NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

July 3, 2021

John Collins

Cam Reddish

Atlanta Hawks

Game 6: Postgame

Milwaukee Bucks 118, Atlanta Hawks 107

Q. I know it's a tough moment and a tough loss, but just what can you say about this team's ability to still fight back in a game like this? Is that kind of a reflection of how you guys have -- how your season has played out as well, going from 14-20 to now the Eastern Conference Finals?

JOHN COLLINS: It has a lot to do with it, the grittiness, the competitiveness we played with all year, the never die attitude we had. I think it speaks a lot about our team and the way we've been able to handle these playoffs given the shortcomings we've all faced this year. So hat's off to all our guys.

Q. John, do you feel like this is the start of something special here after this run?

JOHN COLLINS: Definitely. I felt that way from the beginning of the year, honestly, from when we drafted Kevin, Trae, Cam, and Dre, Bruno [Fernando], all those guys, I felt it then. To see it manifest itself is beautiful, so I'm just hoping we can continue to build.

Q. Cam, Nate just said that you and him clicked early in the season. What's your relationship been like with him, and how has it evolved?

CAM REDDISH: You're absolutely right. We kind of had a connection when I first met him. He just told me to just play my game. It felt good to just feel like he was on my side. I'm always going to have his back for sure. Good dude, great relationship.

Q. For both of you, when did you first find out that Trae was going to play? Did you think he would try it all along? And how quickly into the game did you realize he's not going to be the usual Trae?

JOHN COLLINS: I think I really figured it out as we were putting on our jerseys and trying to head out onto the court. It was really a game-time decision on his part. As you said, he went out there and competed like a true champ and tried to just lay it out there for his team, and that's all we can expect from him.

Q. Honestly, I guess both of you guys, Khris Middleton has been a key guy. What was he able to do in that second half?

JOHN COLLINS: He's a great player, very skilled player, and once he catches a rhythm, we don't like anybody to catch a rhythm. Everybody in this league is a pro for a reason, and once a guy gets hot, it's just tough to stop.

As I said, hat's off to Khris, who had a great series, and we've just got to give him credit.

Q. I know what Cam said before, but with regards to Nate, do you expect him to be the coach next year?

JOHN COLLINS: I would expect it to be a major shock if we don't see Nate back as the coach of the Atlanta Hawks next year. I would definitely be extremely surprised.

Q. What about working with him the past months have you appreciated the most?

JOHN COLLINS: Honestly, just his honesty with us. He's a real old school type of guy, and I feel like he challenges us on a day-to-day basis, and I feel like that's the biggest thing for me. He's always challenged every single one of us to be two-way players, and I feel like that's helped all of us grow and develop a playoff mentality.

Q. Cam, how can you use what you showed in these three games to hopefully transfer into next season?

CAM REDDISH: It was definitely a nice little stepping stone. That ain't going to matter next year. I'm just going to go home, get in the gym, and just work, simple as that.

Q. What do you need to work on?

CAM REDDISH: I knew you were going to ask that. Everything.

Q. John, just with what your emotions are right now. The end of any season is tough, but the flip side is you obviously had a great season and a strong performance for sure.

JOHN COLLINS: It's a feeling I never really felt before. Obviously, feeling like we had a real chance to hold up that Larry O'Brien Trophy, coming up short, and understanding all the positive things we've done this year to help us get to this point, and all the things that I didn't do or felt like I could have done harder or been locked in or more focused on are flooding in my mind as well.

So it's just a rush of a lot of emotions that I don't necessarily understand how to process yet, but I can tell you that I'm proud of this group and the way we've battled and competed up to this point.

Q. John, I guess just how tough is it -- I know every team is kind of battling injuries right now, even the Bucks with what's gone on with Giannis. Is it just tougher to kind of end on Trae wasn't 100 percent? I know you guys were missing De’Andre for a while. Do you wonder about that, or try not to think about it?

JOHN COLLINS: I don't like to see our guys down, but that's the issue, the Achilles heel for our team this year is we've never really had the chance to have a fully healthy roster with the change in schedule and COVID tests and no practices and a bunch of stuff that we don't necessarily talk about.

We don't like to make excuses, and I felt like that's why we were as competitive as we were because we didn't use it as an excuse the entire year. We just competed.

Q. The future is bright, to say the least, in this city, the fact that you guys put Hawks basketball back on the map. Your feelings towards that and the future of this team, this core.

JOHN COLLINS: It started with this young core. We were drafted together and had a great relationship, and I felt like what we were able to do this year, like I said before, in the midst of all the chaos and new obstacles we had to overcome is a big stepping stone for us going into the future, and we've just got to try to build on that.

Q. Kind of building off that, what makes you feel that this team is now built for sustainable success?

JOHN COLLINS: I feel like it was the one thing that we were missing, and that was playoff experience. We got to taste a little bit of that. Obviously, it didn't end the way we wanted, but I feel like that was the most important part. I definitely feel like we have the young talent -- Dre, myself, Cam, Trae, everybody here. I feel like the young core is here, the veterans are here, the coaching. We just needed some experience to hang our hat on and understand what it feels like.

Q. Cam, you had a heck of a game today, six threes coming off the bench, which is a record for a Hawks player coming off the bench in the playoffs. A lot of guys in the league, a lot of young guys who you've come up with through the AAU circuit give you a lot of respect, and they know your game. But for a lot of other people in the league who may not have known what you can do, what do you think you've showed them since you've been back?

CAM REDDISH: I'll do it on both sides of the ball. I'm going to get after it defensively, offensively. It don't even matter. I don't know how else to say it. It's pretty self-explanatory, I feel like. In the most respectful way possible, by the way. I ain't trying to be, you know.

Q. Great season, first of all. John, your team was two wins away from the NBA Finals. How confident are you about next season that you're going to get those two wins?

JOHN COLLINS: Extremely confident. As I said before, we never had our fully healthy squad the entire year, even up to this point. With that in mind, hopefully everything goes well injury-wise, and we can come back fully healthy. I definitely feel like we can make the same attack, make the same push for sure.

Q. For you, Cam, Coach McMillan says he sees a lot of Paul George in you. What do you think of that?

CAM REDDISH: That's an honor. You've all seen PG playing. That's an honor. Coach, thank you if you're watching.

I'm just trying to be me. I'm just trying to go home and get to the nitty-gritty and just come back as Cam Reddish, so you all can call me Cam Reddish next time.

JOHN COLLINS: I like that too.

Q. What is it that you want people and Hawks fans that stuck with you through that process to remember most about you this season?

JOHN COLLINS: If anything, I want them to remember that we're not done yet. I feel like this is one of the first stepping stones to become as successful as we want to be. We're still hungry, and I feel like we have a lot more to fight for. We love each other as a group, and as I said before, we're not done.