Top quotes from the Miami Heat on the 2023 NBA Finals media day.
Cody Zeller
Reporter: “I was talking to Bobby Jones, my ex-Nugget. I think you two guys are really close. Talk about your relationship and how did you meet him in Charlotte?”
Zeller: “We’re really close. I’m actually getting married in August, and Bobby is going to be one of my groomsmen. We’re that close. He was one of the first people who reached out to me when I was recruited to Charlotte my junior year. I didn’t know one guy in Charlotte, who’s 20 A year away from home, he and his wife, Tess, used to cook me home-cooked meals once a week when I was in Charlotte. We played tennis together, ping-pong, board games. We’d do all kinds of things. It got really good for me, too. , just because he was — he won a championship, he’s a Hall of Famer, but he also puts things into perspective because there’s more to life than just basketball, too.”
Gabe Vincent
Reporter: “Gabi, you are the most compelling story of the season, the way you play, the important role you play for the team and of course being in the finals is a special situation. How would you sum up this season and how did you achieve that goal to be here? “
Vincent: “This season has been fun. We’ve had our highs. We’ve had our lows. We obviously made a push from the No. 8 seed to the Finals. We’ve shown a lot of resilience, a lot of perseverance, a lot of faith in each other and we’re just excited for the opportunity that we have.” await us.”
Max Strauss
Reporter: “Max, Kenny Smith has this great saying, he says, coaches can’t give you confidence but they can take away your confidence. I wonder with the Spo with you guys, it seems like no matter who’s on the ground, everybody’s pretty confident. I wonder if Was it because of the physical challenge that you have to do to play for the Miami Heat, or the mental challenge of being an all-rounder to play for the Miami Heat, or if he put it in any way that makes the players feel very confident when they’re on the floor?”
pressure: “I think it gives faith in you by putting you out there. We all come from two ways or men in disbelief. So being able to get the chance to play shows that he believes in you to the fullest. It flows from our star players like Pam, Jimmy and Kyle. They believe in everyone in Our squad, we can go out and help win games and win at a high level.To have confidence from them and the coaching staff, [it] It flows down and makes us more believe in ourselves, which is something special. It’s really special to be a part of, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Eric Spoelstra
Reporter: “I don’t know exactly what year I moved to Portland. But you’ve been to several NBA Finals in one way or another. If I can take you back to when you were a kid, or a teenager, and they were just something you saw on TV, what is it that you remember, thinking, I want to be there, I want to be on stage one day?”
Spoilerstra: “I didn’t think about it like that because at the time, I was still thinking, ‘Hey, I’m going to play in the league.’ I definitely wasn’t thinking, ‘I want to be Jack Ramsey.’ A little bit out of awareness, I’m not going anywhere as a player, and when Rick Adelman was the coach – Jack Ramsey was the first picture I had of a head coach. He was our coach. When I was growing up in high school and college, he was Rick. I just love the way he works. He’s He was a big teacher for me, so the Adelman kids, including David, and I’ve known David since he was probably three, we were all running all over the facility. But that’s probably when I followed them the most, was when they had those two finals.” .
Duncan Robinson
Reporter: “There are a lot of veterans on both sides of the series, but specifically for you guys with Kyle, what kind of value does he bring to the locker room in terms of leadership and what is his strength on a day to day basis? “
Robinson: “Kyle brings a lot of experience, obviously, in terms of years in the league and also playoff experience and someone who carries that trophy at the end. It’s such a luxury to have someone like that in the locker room. I obviously share the field with him a lot, kind of in That second set. He could just come in and change the whole rhythm and flow of the game. His influence was much more than what you see in the score box or what appears in terms of the game movie. He’s a reliable leader, someone we all rely on. I think he does a really good job of navigating the That fine line between being disciplined and holding people accountable while also keeping a sense of humor and vibe about that as well. It was definitely huge for us.”
Caleb Martin
Reporter: “When your captain, well, he got drafted, but he was recruited at the 30th overall. Can you kind of relate, to a bunch of your rookies, that your captain went through that somehow?”
Martin: “Sure. I talk about it all the time. Our captain, our team’s snakehead, was drafted 30th overall. It wasn’t a lottery pick or anything like that. His way of getting to where he is is very similar to ours a lot. He’s been ignored a lot, even by Through high school and college and that stuff. He didn’t have all five stars and every Kentucky and Carolina chasing him. Looking at a guy like that definitely gives you hope, and it also puts it in perspective that it’s about the long game; it’s not about getting everything at once. It might take some people two or three years, some might take nine. But just sticking with it and continuing to perfect your craft can put you in a great position.”
Kyle Lowry
Reporter: “Kyle, a lot has been made about the resilience of this team and especially this year because of the run I had as a Class 8. How do you define heat culture? Because it’s one thing for us to talk about and write about, but as a person on it, what sets this organization apart from all the others?”
Laurie: “I think we don’t care what other people think. I think we do what we do no matter what. I think we work hard no matter the time, place, situation. I think we prepare ourselves, well prepared to go into any situation no matter where it is, what time, or whatever.” We are ready to do it. Culture is only about faith, and we believe in what we do every day, every night, the work we do.”
Kevin Love
Reporter: “How did it feel not having to play on the Boston Series stretch?”
love: “I mean, it made total sense to me honestly. Obviously I was motivated, I wanted to play, I kept myself ready. At the same time, how did they take Williams out of the starting lineup, they decided to go small, that’s the way you go into games, like that Things get going in the playoffs. I felt like I made an impact in at least the first two games, maybe a quarter before I got hurt in there. Again, keep being there for my teammates, be a vocal lead, keep it light between UD and me, Kyle and me, just Educate these guys, and help them understand where we’re in too. I think the beauty of that is that you get to reset the deck, figure out what the matches in this series are going to look like. Again, this is a great group to be a fan of.”
Haywood Highsmith
Reporter: “I’ve been with the Heat for a year and a half now, and obviously a lot has been made about the disinterested players who have contributed to this roster. What is it about Miami player development programs that allows you to be so successful? What is it about Spo, Pat and all the players? others?”
Highsmith: “Yeah, they see something in us that no one else has seen in us as disbelieving guys, kind of like hidden gems. They believe in us, and they do a great job developing us and putting us under their wing and making us the best players we can be. They do a great job all around “.
Udonis Haslem
Reporter: “Don’t you think you’re still almost the same as another assistant coach?”
Haslem: “No, no. The effect that I have with these guys is that I’m not a coach, because I can train with these guys, because I can get into the drill, because I can put in grueling hours, and I get all of that. That’s why I have the effect. The reverse part of that is, What people don’t understand is, if I’m out of shape, unable to keep up, they don’t listen to me. I’ve been able to set the tone and compete at a high level for these guys to understand or respect what I’m saying.”
Jimmy Butler
Reporter: “Obviously you are the head of the snake; through all the adversity you guys have faced this season, how have you personally handled it as a responsibility to get the team to believe in all of it?”
Butler: “I just – I would say I’ve never been bothered. I’m very calm. I’m very consistent in everything I do, be it before the game, after the game, during the game, and I think when my mates look at me like that, they follow suit in every way.” I love it about them because they never shake. No matter. We can be frustrated, and people can think we’re out and about, and all of a sudden we’re back in this thing and that’s because we do the same thing every single day. We love being around each other. We want to be around each other. To see each other succeed. We really enjoy when each other plays well, we’ll keep doing that, we’ll never waver, we’ll see where we end up.”
Bam Adebayo
Reporter: “Spo said there’s no stopper when it comes to Jokic, you have to throw bodies at him, give him a different look, but you match, or at least you do during the regular season. How much challenge do you think you have to stand in front of and challenge it? “
Adebayo: “Have him take hard shots, force him into the shots, live with the result. That’s the most important thing for me. I feel like this is one of those series where he gets really dangerous when you let his teammates involved, and he can do those amazing passes and end up with 12 assists.” “.