NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

June 24, 2021

Bobby Portis

Milwaukee Bucks

Practice Day

Q. Yesterday Khris and Giannis were just talking about the fact that they thought it would be a different game if you guys were more aggressive on the offensive glass. I'm wondering what was emphasized around that today in practice and what you saw in film potentially.

BOBBY PORTIS: Yeah, we had some different opportunities we could have got some offensive rebounds. But I think the biggest thing to take away from the game was they were just running free. They were crashing the glass on their offensive end. They got some big-time rebounds to help them get two or three or four extra shots. And making the three John Collins made in the corner. I'm thinking if we just rebound the basketball better and keep Capela and John Collins off the glass -- we obviously know that those guys are going to crash the glass hard -- I think the turnout yesterday would have been different.

Q. Giannis specifically said that he thought it was a matter of effort. You're someone who prides yourself on the second-chance plays, the effort. How can you kind of try to spark that within the rest of the team?

BOBBY PORTIS: That's part of my job, going out there, playing with energy and effort. I say that in every interview I do. That's the truth. Just go out there, get all the loose balls, all the offensive rebounds, try to get a few extra points out there, be the garbage man on the floor. Just try to get as many as I can and just go out there and just play hard.

Obviously I can't predict where the ball is going to go, but I can just try to time it up real well and just try to anticipate where the ball is going to land.

Q. The first time in a couple of games your number was called early yesterday and you showed up offensively, specifically in the first quarter in the form of seven points. What did you do in the last week just to make sure that you were ready whenever Coach Bud called your name?

BOBBY PORTIS: Just coming early, staying late, staying after games, coming in off days where the guys playing heavy loads weren't practicing. Doing everything I can. Playing in the play groups. Just being a pro. That's part of your job. When you're playing toward a championship, obviously every game is going to be different. Every series is going to be different. Different guys are going to have different roles.

My role last series was shortened. I had to cheer a lot more, cheer my teammates on. But that's why we have a team, and our team won. My number was called last night and I was ready. Just staying in shape as much as possible, running line drills, things like that. Keeping my game sharp with my coaches here and my coaches off the court, as well. Just trying to stay ready whenever it is called. It's a marathon in this league. You can't really control anything but how hard you play, and just it's the minutes given to you.

Q. Going back to the rebounding, I know there's consensus about effort and playing hard, but how important just strategically is putting a forearm, turning around and boxing your man out? How important is that?

BOBBY PORTIS: Sometimes in the NBA when you know guys are thirsty for offensive rebounds, you just keep your man off the glass. You might not have to turn around and box out. You might just face him and push him or push him off. There's different type of ways that you can keep guys off the glass, but turning around and boxing out is kind of harder nowadays with guys who are moving and being able to push. It's big-boy basketball now. They're not going to call offensive fouls if the guy is of like size or smaller than you. So like size, 6-8, 6-9, whatever it is, they're probably not going to call the offensive fouls, so you probably just need to chest him and keep him off the glass. Hopefully somebody else comes up with it.

Q. Would you say it's more important just to keep your man off the glass versus you getting the ball?

BOBBY PORTIS: Yeah, for sure. Obviously you want to grab the rebound, but just keeping Capela and Collins off the glass, they got some big rebounds last night. Keeping those guys off the glass, chesting them, being physical. Or even if they get the ball, Capela gets the ball, just foul him. I don't think he's a good free throw shooter, so just foul him and see if he can make some free throws.

Q. When you're on the floor in the third quarter, Trae was able to get a couple of lobs. I'm curious for you in the center field, how do you feel you can either play that better --

BOBBY PORTIS: I like to blitz. I'm a blitz type of guy. I like to be up in the pick-and-roll. I've been playing that whole my life since I was a kid, being in the blitz and that type of thing.

Obviously we'll make adjustments going into Game 2. We all talk about it and things like that. I think center field is more for guys like Brook. He's a bridge. I'm not a bridge. I can go out there and just try to move my feet as best as possible at the touch of the screen and get the ball out of his hands and make my man make the play. Make the 4 and the 5 man make the play. See if they can do that.

Q. What do you think makes you more comfortable? I know we've talked all year about how center field is something you had to work on to fit in here in Milwaukee. But what is it about blitzing that is more comfortable for you?

BOBBY PORTIS: It's getting up on the touch of the screen, being active, feeling like I'm in the play. When I'm back, I'm not a big-time shot blocker and things like that. Brook is a big-time shot blocker, so it's easy for him to do it and read and react to it.

Me, I like to be active with my hands and my feet and just be a presence on the touch of the screen. Get the ball out of the ball handler's hands. Even if he hits my man, we'll still have the low man there and the top man can X out and pick whoever he throws it to. I think it just makes it that much better in my unit.

Q. I understand you weren't on the court for some of this in the last series, but the shooting overall, the three-point shooting, you guys were so good at it during the season. Kind of a cold stretch at times, Brooklyn, Miami, even last game, With no practice time and obviously with recovery, it's not like you want to put up shots and shots and shots. So do you just have to shoot your way through it, or is there something to trying to find a rhythm out there that just seems to have been lost in the last couple weeks from behind the line?

BOBBY PORTIS: I mean, shoot, man, nowadays, it's just about getting a win. Whether we hit 20 threes or whether we hit six threes, this is just about getting a win. I think we'll be fine. The last night we only hit seven, eight threes and got a W. As long as our team is just stacking wins and trying to get four wins before they get more wins and we advance, that's the biggest goal. Obviously we have hit a little cold stretch right now, but nobody really cares. We're just trying to get as many wins as possible and stack them up and keep advancing. That's the biggest goal right now.

Obviously like you said, the practice time has been limited with how fast the games are coming now every other day. But I think guys are doing their regular routines, still getting shots up and things like that. You can't really just predicate your game on making shots. If you just make adjustments on the defensive end and get rebounds, then I don't think we'll be talking about making threes.

Q. How do you make Trae work on defense? I think he had three fouls with about 11 minutes to go in the third quarter and he finished the game with three fouls. He was commonly sort of in the corner when he was guarding P.J. Are there lineup combinations or ways you can kind of force the action to force him into maybe an uncomfortable defensive position?

BOBBY PORTIS: Yeah, kinda sorta. But they did a great job of hiding him and putting him in those situations. Credit them; they did a good job of that. But I think there's probably different ways we can do it. Obviously I don't coach or anything. I'm just a player, so I just follow the protocols and whatever Coach wants us to do. I think that will be up to Coach, just being able to draw up plays and things like that. I think that would be a question for Coach.