NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

July 1, 2021

John Collins

Atlanta Hawks

Game 5: Postgame

Milwaukee Bucks 123, Atlanta Hawks 112

Q. What's your assessment for what went wrong in that first quarter for you guys?

JOHN COLLINS: Man, I really feel like we just got hit first honestly. We -- whatever you want to say, we weren't ready to play at that level or just not ready to go. I feel like they just hit us first. It's hard to play from behind against a playoff team away, missing a couple guys -- missing one of our guys, too, as well.

No excuses. I feel like we have to come out and play better. I feel like we still could have won that game, but I think the biggest difference is letting them get out early and hard to play from there.

Q. You said you felt like the team wasn't ready to play at that kind of level. What would the reason be for why you feel that way?

JOHN COLLINS: I mean, there's no specific reason, you know what I mean? It's just basketball. Everybody -- up-and-down games. You can't really predict what's going to happen. Not to say that we didn't prepare to come out and play that way. Some nights, you know, like I said, no excuses on why, but some nights it just wasn't there. They capitalized off of it. We tried, and we played hard to come back in the rest of the game, but as I said before, they get that lead, it's just hard to fight back against a good team.

Q. Giving up 66 points in the paint tonight, that was an area you all had done better at the last game. What was the biggest difference, or what was the hardest part out there tonight when it came to the paint?

JOHN COLLINS: Yeah, just a different game plan. Obviously, trying to defend Giannis, and now it's more of a team effort to get into the paint on their end. I feel like just a different attack from them. As we said, that first quarter was really tough for us, and it gave them a little confidence. You can't let anybody get confidence and feel good.

Q. What did they do to get Lopez going the way that they did?

JOHN COLLINS: I'm not too sure specifically what they did. They probably have a couple actions for him, whatever the case may be. But he's a great player in his own right. He had one of those nights tonight, and he stepped up.

Q. How good has it been to see shots falling for Bogey after he had struggled for a few games with his knee? I know he's not 100 percent, but the last two games, he's looked like himself, it seems.

JOHN COLLINS: When Bogey hits shots, it's a game changer, just flat out. We love having him on the court. Obviously when he's making shots as well -- he's a sniper, and he helps us out a lot.

Q. You see that they're feeding Brook inside and Brook is going to the basket. Coach is saying you've got to do something here and be more physical. Is there something inside where you feel a step slow? Is it mental?

JOHN COLLINS: As I said, a new game plan for us in terms of just trying to defend them, but there's other guys on that court who can score and make plays as well. So not to say that Brook was an afterthought, but we're trying to guard an entire team here, and Brook just got going. Everybody is obviously angry or competitive in the sense that we want to stop him, but there's a whole game going out there outside of Brook as well.

You just try to figure it out. Tonight he caught the hot hand as well. There's not too many things we can say besides going back and watching film and trying to develop a new game plan.

Q. There's no doubt during the regular season that teams come out flat or get pushed around a bit. You just don't think it happens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Any idea about the lack of energy or why they were able to push you guys around?

JOHN COLLINS: I don't know why we came out flat, but we did and it hurt us tonight. As I said, the NBA, sometimes stuff happens.

Q. Do you think it's anything psychologically where you think, hey, they don't have Giannis and we played well without him on the floor last time.

JOHN COLLINS: I don't give a damn what they were thinking about or their mentality. We've got to do a better job on our end. Although we didn't have one of our dudes, our main guys, we've just got to do better. That's the bottom line.

Q. Obviously, throughout the season, throughout really since you've been with the Hawks, the media and fans and other teams have doubted you. Now for the first time in this playoffs, you're down in a series. How does your preparation change being down going home?

JOHN COLLINS: It's night and day. I get to sleep in my own bed. I get to come to my own arena and greet people inside and hear the fans cheer. It's really just night and day. There's nothing like being home and trying to feed off the energy.

Q. We know this team is at its best when they're moving the ball fluidly and the ball is touching everyone's hands, which leads to great shots. We saw that in Game 4. But tonight, specifically in the first half, it seems like there was a lot of dribble, dribble, taking the air out of the ball. Do you think there's a reason we didn't see as great of ball movement tonight as we did in Game 4?

JOHN COLLINS: It's the same reason as to why we were moving the ball in the previous game. There is no real reason per se. It's just the game of basketball. Sometimes we're just not in the right rhythm to do the things that we want to do at times. That's just on us to be more locked in and more focused. Obviously, we understand we're a better team when we're moving the ball. We've just got to do a better job of that starting out the game.

Q. Bobby Portis had a pretty good game tonight. What type of different dynamic does he give you as opposed to Giannis?

JOHN COLLINS: Bobby is a very skilled guy, great player in his own right. He had a great game today. I feel like more than anything it's his intensity, his passion for the game. He plays the game hard. I feel like it gives the team a spark and energy. So kudos to him.