NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

July 2, 2021

Nate McMillan

Atlanta Hawks

Practice Day

Q. Any update on Trae and his status or prospect on playing tomorrow?

NATE McMILLAN: No, there isn't. I have nothing for you.

Q. Just got to ask.

NATE McMILLAN: Yeah, yeah.

Q. What did you see on the film of Game 5 of the series?

NATE McMILLAN: We just did not come out prepared for the intensity of that game, and very similar to, really, Game 2 when they jumped on us. Just for whatever reason, the intensity, we talked about the level of intensity that we needed to come out with. They basically hit us in the mouth early and really established the physicality of the game. They were going to be in attack mode, and we couldn’t really respond, certainly not in that first quarter. The next three quarters we did a little better job and were able to fight our way back into the game, but they established the tempo of that game right from the start.

Q. Game 6 is a win-or-go-home game for you. How is the mood in the locker room and how are you going to approach Game 6, the first minutes of the game?

NATE McMILLAN: Well, pretty much you know, talk about all of the things we didn't do last night. So defensively, 28 points in the first quarter in the paint is just -- I mean, I don't have an answer for that. That was just not defending at all, not helping at all. Really a dominant performance by Milwaukee attacking us in the paint.

We have talked about that. We have to establish our defense and we have to play that way for 48 minutes. You're not going to play perfect basketball for 48 minutes, but you have to establish your defense and the pressure that you're going to need to play within that first quarter and I always say the start of the game. We just did not do that. They were basically walking to the rim on us, and 28 points, again, in the paint, in the first quarter, 44 at the half, just was really a dominant performance by them.

Q. After that slow start, you played them pretty much even for the rest of the game. Were there encouraging things you took away from the last three quarters?

NATE McMILLAN: Just that. The next three quarters, kind of got our feet under us and started to get some stops and make some baskets and was able to get the came close. But again, I thought they had the momentum. They kept that momentum for, really, the entire game and you know, they just had a read on what they needed to do to stop us.

I really didn't feel that we, you know, got momentum and were able to establish ourselves consistently on either end of the floor.

Q. I know you teach the principles of boxing out, but when you're smaller and athletic, is that kind of art?

NATE McMILLAN: We talk about that. As I have said to our guys, we've been the bag, and they are hitting the bag every single time. And we need to switch that around. We need to hit first. You know, they are coming in and running in. Pat and Tucker, all of those guys last night, they had their bigs in the paint a lot more with Lopez and Portis, and you know, they are just coming in and pounding and taking advantage of their size.

We have to hit first. We have to hit -- you know, box those guys out. Some of those guys we have to get a smash on, get two on them, three on them. But we've got to hit first. Just we know that a part of their attack is the offensive rebounding. They have basically out-worked us on the boards, either rebounding the ball or tapping it out and giving themselves extra possessions.

And that's an attitude, rebounding the basketball. You have to hit-and-go-get, hit-and-pursue, and they are doing a better job of that.

Q. Did you guys do anything on court today or are you doing to do anything or is it just rest and recovery and film day ahead of tomorrow?

NATE McMILLAN: Just get what you need, and that's pretty much all of the above. Some guys need film. Some guys need rest. Some guys need treatment. Some guys need shots. You know, so that's pretty much the day that we have.

Q. When it comes to Trae Young's injury, is it more so that he feels like physically he can't play or is it more so the team doctors feel he can hurt himself even more if he does play?

NATE McMILLAN: If Trae could play, he would be out there. So it's both medical and Trae giving us feedback as far as him being able to play in the game.

So it's not anything that's long term. It's just he has had pain that is not comfortable enough for him to get out there and feel that he can help the team.

Q. I guess that was my follow-up question, is what do you need or what does he need to feel like? I feel like a 50 percent Trae is better than no Trae. What do you need to see to have him back out there?

NATE McMILLAN: It's what he needs to feel and what he needs to see. So we put that on our players. We are not going to put those guys out there if they feel that there's a risk of injuring themselves. Players have to make that decision, too, if they feel they can't help the team. So 50 percent for you may not be comfortable enough with Trae.

It's all about the player and how he feels.

Q. Were you surprised they played as well as they did without Giannis?

NATE McMILLAN: No, it didn't surprise me. Like I said before, that's a good team over there. They have a lot of options. Last night I thought they certainly took advantage of that. They are still going to be the same team with Giannis in the lineup. They are an attack-the-paint team. They play that way with Giannis and they showed last night they play that way without Giannis. They want to attack the paint, attack the rim. If you take away the paint and collapse on the ball, they will kick out and shoot the 3-ball.

So really, that was not a surprise to me what they did. How easily they did that was a surprise to me because we knew that that's their game plan, that's their MO, and we didn't do a good job of defending the paint as well as we did in Game 3. And they punished us last night in the paint.

Q. Can you also talk about the intensity of going into tomorrow night's game? You guys are trying to force a Game 7 and the Bucks are trying to win the game and go on to the Finals. How intense will it be tomorrow night?

NATE McMILLAN: Well, from on our end, we know what we have to do, and we certainly can't come out the way we did last night. So we know it's win-or-go-home for us and expect us to respond.

Q. With Cam looking more comfortable each game, is it a possibility that his restriction, minutes restriction, could get increased, and if so, would you plan on playing him more?

NATE McMILLAN: You know, I have to listen to our trainers in situations like that, and the player, again. You know, if there's restrictions and you've got to look at the fact that Cam hasn't played in four months. So it's not so much minutes as opposed to conditioning. A lot of times in the last two games when I've subbed him, it's been more he needs a breather than minutes restrictions. So he hasn't played in four months and to now all of a sudden be out there and going up and down the floor, hasn't played five-on-five basketball, just conditioning is a factor with Cam at this time.

Q. Just after looking at the game film, can you talk about Cam's performance and how impressed you are with him?

NATE McMILLAN: We like his length, and defensively, we've talked about the pressure that we need on the ball. And Cam, that's how he plays. You know, so really, we can feed off of that. I didn't think we did last night where he's up into the basketball, he's challenging the catch, challenging the dribble on every possession. I thought we were basically playing, you know, most of us playing on the back of our heels and allowing those guys to just really go through our chest and get to the rim.

And with that type of break down and not having weak side help to come over and rotate to the breakdowns, that's not us. It happened last night but I know and we know that we're much better than that.

Q. Do you see a ratcheting up of your own physicality especially in terms of if you're going to foul, maybe the foul that would stop the opponent from actually making the shot? And how do you get the guys to be more handsy, active on defense, as you guys were in Game 4 that you won?

NATE McMILLAN: Well, you show what you looked like last night. You show them what you looked like last night and you show them what you looked like when you've had success.

Certainly, again, I won't talk about strategy as far as what we're going to do and those things, fouling and those adjustments. But it's just expected that the level of intensity each game has got to go up and I think I said this after Game 2, they were playing at a level that we've got to get to. And I saw that again last night where they came out with that intensity and we didn't respond to that.

We knew that they were going to come out very aggressive. It's very similar to how we came out when Trae wasn't in the lineup, and other guys were getting an opportunity to play and start.

So we knew that, but we didn't respond with the appropriate intensity playing with that urgency, playing connected basketball out on that floor last night. You know, they pretty much dominated that game.

So yeah, we know what we have to do, and it's just a matter of us going out and doing that.