https://twitter.com/GrantAfseth/status/1788099694188462399
Kyrie Irving on the problems Luguentz Dort can pose as an on-ball defender:
"Lu's been a great defender since he walked into this league, he's got to be
given his credit and respect. I think he causes a lot of issues when he's
pressuring the ball handler 94 feet for practically the whole game. That's
something that we have to be aware of, but he's not the only good defender
out there. I don't think what makes him great is just him individually. I
think it's the team game that they play, and he does a great job of being the
head of that. But for me and my teammates, we just have to continue to attack
him and continue to play downhill in a way where we play off of two feet.
They do a lot of reaching, they do a lot of small pushes and stuff like that.
And we just have to adjust to the team that we're playing against. And I
think that's the most important thing. This Game 1 is done, we didn't play as
well as we would have liked. We failed on a lot of our coverages, and we
didn't come in with the attitude that was necessary to get this W. So, the
pressure that they were putting on was definitely attributed to their
excitement. But I think in Game 2, we just have to settle in a lot earlier
and be able to withstand some of their 3-point barrages that they get off of
our long 3s that end up coming around the free throw line or some of our
turnovers. I had too many turnovers tonight, especially in that first
quarter, just trying to get my guy settled. So there are some things to look
back on, but the defensive pressure is not going to stop. So we just got to
adjust."
Kyrie Irving谈Luguentz Dort防守给持球员带来的问题:
‘自从Luguentz Dort进入联盟以来，他一直是名出色的防守者，他应该得到应有的赞赏
和尊重。当他对持球者进行全场压迫时，他造成了很多问题，而我们必须意识到的一点。
整个雷霆队上，不是只有一位防守出色的球员。我认为让他成为出色的防守球员，不仅是
因他个人能力，而是整个团队，他所做的就是带头做起防守这件事。但对于我和我的队友
来说，我们必须继续进攻他、继续切入并保持平衡应对。
雷霆做了很多伸手捞球和推挤之类的事情。我们必须适应我们所面对的球队。我认为这是
最重要的事情。第一场比赛已经结束，我们的表现不如我们预期的好。我们在很多防守覆
盖上都失败了，我们没有以应有的态度来赢得这场胜利。
而他们所施加的防守压力绝对是兴奋所致。但我认为在第二场比赛中，我们必须更早地安
顿下来，并且能够抵御他们的三分攻势，而这些三分球是由我们的大号三分球引发的，最
终这些球会落在罚球线附近或者来自于我们的失误。
今晚我的失误太多了，尤其是在第一节，我试图让我的队友稳下来。所以有一些事情需要
重播回顾，但防守压力不会停止，所以我们必须做出调整。’
https://twitter.com/GrantAfseth/status/1788097654158762295
Kyrie Irving on defending a player like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander without
fouling: "I'm going to show my respect and say that he's a great player. But
tonight, in the first half, there wasn't really a rhythm for a lot of players
out there. It was a lot of slow down, watching free throws being taken, and
adjusting to the way the game was being called. It felt like a regular season
game tonight, in my perspective. I don't speak for anyone else, but I think
it was like a regular season game because we came off a very physical series
against the LA Clippers, then we had some fouls called, and some of them may
have been fouls or a majority of them. But as a competitor, you want the flow
of the game to feel like the playoffs, with high physicality. It just feels
better. It's all about adjustments. It's about continuing to stay positive
through some of the runs they make and being mature about who we're going
against - a good team that's shown it all year. They have a starting five
with a plus-minus through the roof and one of the top defenses. So, we'll
give them credit, but we have to come into game two ready and prepared."
Kyrie Irving谈如何在不犯规的情况下防守像Shai Gilgeous-Alexander这样的球员：
‘我要表达我的尊重，SGA是一位出色的球员。但是今晚，在上半场，许多球员并没有真
正找到节奏。比赛节奏很缓慢，一直看人罚球，并且要适应比赛的吹判方式。
从我的角度来看，今晚感觉像是一场例行赛。我不代表其他人发言，但我认为这场比赛像
是一场例行赛，因为我们在快艇的系列赛中进行了非常激烈的身体对抗。然后有一些犯规
被吹，其中一些可能是犯规，或者大多数都是。
但作为一个竞争者，你希望比赛节奏感觉像季后赛，有高强度的身体对抗。这样感觉更好
，但这一切都是关于适应。他们在进攻中保持积极，并且打的很成熟，雷霆是一支整年都
表现出色的好球队。他们先发五人组的正负值爆表，并且是最佳防守球队之一。所以我们
要给予他们肯定，但我们必须准备好进入第二场比赛。’