NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

June 25, 2021

Mike Budenholzer

Milwaukee Bucks

Game 2: Pregame

Q. When the last two-minute report comes out and it says Giannis has the free throw violations, do you say, how do you handle that?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: He’s got his routine. It's been a big topic of conversation. I get it. I understand it. I think he's in a good place. I always say we want him at the free throw line and we want him attacking. The more he gets there, the better. This conversation, debate, has been going on for a long time and he's well aware. He's in a good place.

Q. Following up on that, the rule is in the rule book. At the same time, like in baseball, if a pitcher has a balk in his move every time, they don't call it because he does it every time. Giannis does this every time, but it's in the rule book. Should they enforce the rule?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: You know, at the end of the day, I think if there's any way this could be lessened, it would be awesome but I'm sure it won't be. It's like if you had a stop clock every time someone was in the offensive paint for three seconds, I guarantee you, any type of timing mechanism is something that happens on a regular basis. If you had a clock on an out-of-bounds play how many times it would take more than five seconds and if you wanted to put a stopwatch on it. It's an unfair thing to the referees.

All things that are timing, the game isn't done with a stop clock, and we wouldn't want that for three seconds, we wouldn't want that for out of bounds. The rules are the rules just like they are for everything else. There's a lot of respect for the rules and what the referees have to do and what the league has to do and what Giannis has to do. It's not that complicated. He's going to get to the free throw line, he's going to shoot them. We are kind of on the side that we hope he makes them, and it's kind of end of story.

Q. The small lineup when Pat Connughton is in, how do you like the way that group is coming together defensively in the playoffs?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I think there's things that happen in the playoffs and I think that group has seen more minutes and more opportunities together. So I think any time any group of good players get reps and get opportunities, the communication, the understanding, the work, and it's like everything else, there's some things that they need to get better and we need to improve, and there's some things that they do well.

So we just have to keep building and drawing on what they do well and work on where they need to improve, where we need to improve and put the best combos out there. It could be big. Every game is a little bit different. Every series is a little bit different. But it's good to have kind of options.

Q. Jrue mentioned that he wants to be a little bit more physical with Trae Young. How do you find the balance of being physical, knowing that Trae is smaller?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I mean, we often talk about like how hard some of these guys jobs are. And Jrue, it's mostly in Jrue's hands. There's conversation but there's just a ton of trust that he's got to walk that line of being a great defender, using his athleticism, using his strength and making the advantage and just doing the best he can. Understanding the differences between the different types of players he guards.

He's been doing it a long time. There's just an instinctual thing that I certainly hope I don't screw up.

Q. How do you think P.J. can make an impact?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I mean, I think the big thing is not to underestimate their wings. When they are playing really good basketball, the Huerters, the Bogdanovics, the Williams, Gallinaris, how important they are to them, and I think he might get some turns and some reps on Young, and then we may play him at different spots. So I think again his versatility, the different ways you can go with him are important in this series.

Q. As much as you're willing to share, what are the conversations like with the coaching staff when it comes all the different ways to try to guard Trae?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: It's kind of that fun time of year when you play great players from series to series in the different ways that they kind of test you defensively. I guess as coaches, you're just trying to see if there's something that makes sense for our group, for our players defensively, that puts them in their best position to succeed against a player that is very gifted and talented. It's the playoff ritual, you know, trying to figure out how to guard the great players. It's part of what I'm sure is great for the fans and I'm sure in some strange way it's great for the coaches. It's a great challenge. A lot of work and time goes into it.

Q. What about Brook? He only played 20 minutes the other night. I'm sure that may change in future games in this series. What do you see his role and is it more challenging with this team because of their personnel?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: We feel like Brook can be a huge positive. I think him being on the court is usually when we are at our best and so I think we have to be a little bit better, hopefully around him we can be better.

Brook is such a high-character guy, such a competitor, such a great teammate. I think he will be there for us and he'll be good for us tonight.

Q. I feel a little bit selfish asking you this question, but I have to ask about Australia and former Wisconsin Herd head coach Chase Buford being announced as the Sydney Kings head coach last night.

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: He's a great coach. I think the one year of normalcy, the one year when the G League was kind of what we know it to be, the team was phenomenal. The players were phenomenal. Chase was phenomenal. He crushed it. I think he really opened a lot of eyes, I guess, including in Australia and all around the world. And in meetings and practices with our players, our player development, he's just a bright, bright young mind. Got great energy. Great ability to connect with the players. He's just a basketball coach. Very, very excited for him. You know, excited for the Sydney Kings.

A lot of respect for Australian basketball. A lot of friends and history there. So it's pretty exciting for Chase, and it's part of our business, something the Bucks organization try and grow and develop, and when guys move on, you're excited for their futures. Thanks.