Nuggets' Gordon talks about NBA Finals showdown vs Heat

MANILA, Philippines – Aaron Gordon is a vital cog for the Denver Nuggets in their campaign for their very first NBA Championship, both on offense and especially on the defensive end.

The NBA granted us access to join their media session, in their very first practice preparing for the Miami Heat.

Q. You've gotten a lot of praise for your defense throughout the playoffs. Have you always had this kind of defensive intensity?

GORDON: Well, I came into the league as a defender. I tell all the young guys coming into the league, find a niche that is going to help you stay in the league, and my niche was defense. It's been there. I've been able to develop it and kind of fine-tune it.

But I'm most excited about just helping my team. I'm not really worried about showing the world anything. I do it for the guys that are in the locker room.

If I can take on that task of guarding the best player night in and night out and make it easier for the guys around me so they can focus on their jobs, so be it every time.

Q. Your teammates have praised you for revamping your game. How did you overhaul it to make sure it meshed with what was on the floor?

GORDON: It's not really about overhauling as much. It's just reading the game. These guys are such great players, such great players in this locker room and playing on the floor, that you just have to make the right read. You've got to be in the right spot every time and do what the game is asking of you. I've gotten to play in the dunker (spot) a lot, so that's what I love to do.

Q. How much respect do you have for the Heat? 

GORDON: We've got the utmost respect for them. They fight and they scrap, and they have no quit in them. They play through 48 minutes a game and more if necessary. They play fearless. They play disciplined. They're well coached and have some guys that have been there before and have some guys that have chips on their shoulder.

We're not looking at the seeding or the story around it. This is a very talented basketball team, professional basketball team, and all those guys over there got game. So we respect it.

Q. Miami's 3-point shooting has been a major weapon. What are you guys seeing on how they are getting these shots?

GORDON: A lot of drive-and-kick, a lot of drive-and-kick and a lot of slips. They work the clock. They use all 24 seconds of it to find the best shot.

They play good to great. It's going to get you a higher percentage. They do that time in and time out. Every possession, they play good to great.

Q. How has the rest been maybe an advantage for you guys?

GORDON: Oh, I mean, we've been working. It's not like we've got our feet kicked back or our hands back and our feet kicked up. We've been working. We've been locked in in the gym, working diligently.

We feel like we're in a good space. It's been a good balance of work to rest. Happy we have home-court advantage.

Q. Coach Malone talked about trying to use altitude to your advantage… 

GORDON: Well, the altitude actually, it is an advantage. It plays a difference. I remember when I was in Orlando and coming to play against Denver, it was difficult just to get your first and second wind.

But that team is full of fighters. That team is excuseless. They don't make excuses, and they will not use that as an excuse. Honestly, we're just going to play our game and try and run them and play the way that we know how to play.

Q. What would you say is unique about the way that Jamal and Nikola play the two-man game? 

GORDON: I think it's lethal because of their ability to score from all three levels. It's rare. It's really rare that you can have a guard and a big that can both shoot the three, both score in the midrange with the floater and attack the rim. It's very rare. You don't see it often at all.

Q. Miami plays a lot of zone, so you must be ready for that…

GORDON: The key to going up against a zone is, well, good shooting. That always helps. If you've got some lethal shooters out there, you can shoot people out of the zone. Ball movement, patience, attacking the zone, the middle of the zone. Really, the middle of the zone. That's what unlocks it all. If you get in the middle of the zone, everything else kind of unlocks. Oh, yeah, offensive rebounding against the zone, as well.

Q. What are you preparing for in defending Jimmy Butler? 

GORDON: Yeah, I mean, he's been going crazy. I don't really set targets for like points. I just want to make it as difficult as I possibly can for him all night long for 48, through an entire series. Just making everything that he gets tough. Make him work for everything. It's not like a one one-on-one. Basketball is a five-on-five game, and it's going to be a five-man defense out there.

Just make him work and, like I said, just make it tough, not necessarily worry about the points. If he gets to his 27 mark but he takes however many shots, it's a win.

Q. How important is Game 1 of the series, and what do you need to do to set the tone in this series?

GORDON: Just do what we've been doing all year: Take care of our home floor. We've been great on our home floor all year long, and we don't expect that to change. We want to be disciplined through 48, have energy, play hard. If we can play smart for 48 minutes, I believe we'll come out of here with a W.