Heat 121, Wizards 114
Q. How do you assess your team's defense tonight?
WES UNSELD JR.: In spurts, it was great. I think we had some moments in the first half, more so in that fourth quarter. But there are some things we've talked about, we've worked on, so you saw some of it. Give them credit; they made some tough shots, made some plays.
But still, for the totality of 40 minutes, not where it needs to be, but there were some glimpses. Certainly some improvements.
Q. What really got them going in that third quarter coming out of halftime?
WES UNSELD JR.: Well, I think they mixed some things up. They showed us some zone and switches, and I thought we got some decent looks, but we turned it over a handful of times, and that kind of catapults them, gets them going. We just have to kind of find a way to weather the storm, even if we're creating offense and not getting the payoff of still locking in, trying to defend at a high level.
Q. Do you see any commonalities in some of the struggles in the third quarters recently?
WES UNSELD JR.: Well, I mean, it's obvious we allow teams on those big runs in the third, so we have to figure that out.
Like I said, give them credit; they came out ready to go in that third quarter, but that's something that we've seen a couple times. We certainly have to figure that out.
Q. What did they do differently, if anything, from the first to the second quarter defensively to cut you down from 34 to 20 points?
WES UNSELD JR.: I think some of it was the level of physicality, and once again, they started mixing coverages. The switches, the zone threw us off balance a little bit, but I don't think it's anything we haven't seen. We just have to find a way to play through some of those stretches where we're not making shots or we're not getting the benefit of our offense. We have to find ways to get stops and get it back on the other end.
Q. How did Gaff look and feel?
WES UNSELD JR.: I don't know how he feels, but I thought he looked good. He was moving well, and I think playing through it is a good sign. I think he's in a good place.
Q. I guess your assessment of Ryan, Johnny, Bilal and Anthony, Anthony off the charts. Any conclusions you take from the way they played tonight?
WES UNSELD JR.: Well, they have the ability, and we've kind of turned them up a little bit, so they press, they run and jump, they do different things. They play with great energy, which is great.
Proud of those guys for hanging in. It's happened a couple times, but the fact that the opponent has to bring back starters is a good sign.
The other good sign is you look at your bench and the response from guys who are in our top 8 who want on the floor, they're up, they're rowdy, they're pulling for those guys. Knowing it might not be the end-all result from the game that we want, but the fact that those guys are still pulling for each other says a lot.
Q. I know it's only five games, but are you prepared to draw the conclusion that Deni's offensive game has improved to a significant degree?
WES UNSELD JR.: Yeah, I would say so, and to his credit, he's worked on it all summer, his handle, finishing through contact, finishing in the paint, which at times was an issue in the past. We're seeing growth there. He's more comfortable shooting the three.
I think it's a good start. I know it's a small sample, but I think it will continue to grow.
Q. You shot 56.8 percent. What did you like about the offense?
WES UNSELD JR.: Well, the ball movement. It felt at times we got stagnant, but you look up and we had 33 assists on 46 field goals. We continued to move the ball.
We want to try to continue with play with the tempo, but when we're not getting stops, it's tough. It allows them to set their defense, mix and match, get back into a zone. It throws off the rhythm of your offense a little bit.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports