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NBA ALL-STAR WEEKENDFebruary 17, 2013Erik SpoelstraHOUSTON, TEXAS East All Stars - 138 West All Stars - 143 ERIK SPOELSTRA: I didn't know what to expect coming into this, but I think the teams and the players gave the fans what they wanted. And it's a fourth quarter game. It's decided at the end. So it was a lot of fun. Q. What is it like to coach having so much talent around you and be chosen to coach the team? ERIK SPOELSTRA: It's an honor. There's no doubt about it. This has been a special year for our organization. It's special this year. Normally we're used to saying goodbye to our three All‑Stars and telling them to enjoy the weekend, we'll see them when they get back. But we were able to share this one with our guys. The entire coaching staff and so many from our organization, Pat Riley, Micky Arison. It was more of a family celebration; it was a lot of fun. Q. What did you make of Kobe and LeBron going after each other those last five minutes? ERIK SPOELSTRA: Does that surprise you? That's what those guys live for. That's what we were all hoping for was at least this game would be close going down the stretch, so there would be some compelling basketball and there definitely was for the fans. Q. Both Coach Pop and Kevin Durant spoke of respecting the game. Did you guys approach that and what's your viewpoint on that? ERIK SPOELSTRA: There's no question about it. We talked about it before the game, that, one, we wanted to respect what this is all about, the fans and respect the game. And then secondly, to put on a good show. If you're playing true to the game, hopefully it's close in the fourth quarter and you're able to accomplish everything, a competitive basketball game, use your instincts, but also give the fans what they want to see. There's been a lot of talk about the previous All‑Star games. Certainly there were a lot of highlight plays, but mostly the guys brought it. Q. The decision of putting Chris Bosh as a starter, what do you think? ERIK SPOELSTRA: That's an easy decision. My loyalties are with the Heat. First of all, you don't want to see an injury. We've been through a lot of battles with the Celtics and we would love to have seen Rajon out here this weekend. But with Chris, I mean, a lot of reasons, one, because we're loyal to the Heat and our players. But also secondly he earned it with the second most amount of votes for the guys coming off the bench. Q. Do you think this year generally both teams played better defense than other years? ERIK SPOELSTRA: I think so. You never know what to expect coming into an All‑Star Game. But there's been a lot of talk about All‑Star games and proper etiquette of it. I think the players on both sides want to put on a good show, but they wanted to show a respect level for this beautiful game. Q. I was wondering if you instructed the defense to adjust the Blake Griffin's highlight dunks. And it was pretty obvious that you guys were trying to stop it. Is that something that you in particular said to them? ERIK SPOELSTRA: He has a great way of that, with technology right now, I think all the players were aware that they did not want to be posterized and forever seen on a wall. So I think they were just very aware of it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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