Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is likely feeling pretty good about his team's chances for reaching the NBA finals following a double-digit win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night.
Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra Doesn’t Think Much Of Rajon Rondo’s Comments
Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
ASAP Sports provided a transcript from Spoelstra's press conference on Tuesday. The coach addressed some comments from Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo that suggest the forthcoming games in the series will be decidedly more physical.
Q. How prepared do you think your team is for a more physical Boston Celtics team?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: We’ll find out. We think we’re a physical team. They’re a physical team. It still will be about the game and who plays the game better, who plays to their identity better. Our strengths and things that we emphasize won’t change from Game 1 to Game 2.
Q. What do you say to your team when the other team is saying things like “We have to make them hit the deck more” or “We have to make them less comfortable”?
COACH ERIK SPOELSTRA: That’s all part of the playoffs. Nope, we’re not even going to get into it. It’s about the game. And we understand that. There will be a lot of different distractions and noise out there. We have to focus on winning the game of basketball tomorrow night.
Over the next few games, fans may see the bad blood between the Heat and Celtics ramp up, as well as an increase in aggressive play and more hard fouls, but Spoelstra doesn’t seem overly concerned.
For more on the Celtics, check out SB Nation Boston and CelticsBlog. For more on the Heat, head over to SB Nation Tampa Bay and Peninsula Is Mightier.
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