Dallas Mavericks Interviews Before Game 5 of NBA Finals vs. Celtics: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, More

Dallas Mavericks Interviews Before Game 5 of NBA Finals vs. Celtics: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, More

we’ll go right in the front with Shane on your right coach Shane Forbes uh you forced them into a lot of tough looks at The Rim in game four I’m just curious what you thought of The Help The Help their situations and just your help principles in general yeah I thought um they were really good in game four uh that helped us get to game five but just you know understand we can’t have three on the ball uh they’re too good of being able to make that pass and they’re they’re the best team is shooting the three so um there’s some things that we can clean up and that we’re going to have to be better here in game five if we want to win again we have the microphones around the room so please raise your hand we’ll take questions over here Sam on fourth row hello sir oh wow good to see you again good afteron I saw a clip the other day of of tyo talking about the Cavs 3-1 recovery against the Warriors a few years back and on the one hand it seems you know cliche when you tell your team one game at a time but he drilled that in like I do not want you thinking about anything past this game I imagine there’s some version of that for you guys right now but how are you handling the the mental focus to not look at the bigger picture yeah I think it’s um I think what helps is we were we were in that situation last game and so um not to change or deviate from um what we talked about in game four is just take each possession one possession at a time um and hopefully we can put ourselves of winning each quarter and um we ended up doing that um same thing that we’re talking about today and tomorrow is um we can only focus on game five and uh trying to find a way uh to win here in Boston any other questions over here on the fourth row Jeff zet USA Today Jason how you doing um it seems like you got a little closer in game two game three and you finally pulled off in game four I I was wondering sort of in in real time what you’re seeing about the progression of your team and learning in the moment what’s required to win in the finals yeah it’s it’s one it’s hard to win in the finals um and so I think uh as you brought up each game we’ve gotten better um on both ends offensively and defensively and so uh if the trend is to continue to get better hopefully we can do that in game five uh where we can get better defensively and offensively uh we start to knock down shots here in game four and and hopefully we can do get those same shots in game five and and have the opportunity to knock them down but looking at Luca and Kai they those two have to set the tone for us and uh everybody else will follow Tim here in your left and you mentioned Kyrie setting the tone uh you know obviously unique circumstances for him struggled in the first couple games here in Boston having been through those first couple games how do you think that might uh benefit him coming back for for another crack at it here in Boston yeah I think um and I’m not speaking for him but just from experience um you just you know as an athlete you want to get another opportunity and uh he has that opportunity here tomorrow night and uh hopefully he can take full advantage of that um make some adjustments uh that he can you know look back at game one and two and see uh what they were doing to him defensively and uh hopefully take advantage in game five on your right Joe joar in the athletic after game four in your postgame comments you mentioned that Luca needs to be ready tomorrow to be put back into pick and roll situations did you guys do something in game four to I guess protect him from that because it didn’t seem like he was run through the I guess the the ringer like he had been in those first three games um I our our defense didn’t really change I think uh just the effort I think Luca um participated at a high level um he was really good on on the ball um came up with some deflections and Steals and we believe that he’s going to be uh involved in a pick and roll uh tomorrow and so uh we’re going to need that same effort from him uh but also for the the guys that um are there to help protect him um they you know they’ll be ready to protect him and but he’s got to participate at a high level and we believe he will Mike here on your left Mike Curtis Dallas Morning News um you mentioned three-point shooting and just the fact that shots went down in game four um I know the game was already decided in the fourth quarter but Tim Hardway making five threes in that span did you see anything that kind of like I guess you can lean on for game five yeah he looked like the he joined a special company he looked like Ray and Steph um and so we’re going to we’re going to need that uh you know here in game five um if we if it’s a close game hopefully uh he’s able to be able to knock down those same shots get those same shots um but it was great to see Timmy you know knock down those shots and hopefully we can build he can build on that but as a team we can build on that and we’re going to need that here uh in game five last two here on the left and then Brad Jason Al said after game four that they didn’t really have to make adjustments the Celtics after the first three games and now they’re going to have to go back see what they need to change so what changes are you anticipating from them um they’re not team that changes they they’re the team that makes you change and so uh they’re going to probably look to see that they had some good looks from three that didn’t go down and also you know um being able to probably you know get uh Tatum and brown going early um having those two attacked uh you know our defense early is probably something that um could be um adjustment um but for them it’s you know shooting the three um creating the three and then capitalizing know on your mistakes and and hopefully you know for us we our mistakes were low in game four and hopefully they’re they’re low in game five Brad final question Nico was noting a couple of days ago that four of your top eight guys really have not been in Long playoff runs before in some very little playoff all of y’all’s best games in each series have been game fives and I was just wondering if is there something to that players kind of getting adjusted to the opponent and the level of the level of competition as series get get older yeah I think there’s probably something to that um if we look at the analytics of of our group you know they’re young um and as the series goes on they get better and so um hopefully that’s true tomorrow night um sometimes when you do play an opponent um and you over and over you get used to the uh Tendencies and you start to uh you know capitalize on that on both ends defensively and offensively and so um hopefully our group uh has seen enough of Boston to understand what they what they’re good at and hopefully we can take that away uh tomorrow night thank okay we’ll take questions for Luca in the back row on the on the end hey LCA uh ESPN Brazil uh can we talk a little about football I I just saw that you were watching the Euro but my my question is uh youve played for Real Madrid and sometimes and I’m talking about the football thing when Real Madrid faces another team we used to say that it’s way harder because Real Madrid has a huge tradition and you guys are facing Boston Celtics that is a 17 times Champion I want to know if there’s any relation when you guys face a team that has this tradition as Boston Celtics when somebody faces Real Madrid if there’s any comparison thank you uh I would say R is there in the League of Their Own uh you know they’re the top of the Europe uh but obviously Boston has been uh I think Boston Lakers uh they’re obviously the two uh major NBA teams in the league they’ve been since they won so uh it’s obviously a little bit of compation yeah over here on the left hi hi Luka how you doing um all year you’ve been facing back to the wall games going back to FEA Canada and as recently as OKC uh I know it’s the final so it is different can you just reflect on how it is different uh going into tomorrow night I mean it’s obviously different because it’s it’s the finals you know every team plays uh the whole season to be here and we are the one to be here in Boston obviously uh so it’s a little bit different but there the day you got to play basketball you got to give everything you have thank you thank you front left timy you’re always talking about you know even down 03 down 02 against the Suns a couple years ago your thing is you’ve got to believe you got to believe until the end is is that something that you know how what’s that discussion like in the lock and what’s that you know is that something you’re trying to get your teammates to you know grab on to or you know what what’s that Dynamic like yeah we talk about it uh I think uh the most important thing is to show that we believe uh I think we showed in game four uh if not if we wouldn’t believe you know we wouldn’t probably wouldn’t won that game so I think uh obviously the talk talk is easy to talk about it uh but then showing it is another thing so I think we showed it fifth row on your right next row up on the right Luca how are you um I was just wondering what was different for you in game four Luca because it seemed like mentally you were you were more focused you were different um there were no interactions with the ref um what as you watch game three um what did you feel like change for game four the changes we just needed to win the game uh I think we didn’t play our best first three games uh so we had to change something and play better in game four Joe front right look at Joe Varden the athletic how is your chest how is it does it impact how or what does it impact or limit for you and then you also know you’re dealing with some leg injuries too how how are those and which one is tougher to manage between the chest and the and the leg stuff uh at this point in the season is just a lot of things going on so uh but I’m fine if I’m playing I’m fine so no worries luuka Shen Forbes you guys seem pretty tight together and on a string defensively in game four just curious like who who have been the biggest communicators on the defensive end for you guys when things get tight um I think everyone everyone uh that was our in preseason that was a key uh key discussion know had to talk on defense uh and we we play together uh and we play good defense is when everybody’s talking and communication is a big part of our success on defense over here on the left fifth row any other questions last one Brad right here on the left uh on the subject of Father’s Day this being your first as a father any special feelings when you got up this morning uh or before you got before you left um not really just uh just being happy being a father you know it’s been the best thing in my life so that was that’s it just being happy and then there was kind of a cool photo of Kyrie’s dad in your dad after game the other night what’ you think about that it was a very special moment I know they both uh I think they’re very proud of their sons uh so uh they’re happy that we’re happy on the court together thank you all right we have the microphones around the room we’ll take questions think David you got one in the back yep two and H hi K uh we didn’t see you guys on court before game four and we can feel this light more tense atmosphere uh in the locker room before the game four and now during this shooting practice you were joking around uh having fun smile and and we can feel that it’s lighter right now and uh I want to know how much lighter is the atmosphere among you guys and how how we could help during the game yeah I don’t I don’t want you to mistake us smiling and joking around with each other and you know being in practice uh you know for a weakness or that we’re not taking this any more serious than we were in game four I just think we’re here in Boston we’re just trying to settle ourselves we had a meeting um you know just as a squad at the hotel where we went over film um so we’re pretty locked in from there and there was carry over into our early minutes and practice and then when you guys come in um pretty much having fun you know that’s it’s been this way since we were kids we want to make sure we relish In This Moment don’t take it for granted um and just ground ourselves here too I think the last two games we were even more intense uh you know when we were here in Boston uh don’t think we got as settled as we would have liked uh so we just wanted to try some things a little different um a little bit more smiling and then 24 hours from now getting ready for allout battle against this great Celtics team fourth row on your right on the aisle Kyrie um I just want to ask you about your growth your Evolution um spiritually off the court on the court it seems like every interaction that you have is very very positive you you see that just in your body language um with your teammates on the court you see that with the chemistry um and you see that um when you talk to the press it seems like there’s been a tremendous growth um can you can can you speak to that and also um how have you evolved in your view uh since you left Boston in 2019 uh well to answer your first part of your question I I would I would be being dishonest if I just took the time to say thank you for you know putting those words together you know uh in terms of my interactions with people being all you know majority of the time positive uh I’ll be honest with you it’s it’s not always positive all the time I’m human um sometimes there’s some misunderstanding or miscommunications and it takes a little bit of a a longer thorough conversation uh just to get on the same page um you know I think I’ve just figured out in my life that a lot of people just want the time and space to be heard uh they want to be listen to and then if they respect you and you respect them then they’ll listen to you and give you the space to um or yeah give you the space to say how you feel as well um you know I’ve talked about it uh over the past few months just where I was in 2017 or 18 when I first got traded here to Boston um you know I wasn’t uh in the place to be able to vocalize my feelings or know how to do that um was learning how to be a man learning how to be a father so part of that Evolution came from that of um you know taking the time to go inside and and figure out who I want to become um but also I had to accept uh some of the things some of the choices I had done in my life and um you know when you look at yourself in the mirror sometimes you don’t like what you see and that could lead to some depression or lead to some anxiety or lead to other mental health issues um and that’s a big thing that I think our generation is spearheading uh where I hope that the older generation can take a take a lesson out of our book that you know this isn’t just some spiritual set 7s type of mantras that we’re trying to put out here you know we actually believe in what we talk about in terms of meditation and having the ability to slow your life down and um making sure that you keep your priorities straight because the world isn’t going to care about how you feel mentally all the time or whether or not you are healthy uh when you’re at home or taking care of yourself so you got to figure out that space for yourself and um figure out the village and the tribe that you want to have around you that supports those goals uh that you have personally so I don’t want to get too preachy preachy again here you know how I could speak for hours but um yeah just that that’s been the growth uh since 2017 even before then you know um just learning how to be a person in this world uh make an impact in a positive way David back left uh David aldrige the athletic Kyrie um you played in a place in Cleveland that had incredible pressure to win a championship because of the history and they hadn’t won in so long I wonder though what was different about when you came here because of the history of this franchise and the almost expectation of this franchise that every year you’re supposed to win a championship here and if you don’t it’s a complete failure uh yeah I mean when I look back on it um getting traded here this wasn’t one of my options you know I it wasn’t like number one on my list so when the trade um opportunity got approached to me um you know instead of going back and appreciating the Celtics history I I just came in with a open mind and and just kind of like all right I’m just go with the flow into this but I think that was the wrong approach um you know just being young uh but now that I’m a little older you know hindsight looking back on it I definitely would have taken the time to get to know people within the community talk to some of the Champions that have come before me actually extend myself uh to them instead of the other way around expecting them to be there for me and give me advice uh because they they’ve been through it they they have Championship pedigree here they’ve shown it for years they’re uh one of the most winnings some franchise in all of sports so you have to show your your respects here and I think that’s what I struggled with initially was figuring out how I’m going to be a great player here while winning championships while also leading a team and uh selflessly joining uh the Celtics organization or the cult that they have here um you know and that’s what they expect you to do as as a player they expect you to seamlessly buy into the Celtics Pride buy into everything Celtics and if you don’t then you’ll be outed and uh I’m one of the people that’s on the outs I’m perfectly fine with that you know what I mean I did it to myself um they don’t welcome me in with warm and Brace even though I know a lot of people in organization and my friends still here some of them um but yeah it was just a doing to myself and um that’s what I was talking about in terms of accepting the choices but looking back on it definitely would have showed my respect and had more of a counsel around me from some of the Boston Celtics that had came before me to explain what the pressure is like so um if it’s at all possible if you it’s it is impossible to take yourself out of the equation but just what is it like for a player to come here to Boston when they know when you know when you look up and you see all the banners and everything you know what this franchise is about and what the expectations are yeah I mean you just expect to have a a a magnifying glass on you everywhere you go um you know I don’t I don’t think Boston appreciates being kind of second class in New York in terms of the media Capital world but this is a media Capital world as well there’s a lot of history here off the court so uh the community is integrated into this the Celtics team that’s probably the best way I could say it the the the community is is what makes the Celtics great here the Boston uh pandemonium um that’s what makes this space so loud and so special and they take pride in it so uh if any player is coming here getting drafted here or think about coming here free agency or getting traded here I just think do your homework and and make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into um you know that’s that’s something I could offer Dwayne back left Kyrie what did you see out of Tim the other night and and the looks that he got and how how does you guys make sure he get those same looks tomorrow night yeah he was just playing with a Liberation um you know about his his within his game and he came out knocking shots and uh that’s what we need from him it’s just to stay confident uh stay fluid and uh he’s been doing a great job with the young guys on the bench as well keeping them engaged um and and I think that’s the next part of his Evolution including all of ours is just continuing to be a better teammate uh regardless if you’re shooting the ball not um and I think that helps reward you uh when you’re doing those things so Tim Kyrie you talked about you guys as a team getting settled and and you know not having been able to necessarily do that the first couple games uh given the circumstances here with as you said you being on the outs how do you personally get yourself settled and get yourself to a place where you can perform at the level that they need you yeah we just have to wait and see tomorrow man um you know change a few things up be prepared for what I’m getting myself into my teammates most importantly um and not making this about me or or getting into the energy uh with anyone else other than my teammates and that’s about it Jeff fourth row on the left Jeff zilg get USA Today Kyrie it’s a a slight followup to what Tim just asked I know you wanted to play well here and maybe you indicated after the first two games maybe not up to your standard so I wonder what’s the balance between having the responsibility to do what you need to do but without making it too pressure filled uh I mean let’s just call it what it is when the fans are Chang Kyrie sucks or or anything they feel like they have a psychological Edge and that’s um you know fair you know and of course if I’m not making shots or turning the ball over that makes it even more of a a pressing issue right that they can stay on me for so uh I think in order to um silence even the self-doubt let us alone the the crowd doubt but the self-doubt when you make or Miss shots uh that’s just as important as making sure that I’m leading the team in a right way and being human through this experience too and telling them how I feel um I’ve had a few teammates be in this building with me um on wins and losses uh so I know what it feels like for both but um I try to pay attention to the positive things that got us wins here early in my career and then also um thinking about the things I can learn from uh throughout the performance that I’ve had here where I didn’t play up to par so it’s just being honest about it and then also breathing through the experience and having fun with it to last question on the left Kyrie to AR with the athletic with clutch points excuse me um the other day Phil handy was was on a podcast with Matt Barnes and he talked about coming back from a 3-1 deficit and just winning those three games uh your mind just goes to how do we win three of them the the task that you guys have before you like how do you you you know break it down to not look at four games three games two games just look at one game at a time how does that process work for you for me or a team the team um Man by just thinking about the goal that we have in front of us as best we can and um try not to get tired of uh everyone talking about the history that has not been made and um you know I’ve said it over the past 48 hours just putting our best foot forward and and just simplifying it’s basketball uh Win Lose or Draw it’s all you know or win or lose that’s all that can happen so just want to be as prepared as you can for whatever the environment is going to be like in terms of what’s expected from you um but I think what I’m sharing with my teammates now I just enjoyed a moment and uh we got a chance to accomplish one of our goals which is to make it back to Boston so we have another goal in front of us and that’s to make it back to Dallas thank you

Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Jason Kidd spoke to reporters before Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

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