, and my niche was defense. It's been there. I've been able to develop it and kind of fine-tune it.

But I'm most excited about just helping my team. I'm not really worried about showing the world anything. I do it for the guys that are in the locker room.

If I can take on that task of guarding the best player night in and night out and make it easier for the guys around me so they can focus on their jobs, so be it every time.

Q. Your teammates have praised you for revamping your game, and you meshed it with what works best for Nikola and Jamal. Can you take us through that process? How did you overhaul your game to make sure it meshed with what was on the floor?

AARON GORDON: It's not really about overhauling as much. It's just reading the game. These guys are such great players, such great players in this locker room and playing on the floor, that you just have to make the right read. You've got to be in the right spot every time and do what the game is asking of you. I've gotten to play in the dunker (spot) a lot, so that's what I love to do.

Q. AG, how much respect is there for the Heat with all the undrafted players that have played for them in the Playoffs, and Spoelstra is a great coach and sort of that Heat culture. How much respect do you have in the locker room for them?

AARON GORDON: We've got the utmost respect for them. They fight and they scrap, and they have no quit in them. They play through 48 minutes a game and more if necessary. They play fearless. They play disciplined. They're well coached and have some guys that have been there before and have some guys that have chips on their shoulder.

We're not looking at the seeding or the story around it. This is a very talented basketball team, professional basketball team, and all those guys over there got game. So we respect it.

Q. Aaron, is there anything from last year's series against Golden State that you've taken and applied to this postseason that's allowed you to have success?

AARON GORDON: Oh, man, just how much I appreciate KCP and Brucie B. chasing around guards. Trying to guard a lot in that Warriors series between Klay and chasing around Steph a little bit and then switching to Draymond, there was just a lot. We got some defenders on this team, some two-way guys. It's nice to have those guys around and locked in on the defensive end.

Then just the physicality of the game, understanding that there's going to be some fouls that don't necessarily get called, but it cannot deter you from attacking the rim and attacking the game every single time.

Q. A lot has been made about Miami's three-point shooting, for good reason. Above 43 percent against Milwaukee and Boston. I think they're at 38 percent on above-the-break threes. What are you guys seeing on how they are getting to these three-point shots?

AARON GORDON: A lot of drive-and-kick, a lot of drive-and-kick and a lot of slips. They work the clock. They use all 24 seconds of it to find the best shot.

They play good to great. It's going to get you a higher percentage. They do that time in and time out. Every possession, they play good to great.

Q. How has the rest been maybe an advantage for you guys?

AARON GORDON: Oh, I mean, we've been working. It's not like we've got our feet kicked back or our hands back and our feet kicked up. We've been working. We've been locked in in the gym, working diligently.

We feel like we're in a good space. It's been a good balance of work to rest. Happy we have home-court advantage.

Q. Malone talked about trying to use altitude and make it show up in these Finals. How do you use that to your advantage, especially knowing that Miami just got in last night and has basically two days to acclimate?

AARON GORDON: Well, the altitude actually, it is an advantage. It plays a difference. I remember when I was in Orlando and coming to play against Denver, it was difficult just to get your first and second wind.

But that team is full of fighters. That team is excuseless. They don't make excuses, and they will not use that as an excuse. Honestly, we're just going to play our game and try and run them and play the way that we know how to play.

Q. You talk about the altitude and the home-court advantage. Was this Eastern Conference series result what you were hoping for? Were you rooting for Miami to win it so you'd be able to stay here and catch them tired at altitude and get the home court?

AARON GORDON: You always want to keep home court. So first and foremost, it's what we worked for all season long, to have that home-court advantage.

But I've been telling my guys all year, we don't want the easy route. We don't want anything easy. We want to be great. Miami is the best team out of the East, and that's what we want.

Q. The series is going to come down to more than just you guarding Jimmy, but you've probably seen him on the court more than any player you've gone against in the Playoffs. I guess how is that an advantage, if it is?And coach Malone talked about how he's good at getting to his spots, so how do you make that difficult for him?

AARON GORDON: Well, Jimmy is a difficult cover for different reasons than the guys I've guarded in the past like KD and LeBron, KAT. Jimmy does everything. He does all the intangible things. He gets out in transition. He gets cuts. He gets offensive rebounds. He gets backdoors. He gets spin-outs. He does a lot of the game within the game, as well as being really skilled. He's a difficult cover.

Just make it tough for him, play without fouling to the best of my ability and just compete. That's really what it comes down to.

Q. As a defender in the league, obviously there's a lot of guarding pick-and-roll, guarding two-man game that's part of a diet of a defender. But what is unique about the way that Jamal and Nikola do that dance that's different than other pairs in the league, the two-man game?

AARON GORDON: The way they play the pick-and-roll?

Q. Yeah.

AARON GORDON: I think it's lethal because of their ability to score from all three levels. It's rare. It's really rare that you can have a guard and a big that can both shoot the three, both score in the mid range with the floater and attack the rim. It's very rare. You don't see it often at all.

Q. Do you have any recollection when you were younger of watching the Finals when you were growing up, and ultimately, what does it mean to you to be on this stage playing as opposed to watching it, if you did watch it?

AARON GORDON: Of course I watched the Finals. It's just an awesome feeling. It's amazing. I'm doing it for everybody that has ever helped me in my life, doing it for the people around me. And just proving us right.

It's hard to put into words how amazing this experience is. Playing basketball at the highest level is a blessing, and I'm doing everything in my power to continue to receive those blessings for myself, my family and my team.

Q. Miami plays more zone than anybody in the NBA. You guys have been really good at attacking the zone. What is the key for an offense when going up against the zone, and why do you think the team has been so good against it?

AARON GORDON: The key to going up against a zone is, well, good shooting. That always helps. If you've got some lethal shooters out there, you can shoot people out of the zone. Ball movement, patience, attacking the zone, the middle of the zone. Really, the middle of the zone. That's what unlocks it all. If you get in the middle of the zone, everything else kind of unlocks. Oh, yeah, offensive rebounding against the zone, as well.

Q. Aaron, in terms of Miami Heat when they've been successful so far in the Playoffs, Jimmy Butler has averaged 27 points or more. In terms of having a target, in terms of limiting Jimmy, do you think maybe if you can keep him under 22 points, and do you set targets for elite players?

AARON GORDON: Yeah, I mean, he's been going crazy. I don't really set targets for like points. I just want to make it as difficult as I possibly can for him all night long for 48, through an entire series. Just making everything that he gets tough. Make him work for everything. It's not like a one one-on-one. Basketball is a five-on-five game, and it's going to be a five-man defense out there.

Just make him work and, like I said, just make it tough, not necessarily worry about the points. If he gets to his 27 mark but he takes however many shots, it's a win.

Q. How important is Game 1 of the series because both you and the Miami Heat have won all the Game 1s during this postseason, and what do you need to do to set the tone in this series?

AARON GORDON: Just do what we've been doing all year: Take care of our home floor. We've been great on our home floor all year long, and we don't expect that to change. We want to be disciplined through 48, have energy, play hard. If we can play smart for 48 minutes, I believe we'll come out of here with a W.