NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

June 28, 2021

Mike Budenholzer

Milwaukee Bucks

Practice Day

Q. You've seen Atlanta a couple times without Trae. I know he's questionable, but how they have played without him against you, does that inform you at all or do you go into tomorrow assuming he's going to be his best self and then react after that, if he plays or doesn't and that kind of thing?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, we're planning for Trae to play. If he doesn't, you know, I think like we've said in the past, there's basic, fundamental things that you do night-in and night-out, including on a guy like Trae Young, and so the group will be ready and prepared to play Atlanta with Young. If it's something different, then we'll adjust.

Q. In that backcourt, I know Bogdanovic has been a little slow, he's been playing but battling some stuff. If Lou Williams is getting more of a run, everybody is familiar what he can do off the bench, if he is in a more active role, what changes for them, if you're seeing more Lou in a Game 4 scenario?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Well, you know, Lou Williams has a ton of talent. He's great with the ball in his hands. He can catch fire. He can put a lot of points on the board. Very creative scorer. Creative getting to the line. Just more minutes to him with the ball. That's just another good ball handler, another good player that can do a lot of things.

Q. After you guys closed Game 1 with that small ball unit, we talked a lot about defensive rebounding, and I feel like that has been cleaned up. Is there anything else you like and you've seen kind of that unit do better in Game 3? I know you closed with that unit again.

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: You know, I think the ability to get stops down the stretch of the fourth quarter, including finishing it with the rebound, just the activity, the athleticism, the ability to guard lots of different guys, that group's had some good stretches. But I think Brook and Bobby and playing more traditional has had really good stretches, too. I just think we need to keep finding the right combo, keep finding the right guys. That group had a good stretch in the fourth quarter last night.

Q. At the start of the year we talked about with the way you guys are using the dunker this year, guys will get more opportunity to swing through and get offensive rebounds. You also have a number of innately skilled offensive rebounders. What have you seen from guys like P.J. and Pat and Brook that not only have gotten more, but they have really taken full advantage of the idea that they can go after those.

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, just turning them loose. I think they have a knack for it. They have a nose for the ball. I thought Tuck had a big influence on the game with his offensive rebounding and defensive rebounding both to be honest, and Pat with his athleticism and his ability to fly from space, that can be one of the hardest offensive rebounders to take care of, and Brook, all of them, we have to take advantage of everything we can and still be good in transition defense. You know, it's a great challenge.

Q. When I asked Pat about it earlier, he had said that Brook just deserves more credit for how well he can move his feet and how him and George Hill used to joke about it's Brook island, like if you get him on an iso, you think it's going to be easy, but it's not. Just what do you think of his malleability, like he can do different things, whether or not it's drop or switch or whatever, like he can do different things. What have you seen from Brook in this postseason?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, I think there's such a high level of appreciation and just understanding how important he is and all the different things he can do. I think he's so great maybe in certain areas that you just kind of don't give enough credit or attention to when he can move his feet, where he can react to a situation, find a shooter in transition, find a three-point shooter and not just run to the basket in the paint. He's just a high-level defender and he wants to be there for his teammates and cover any and every chance he has. When you have that mindset, and then he's more athletic I think than people realize, you put all that together, he can have a big impact for us defensively.

Q. You mentioned transition defense. It felt like last night in transition, there were moments you got back, found a man and then decided that you wanted the preferred matchups; that you wanted to get to certain guys. Am I reading that right? Did I see that right? And what did you think of the transition defense of maybe giving up some threes there?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Not good. I think that's one of the areas where we have to continue to focus and get better. I think they are getting behind us for some over the top layups. They are getting some open threes, just principle-wise, I think we can be sharper, we can be better.

Q. Going back to Pat, what do you see from him in those late lineups that may not show up in the box score?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I think the rebounding does show up in the box score but I think just the willingness to run, the willingness to space. I think he does so many things that fit with our team and again, he can work the dunker or he can work the corners. He can work the high quad. We've seen, obviously it's usually Giannis, but he can DHO to him and turn the corner and finish. I think he can guard in the post. He can guard on the perimeter. He just brings a lot, a lot of tools, a lot of tools in his toolbox and try to take advantage of as many of them as we can.

Q. In the last couple games we've seen Bobby switch on to, really, anyone, and show not just a willingness but an ability to guard multiple positions. Why is that versatility helpful for you in this series?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: Yeah, just keeping him in front, trying to make everything tough, contested shots. You know, Bobby, he's ready to go. Just love the way he plays, the way he competes. He wants to do anything he can to help us, and I think he's really doing that so far in the first three games. We need it to continue.

Q. I had a bigger picture question for you. I was sort of curious, your team has not been shy about stating their goal from the beginning of the year to various points along the season, they have said, the goal is to win a championship. Curious from your perspective, how have they managed that, like that expectation of getting to a place but not letting it overwhelm them or buckle them, the undue pressure. I'm sure sometimes as a coach, you don't want them putting too much on their shoulders. So how have you seen this group handle that this year-to-date?

MIKE BUDENHOLZER: I mean, I think it's a focus on what you're doing each day. I mean, we have some just true and often-stated goals of just getting better each day and focusing on improvement and all those things. If you're thinking about where you want to get and you're not thinking about what you've got to do each day to get there, you know, it's probably time poorly spent. We may do that to a fault but I think now there's a balance with understanding how we need to grow, how we need to improve, the versatility that we need. And so I think they have just embraced that daily work, daily improvement, daily growth to prepare you for where you want to get to.