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NBA FINALS: LAKERS v CELTICSJune 6, 2008Pau GasolBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Practice Day Q. There's been a lot of talk in the last 12 hours or so about the difference in physicality between the teams. Can that be changed in just a span of a couple days leading up to Game 2? PAU GASOL: Like I said, we talked about it after the game, I don't think they're more physical than Utah. I don't think they're more physical than San Antonio. You know, they might be as physical, but we were able to always -- always the first game on the road it's been a little hard for us. I remember in Utah, I remember in San Antonio, our first game we struggled. We struggled a little bit to get a feel of how it was going to be in Game 1, but we really bounced back really well on both of our second games on the road. So hopefully that's what's going to happen in Game 2. We're going to match that physicality and we're going to be more aggressive and we're going to control the boards and the loose balls a lot better, and that's just going to give us a whole lot more looks and a whole lot more chances to be able to get back at them and not give them second opportunities. Q. It's only one game, but how does this Finals experience compare with international play? PAU GASOL: Well, it's a different scenario. It's a playoff, it's not a one-game thing. We have a chance now to bounce back. Internationally if it was the semifinal or the final, we would be out of it, which allows you to regroup, make adjustments, and it's a series. So it allows you to come back in Game 2 and bounce back and hopefully get them back. So it's a little difference. Q. What about the intensity? PAU GASOL: Yeah, the intensity is pretty much the same. It's a high competitive game. The intensity of the crowd is there. The attention is there. What we're playing for is a lot, so obviously that does compare. That's very comparable to a high international competitive game. Q. With Paul Pierce and Perkins kind of dinged up a little bit, how does that affect you guys in the front court? PAU GASOL: Well, I don't know, we'll see. We're not going to rely on them not being 100 percent. We've just got to be focused on ourselves being 100 percent and being tuned in in everything we do out there, executing, rebounding, defending, setting ourselves up early and keeping the tone for 48 minutes. I think that's the bottom line. We're not going to rely on their players not being healthy 100 percent. We're just going to make sure we come out with the right mentality and the right approach in Game 2, and make sure we're aggressive, we start aggressive and we continue to be aggressive for 48 minutes. I think that's how we're going to be able to win the game. Q. On that subject, offensively, do you plan to attack more aggressively? The Celtics sort of seem to collapse down low? PAU GASOL: We all have to be aggressive. We all have to execute our plays, exercise a lot of options. So if they take away our first and second options, we have a lot of guys out there that can score and knock down jumpers. We've just got to make sure we execute and we move the ball and we share the ball, like we did more so in the first half than in the second half. And obviously be aggressive and try to get in the lane as much as we can. But like I said, we know how to do it. We just got away from doing it a little bit when things didn't go our way in Game 1. And like I said, if we control the little things, that's going to make a difference because that's not going to put so much pressure on our offense and our execution down the stretch. So that's going to make things better if we control better the boards and would have gotten a few more loose balls that would have been, I think, a different look for us. Q. Second half you seemed to get your rebounding in order - first half no rebounds, second half eight rebounds. What did you learn second half that you weren't doing in the first half? PAU GASOL: Well, first half I didn't start with the bounce necessary and I did not get my body going to be effective on the boards. I didn't put a body on Garnett. The first two offensive boards he got, it was a consequence of me not going after his body, and he got a chance to get them both. So obviously that was a sign of me not being with the bounce necessary to be able to go after the ball and get those boards that wouldn't lead to second chance opportunities for them. Second half I was able to do a better job of that and got myself going a little better. I still felt like I could have had a couple more if I was going after him a little better, a little stronger, but hopefully in Game 2 that's going to change and I'll be able to help my team a lot better. Q. When you say that you didn't get to Garnett, was he just more active than you thought he was going to be? PAU GASOL: He's always active. I think you can never think that Garnett is more active than you thought. I think he's always going to be active. That's his game, his intensity, his activity, his passion. He's always active. So if anything, you could say that, oh, I expected him to be more active instead of less active. End of FastScripts |
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