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NBA FINALS: SPURS v HEAT


June 15, 2013


Gary Neal


SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: Practice Day

Q.  Talk about playing with a small lineup.
GARY NEAL:  When you have four guys on the floor, you have four ball handlers.  That makes it easier.  It takes pressure off Tony and Manu.  There's other guys that can make plays and it kind of takes the load off them as far as ball handling and decision‑making.  I think we play better with four guards as far as in the turnover regard.

Q.  Manu the other night said he thought Game 5 is a must‑win.  Do you like that terminology?  Do you think about it in that terms?
GARY NEAL:  Yeah, it's a must‑win.  It's Game 5.  It's the next game.  It's a 2‑2 series.  We would love to be going back to Miami up 3‑2.  That's our goal right now.  That's all we're focusing on is Game 5.  We feel it's a must‑win.  Not in a negative way as far as putting pressure on ourselves or coming out there with a whole bunch of weight on our shoulders.  We know it's an important game.  It's important for us if we want to get to where we want to be. Game 5 is huge for us.

Q.  Can you break it down in this series the team that lost came out with more intensity than the other team?
GARY NEAL:  It's hard to say the intensity thing because if you look at the games, the runs normally come to where they normally come at the end of the third quarter or the beginning of the fourth.  So I wouldn't call it intensity thing.  I would just say probably a better sense of focus.  I think the team that's coming off the loss focuses for longer, 46 minutes instead of 38.
So I don't think it's an intensity thing.  I think if you look at when the runs happen, I think it's more of a focus issue.

Q.  You said you're high on the scouting report.  Do you expect them to stick with you LeBron as much as they did in Game 4?
GARY NEAL:  No, I didn't expect that.  LeBron is one of the best basketball players in the world, in the NBA.  He's a great defensive player.  Nothing has really changed in my mentality.  I still come out and try to look for my offense and try to be aggressive, and hopefully I'll be able to make more shots than I miss.

Q.  If that's something they do in Game 5, do you have a different adjustment or approach or is it just the same for you?
GARY NEAL:  I mean, not really.  I don't think I have won many games for the Spurs here.  I think a lot of times when Tony and Timmy and Manu play well, we win games.
So like I said, I'm going to come out here and try to be aggressive, try to do my part both offensively and defensively.  Take those shots and hopefully make more than I miss.

Q.  Can you explain the swings?  One team wins by 23 points, the next game the other team wins by a lot of points.  How do you explain that?
GARY NEAL:  I don't know if you can explain that.  If I had to summarize it in one word, I would probably use "focus".  I can't explain it.  I don't know what the Miami Heat are thinking or what their players are thinking.  I don't know.  I can't explain that.  I know we're focused on Game 5.  That's our only and biggest concern right now.  So we’ll come out and try to get a Game 5 victory.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports


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