NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

June 27, 2021

Mike Budenholzer

Milwaukee Bucks

Game 3: Pregame

Q. Can you tell us more about Giannis’ left calf tightness?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: He has some left calf tightness, but I think he's going to be fine. You know, this morning, just took care of it. He's kind of been working on it and the last I heard, he's good to go and we're expecting him to play.

Q. Was that incident-based?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I'm not sure if it was incident-based. It was a little something at the second quarter and he was obviously able to play and strong to finish. The sports performance group's doing a great job with him. He's done a great job. I think he's in a good place.

Q. He'll start tonight?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yes.

Q. Bobby had talked about wanting to switch to more blitz. What did you think of his performance defensively?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I thought some good defensive possessions for Bobby. I think just awareness, being able to guard, play individual defense, take individual pride. You know, he's got to do that again tonight.

Q. Obviously this series it's been more Jrue and Giannis in the pick-and-roll than Khris and Giannis. How do you keep Khris active even if he's not the main guy in the pick-and-roll?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Hopefully the next one we get him enough. Those guys, any combination of those guys is good for us. You know, moving us off the ball a little bit and getting him in some other actions, maybe off ball screens. But we want the ball in Khris's hands, and Khris and Giannis in action is good. It's probably more subtle and just we need to be sure they are both getting lots of reps and lots of opportunities.

Q. How nice has it been with Bryn and Bobby -- especially last series, getting those guys out on court?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I mean, as you work your way from round to round and through the series, you're going to need everybody on your roster. Bobby and Bryn can have a big, positive impact on the game. And just in general, to see the ball go in, I think our defense feels that, puts us in a spot where we can get out and play and feel good offensively. So those two guys had some good defensive possessions and we need more of those tonight.

Q. What did you like about this year's team compared to the previous two?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: This group's got a confidence. I think the mix is really good. There's just whether it's Bryn and Bobby that we just talked about, adding Jrue, adding P.J. Tucker kind of midseason, I think there's just a really good mix. There's a confidence that really we've had all three years, but this group's in a good place. It's just a really good roster which to be honest we've been through every year. So feel good about the group. Now we've got to go out and play.

Q. Is there a different approach this year compared to the last two where you guys were so good in the regular season, and I'm wondering if there was a different approach, if it has paid off in these playoffs?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I think it's usually the players that are the most important thing. You know, I think we've got a good mix of players. Jon Horst has done a great job with the roster. But there's been conscientious effort to develop more variety, more diversity both defensively and offensively that you need in the playoffs, and so I think there's a confidence in reps and building habits, doing different things during the course of the regular season that we need to carry over to really just to tonight.

Q. Following up, Bryn and Bobby, when they are able to get going at home, how can that help them as they are now going on the road and you're going to need the depth of those role players to step up in a hostile environment?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: It's been good for particularly Bobby to get to play significant minutes in both the first two games. I thought that he had a good, positive impact in the first game, and just kind of get his rhythm back.

And Bryn, same thing, get a kick-out three off an offensive rebound, transition the first game. And he's just such a threat. Both of them just getting regular, consistent minutes. Now it just comes on the road with them and hopefully they are in a good place.

Q. Khris was telling us this morning that he has seen it for Giannis, seen it for him. But that he hasn’t seen a Fiserv Forum moment like that for a Bobby Portis type, and there was discussion on the plane. What was your vantage point on that?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: They don't let me near them on the plane, so I don't know what they said. Bobby has got an infectious personality. His teammates love him, the locker room. I think it's obvious that the fans, the city, he just plays with so much passion. That's one of his words. Just love what he brings to the club and I think the fans appreciate it and so do his teammates and the coaches, too. He's great to be around.

Q. In each series from our perspective, we think the team that loses the game has to make adjustments to combat what happened in the previous game. But for the winning team, what's the difference between Games 1 and 2, and now between 2 and 3?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I mean, you feel like there's things we can do better. We say it after the postgame press conference. We say it in practice. There's little things that we touch on in film. There's little things that we can improve on, whether it's an adjustment or really what we've been doing the whole season or in Game 1 or Game 2.

So we just always have that mindset and whether it's an adjustment or just getting better, hopefully that's what we want to do tonight.