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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PISTONS v HEAT


May 30, 2005


Richard Hamilton


DETROIT, MICHIGAN: Practice Day

Q. Where is this team's mindset right now going into this next game? Obviously it's a big game.

RICHARD HAMILTON: My mindset is we need to come out and get a win. This is when we play our best basketball, when our back is against the wall. It's a sad thing, but that's the reality of the situation. So I think, like I said, our spirits are great. We just know we've got to come out and take care of business.

Q. How tough is it not to dwell on the little things that went wrong like free throw shooting, which has been a problem for you guys in the last two games?

RICHARD HAMILTON: I mean, it's a lack of concentration. We can't afford to miss as many free throws as we missed, just the simple fact, because the margin of error is small at this time of year. So I think we've just got to dig deep and take care of business.

Q. What do you think you guys need to do to limit Wade effectively these next couple games?

RICHARD HAMILTON: He makes shots, man. You can't take nothing away from the guy. He's creative and gets to the paint. The refs have been calling fouls every time he goes to the basket. It's really tough to guard him that way because he's so physical, you try to get the contact and things like that. So we've just got to try to continue to help each other out, you know, got to continue to be on the string and make him make every shot he shoots up.

Q. You talk about helping out and being on a string, talk about Shaquille's impact. As the series has gone on, it seems like he's getting more and more comfortable, more and more steam.

RICHARD HAMILTON: Shaq has been playing great. Like I said, he's definitely been making a big presence in the middle. I mean, shooting, what, 8 for 13 last night? He gave them a big boost at the beginning of the fourth quarter. So we've just got to play him a little bit better.

Q. What is Dwyane doing when he's at the top of the key to get into the paint?

RICHARD HAMILTON: Pick-and-roll, pick-and-roll all the time. They run so many pick-and-rolls up top, and I think the one thing that he tries to do is when he comes off that pick-and-roll, he tries to attack the big. We've got to do a better job of sometimes mixing it up and trapping him, getting the ball out of his hands, other than allowing him to just come off and go on with a big and things like that.

Q. You said you guys don't play well until your backs are against the ball or until there's some sort of adversity there that challenges you guys --.

RICHARD HAMILTON: We play better.

Q. Why do you guys put yourselves in that position? Because it really does seem like you put yourselves in those positions.

RICHARD HAMILTON: I have no idea (laughing). It's been like that since I've been here. We've always been playing better when we're down. We're down now, so we've got to play better.

End of FastScripts...

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