BOSTON - Erik Spoelstra said more than he usually does during his pregame address to the media prior to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals between his Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, who lead the series 3-2. Spoelstra started his press conference out by saying that everyone on the team is good to for Game 6 -- including forward Chris Bosh, who returned in Game 5 after missing nine straight games with an abdominal injury.
"I don't think he'll be able to play his normal load, particularly the pace and how competitive and how physical the series is," Spoelstra said about Bosh. "It probably won't be a normal rotation. He'll probably play this amount of minutes, sit for this amount of minutes, you know you're going to sit that many. I'd like to play him to the point where he's not fighting through exhaustion, give him a break -- it might be a shorter break than normal -- get him back in there and let him do that, two or three times in a half."
That being said, Bosh will not have a minutes restriction, and Spoelstra said he isn't afraid to put him out there against the Celtics' Kevin Garnett, who has carried the C's throughout much of their championship run this season, averaging a double-double in the postseason.
"We're not afraid of matchups, by any means" Spoelstra said. "But [KG] has to be guarded."
Miami started the series with two close victories, but hasn't been able to close out on Boston since, and is now facing elimination Thursday night. Even after giving away three straight games, Spoelstra says his team is ready to go.
"We have a very confident group. We have a very stubborn group," Spoelstra said. "Despite all the noise out there, we feel that we should have won the last two games. We didn't, that's the result, but we did enough to win those two games. We know we can win in this building. Everybody in that locker room is looking forward to this opportunity right now."
AUDIO: Erik Spoelstra Pregame Interview (Celtics Vs. Heat, Game 6, 6-7-12)
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