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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HEAT v PACERS


May 22, 2014


Chris Bosh


MIAMI, FLORIDA: Practice Day

Q.  [No microphone].
CHRIS BOSH:  Yeah, plenty of times.  I can't remember anything specifically.  If I had an opinion or thought during the game, I don't hesitate to talk about it, but that doesn't mean we always use it.

Q.  Why does it work well when you guys do do that, that kind of midgame adjustment that's suggested by you or LeBron or D‑Wade?
CHRIS BOSH:  Well, it is what it is, it's an adjustment.  We've been playing this game for a long time, and we understand how things work.  If we see something where we can adjust the way the game is going, that's ideal because sometime it doesn't go the way you want it to all the time.  When you're making adjustments, it's to fix them.

Q.  What do you think LeBron saw in Norris in terms of being able to stick with Stephenson?
CHRIS BOSH:  Norris is a very good defender, and he does a great job of keeping his chest in front.  He's extremely tough to go by, and he's just‑‑ he's learned how to play solid defense without fouling.
It's been a process, but he's gotten better at it.

Q.  Chris, as sharp as Spo's eye is, can you sense or see things from the floor that he just can't see from the sidelines?
CHRIS BOSH:  Of course.  He's going to be able to sense things that we can't see and vice versa.  When you're a player, you're just seeing it through a different lens, and it's always different.
But we're in the same boat, so if we're bringing something to the table, usually it's to win the game.  We approach this thing with no ego, and really it's just everything for the team.  We want to win just like he does.

Q.  From your experience and from talking to guys around the league, do you think it's the norm that players have that kind of input with the coach and that the coach has that willingness to listen?
CHRIS BOSH:  No.

Q.  Not just for possessions but for actual game plans? 
CHRIS BOSH:  No.  I mean, first, you have to have veteran guys, and that's why we won a couple of championships, because we trust each other, we listen to each other.  It's all through dedication and experience.
It's not like me going somewhere else, meeting somebody new, and just saying we should do something like this.  It never works like that.  It's within the system, and like I said, we've been together for a long time.  So we trust each other.

Q.  The other night after the game, Dwyane reminded everybody that you guys three years ago, when you played Dallas, were not very good at the end of games, that you panicked, in his words.  How did the process happen where panic doesn't even seem to be in your vocabulary anymore?
CHRIS BOSH:  Well, you have to panic first.  You have to experience those feelings and not want to feel that anymore.  When it gets late and it gets down to the clock, the ultimate challenge and test is to stay poised.
That's what we've always done ever since that Dallas time.  We knew that we had to figure some things out.  So it was a good test for us.  It was one of those things that breaks you down and builds you up, and we learned from it.

Q.  How do you think you guys figured it out other than just reps and time?  What were the other key things in it?
CHRIS BOSH:  That's the only thing, reps and time and failure.  That's the only thing that can fix that.  You know you're not going to succeed right off the bat.  You're not going to trust each other right off the bat.  You really have to kind of break out of the mold that you're used to.  That's what we had to do.

Q.  Chris, you know how much they wanted home court advantage in the series this year.  How did it feel to get the split there and take it back from them?
CHRIS BOSH:  Well, that's what we wanted to do.  We didn't‑‑ we fell short Game 1.  Going into Game 2, the best we could do was split, and we feel like we did what we were supposed to do.
But it's a long series.  When you get this far into the playoffs, you're playing a team that's good at home and on the road.  So we have to play a good game.  This is by no means close to being over.  So we have to protect home court in Game 3 and start from there.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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