NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

June 23, 2021

Nate McMillan

Atlanta Hawks

Game 1: Postgame

Hawks 116, Bucks 113

Q. There's so many things to touch on here, but I guess how would you -- aside from Trae, how would you judge John Collins' contribution on all fronts?

NATE McMILLAN: I thought he was great tonight. Tonight we had to do a good job of finding our matchups. They were switching a lot. We were patient, and we found our matchups. John had some matchups in the paint and just really did a solid job of scoring when he had the matchups in the paint.

Defensively just really did a good job, again, defending the ball. He had to defend three positions tonight. Middleton, he was on Lopez, he had Giannis, and just did a solid job. He's been consistent. That guy has helped us really all season long. Just another solid job by John.

Q. If my math is correct, I think this is the sixth road game you guys have won in this playoff run. That's kind of rare for a team so young. Did you see that type of poise and the sort of don't-scare mentality? Did you see it translating this way?

NATE McMILLAN: I felt we built ourselves to be able to play on the road. I've told them that they're built for this.

Again, tonight we got off to somewhat of a slow start. I thought we just needed to get our second wind. Looked like we just were running amok that first quarter. We just stayed with it, continued to stay with it. We kind of got a rhythm, found out what they were doing defensively. We were able to take advantage of some matchups. We brought the defense to the floor again in the second half and were able to come up with big stops.

They really just kept their poise, kept their composure for 48 minutes, which is what is required in these playoff games.

Q. You guys were down I think it was seven with about four minutes to go. What was the biggest thing that got you guys back in it?

NATE McMILLAN: Well, again, we've been in this position many times. Seven-point game is really a three-possession game. We felt that we know what we need to do. We need to get stops and we need to execute and score.

They did another solid job of executing down the stretch, again, finding that matchup. They went to really one through five switching, and it became somewhat isolation ball. So it was just a matter of us finding the matchup that we wanted on the offensive end of the floor.

And then defensively I thought Solomon came in and really did a nice job defending with that small lineup going down the stretch.

Q. What impressed you most about Trae on this kind of stage tonight?

NATE McMILLAN: I mean, they have really good defenders. What I respect about Trae, he's going to always stay aggressive. He continued to stay aggressive and take his shots, and tonight those shots were falling for him. I thought he did a good job of, again, reading the defense and getting the ball and putting the ball in the hands of guys who had their matchups. John had a few matchups, Gallinari had some matchups.

So a good job of reading the defense, getting us organized and executing against their defense.

Q. What can you say about the mental makeup of this team?

NATE McMILLAN: I just hope that they're maturing and they're showing that growth and they start to believe in what we are doing and how we practice and condition ourselves to play. We just try to play the game the right way, play with energy, play selfless basketball and always -- we talk about that fist and being connected. I think that's what you're seeing from these guys going down the stretch on both ends of the floor.

Q. You said earlier that you guys were built for this when you were asked about winning on the road. But on March 1st you were 14-20, and Trae and John weren't getting along and there were all these problems. How hard was it to fix what was wrong at that point, and what do you mean by you're built for this now?

NATE McMILLAN: We just continued to condition ourselves to play this style of basketball. You know, aggressive defensively. We want to build two-way guys. We understand that we have depth, so we want guys -- unselfish basketball, playing the game together, and committing to each other.

Those were the things that, basically when I took over, that's just what I believe in. I believe that you play the game the right way, you play the game together. You give that effort, you're going to give yourself an opportunity to win games. They've been able to learn how to execute down the stretch. Trae continues to show growth in running the team. They continue to improve, all of them, playing together.

Again, it's different guys different nights. It was Kevin the other night, and it was Trae tonight. John did a real solid job. Solomon didn't play much in the last game. He stepped in tonight and gave us some really good minutes.

They continue to just believe in each other and play the game the right way.

Q. It seemed like especially early on in the game, the Bucks were pretty content to let Trae get to that floater range. Was that the way you saw it, and do you think because he had so much success with that, you guys were able to (indiscernible)?

NATE McMILLAN: Well, that's their defense. Their guards do a good job of sending you to Lopez, who's deep in the paint, and basically that's a shot that they want to force you to make.

Trae has to make a read in a situation like that, whether he has the shot or he has the kick-out. But that's their defense; they keep their five in deep drops and force you to try to shoot over their guards and their bigs.

Q. But it seemed like as the game went along they kind of switched away from that, I would assume in part because of the success you had. Do you think the looks he was able to get early in the game, that's why he was able to have so much success kind of going to different matchups and taking advantage down the stretch also?

NATE McMILLAN: Yeah, they adjusted their defense to try to cover our guards who were attacking, and that's when they went to basically switching everything. Again, this is something that we have seen. We've really tried to condition our guys to be prepared for, because we talked about in playoff basketball you're going to see this defense.

Once you see this defense, now you've got to find out where the ball should go, and then you've got to win the matchup.

Tonight we were able to win the matchups when they went to their switching defense.

Q. They're a team that prides themselves on rebound margin. How big was rebounding in this game tonight?

NATE McMILLAN: It's key. They are an elite offensive rebounding team, and that is a major key for us, to rebound the basketball. Tonight I thought early we gave up some offensive rebounds in that first quarter, really the first half. We started to clean it up, and we won the boards. But we've got to do a better job of rebounding the basketball, because they do a great job. Their guards get in there and they fight for those extra opportunities. The bigs are tapping it out for extra possessions.

So we've got to do a better job on the boards, and we've got to do a better job of keeping the ball in front of us. We gave up 70 points in the paint tonight. I think our defense can be better than that. It needs to be better than that.

Q. This is the third straight series that you opened on the road with a win. Obviously you didn't have a full-strength Bogey, you've had other issues. It doesn't seem like anything fazes your players. Have you ever been involved with a team at all like this where nothing seems to faze them, doesn't really seem to matter what the odds are or what people say?

NATE McMILLAN: We've talked about that from the beginning. You can't listen to the outside noise, good or bad. We know that. The next game is going to be even harder, and we're going to have to play better to get that win. That is our focus. Each night we come out and play. We want to give everything that we have. We want to execute out there, and whatever the result, whether we win or we lose. We'll look at tape tomorrow. There's a lot of room for improvement. We're going to need to be better, and that's our mindset. Not listening to what folks are saying that we can or cannot do. It's all about us, the guys in the room. Those are the guys that are going to get it done.

That's the approach that we have taken.

Q. Is there a ceiling for your team?

NATE McMILLAN: I don't know. You know, we're going to just continue to try to come out and be better than we were in our last outing.

Q. Trae is taking a master's class right now against world-class defensive teams, world-class individual defensive players, and this is his first playoff run of his career, and he's doing it at such an elite level. What is it that allows him to conquer every challenge with such poise at this time of year in his first go-around?

NATE McMILLAN: Well, I think he just has the skill that these top players have in this league. You have to put him with the top guys in the league. He really doesn't have a weakness on the offensive end of the floor. He can shoot from deep. He stretches the floor. He has a mid-range game. He will pass the ball, find his teammates. He shoots free throws well.

He's seen all the defenses that teams have played against him. We've talked about this throughout the season. He's seen a box-and-one. He's seen bigger defenders. He's seen physical defenders. He has seen teams trap and try to get the ball out of his hands.

This is part of the growth that he has to go through, and the good players, they go through this and they learn from it. But they don't allow the different coverages to take them out of their game. They still find ways to be productive, and Trae has been able to do that.

Q. Would you say he has met or maybe even exceeded your expectations of what he could do on this stage in his first go-around?

NATE McMILLAN: I mean, he's a young player, so there's a lot more room for growth for Trae. This is his first time in the Playoffs, and as I -- basically working with him during the season, I really felt he was built for this time of the season. He's a fearless player. He's a confident player. He's a kid that every second that he's on the floor, he's giving it to you. He's giving everything that he has.

I really feel that his game, his style of play is really built for this time of the season.

Q. There's something special about your ballclub; can you talk about the intangibles, and again, they're able to go on the road, get that first one again and then just kind of set the foundation for a great series.

NATE McMILLAN: I don't know. You know, I love working with these guys. They've bought into what we've tried to give them as far as the mindset that they need, establishing their style of play. They've committed to being better. They've committed to each other, and all these guys are sacrificing to make this team better.

They've done that. They've been doing it, and they continue to do it.

Again, I think that a lot of teams, really all NBA teams have a lot of talent. But when you get a team that is committed to each other, playing the game the right way, playing the game for each other, playing the game to win, you've got something special there. I really do feel that we do have something special with this group.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about Clint hitting the glass and competing on the boards?

NATE McMILLAN: Yeah, well, he had the assignment tonight of -- he led the Philadelphia series guarding Embiid and tonight he had Giannis. We believe in him. He's been the anchor to our defense, both guarding the ball, help defense, rebounding the basketball, setting screens, freeing up the ball. He's just such a big part of this team and how we try to attack.

He's become a really important part to the success of this team.

Q. Since you've taken over, what have your conversations been like with Trae about the leadership role he's taken on?

NATE McMILLAN: We're just talking to him about it, from one point guard to another, a young, talented point guard. I've been in his position before. I certainly don't have the talent that he has on the offensive end of the floor (laughter). Basically this team -- an organization is trying to take that next step. He is a big part of this organization taking the next step because he is the guy that is going to lead us to that style of basketball.

There's a lot of conversation, good and bad, as far as watching film and talking about things that happen out on the floor, and really giving him more control to run the team. I think in the last really -- starting probably the last series, he's calling most of the plays. I want that because I want him to have a feel for what's going on, how to get his teammates involved. He's done a really good job of doing it.

Q. As a point guard, how important is it to have that leadership where not only can you run the offense and call out plays, but to have that ability to get your teammates to trust you and to be that leader?

NATE McMILLAN: Well, basically he has to show that growth. He has to show that trust in his teammates. He's done that. He's done that with Bogey. He did it the other night with Kevin, getting Kevin the ball late in Game 7.

Tonight taking his -- well, being aggressive. He saw that we had matchups in the post, and he made sure that John and Gallo had the ball. Just really adapting to, as we talk about conditions, especially in the fourth quarter. He's been able to slow down and manage that fourth quarter by adapting to conditions. He's doing a good job of getting us organized and executing.

Q. I wanted to ask how you assess Bogey and how he's feeling on that knee. Obviously he's trying to give you everything.

NATE McMILLAN: He is giving us everything. It's pretty obvious that there's some soreness there, but again, this is the way this team has been built. They just -- he does not want to sit out. He's trying to give us whatever minutes he can give us. It really has helped us the last few games being able to have him out there, because he's still a threat.

These guys have been doing this all season long.