NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: HAWKS VS. BUCKS

June 29, 2021

Lou Williams

Atlanta Hawks

Game 4: Postgame

Hawks 110, Bucks 88

Q. When you guys find out that Trae is not going to be able to go, how do you and some of the other guards, Bogey, how do you guys adjust to him not being out there for you guys?

LOU WILLIAMS: It's not a big adjustment. You just know your minutes are going to go up, the time of the games is going to be different. Other than that, you just get ready to play a basketball game. We've got to be pros. I know it's cliche to hear, but one guy goes down, another guy got to step up.

Coach told me that I was going to start in his place about an hour before the game, so for me it was just to lock in and know I was going to play more minutes than usual.

Q. I know you and Onyeka [Okongwu] are close. What has it been like to watch him blossom on the biggest stage of the playoffs?

LOU WILLIAMS: It feels good. It feels good to learn him, grow with him. He's a young cat, and for him to look to me for guidance and questions during games and even off the floor, it's just a nice one to have. To make a friend in him and be a part of his process, it feels good.

Q. I understand you guys are professionals, but can you walk me through sort of the mentality that you and the team has to have when someone like Trae is not going to play? What prevents you from having the mentality that, man, this is going to be a rough night?

LOU WILLIAMS: I mean, we're pros, too. We know how to play basketball, as well. I think that's the difference between the guys in the locker room and everybody else. When Trae goes down, we still feel like we're confident in our abilities as players, as well. Obviously Trae is a major part of what we do, but we feel really good about the things that we bring to the table, and sometimes you've got to band together and create success, and I think tonight was one of those nights where everybody played well, everybody chipped in a little more than usual, including myself, and we bridged that gap that Trae brings.

Q. I know you guys got off to a really good start. From that point did you realize that you'd be able to play like that the whole night, that you were doing things that were slowing them down?

LOU WILLIAMS: No, it's a long game. It's a long game. We've gotten off to a couple quick starts against this team and they've walked us down a couple of times. So we don't really get -- we understand it's a 48-minute game, so we just had to stay steady. I thought tonight we just played a steady 48-minute game. We were solid on both ends of the floor. This week in practice we made great adjustments with the things they do on the offensive end, and it was working for us.

Q. It was only a couple of months ago when you got traded here and there has to be some thought in your mind that you might be traded somewhere else. Is part of the reason you wanted to come, was there any part of your mind you thought there would be a moment like this down the road?

LOU WILLIAMS: Honestly, no. I'll be frank. I wasn't sure. This wasn't a team that I was really paying attention to. In the Western Conference, me playing with the Clippers, we were on a hunt for a championship run, so my focus was solely on that. Once I had an opportunity to get around these guys, get around the organization, get a good feel for what was going on around here, I felt like there could be great potential there.

But one thing that's been steady since I've been here, this team has always been confident in their abilities, and that's showed throughout the playoffs. We're enjoying the ride. We feel like we deserve to be here. We've earned the right to be here, and at the same time we're enjoying it.

Did I look ahead and say we can be a championship contender day one? Probably not. But we're two wins away like everybody else, and we feel good about it.

Q. This is the first time you've played in the Conference Finals in your career; it's been a long time coming.

LOU WILLIAMS: I haven't been able to come to grips -- I haven't been able to enjoy the moment. I'm stuck in it. I'm in it. I'm enjoying it, and you ride this thing until the wheels fall off and then it'll be one of those things where you kind of look back and you can say what you did or what you didn't do. But I'm happy to be in the moment right now. We're 2-2 going to Milwaukee tomorrow, so it feels good so far.

Q. When Giannis went out, you guys were up by 10, when you were in that moment, it would be natural to ease up, but you guys did the opposite. What's the key to this team being able to do this, especially this is the first time a lot of you have been in this moment?

LOU WILLIAMS: Yeah, I mean, we were in the same position with Trae being out tonight. Like I said, everybody has to throw something in the pot. When superstar caliber guys go out, you put some other guys in the game, and their eyes are this wide and they're like this is a great opportunity for me to show and prove my abilities. You don't want to be the guys that let them off the hook because Giannis was off the floor. I think we all felt that energy and we just ratcheted up our energy and continued to go.

Q. How long did it take you to get over the trade, and was that one -- you were talking about how it's kind of always been this confidence among your teammates, but was there one thing that made you more comfortable?

LOU WILLIAMS: I was just accepted. I was wanted. I didn't get the feeling that this was a trade that they just threw together for money reasons or whatever. I felt like I was going to be a part of the success here, and when I met with the guys in Phoenix, they were really warm to me and really appreciated me being there as their teammate, so that feels good. That feels good. A warm welcome anywhere feels good, going into a situation you're not very familiar with.

So I think that was one of the things I wanted to give myself an opportunity to continue on my career and give these guys an opportunity to be teammates and try to do something special together.

Q. You said that you hadn't really been able to enjoy the moment because you're in it. Because of a few different circumstances, you're now in a position where you could lead your hometown team to a Finals. This late in your career to be able to do that after everything --

LOU WILLIAMS: It's kind of surreal. It's kind of surreal. That's really all I can say about it, honestly. Like I said, it's day by day. I don't get too high, I don't get too low. Tonight will be one of those nights. My phone is going crazy and everybody wants to talk, say something, and I'll respond to the appropriate people and then I'll get ready for the next game.

Q. Since Nate's taken over, the messaging from him has been continue to believe and continue to play together. When you do lose Trae before the game, what does he say to you guys to get you guys to believe that you guys can win without him?

LOU WILLIAMS: Message didn't change. Like I said, we're pros, too, and I think it would be an ill taste if a coach came in and started saying too much because Trae went out. I think we would kind of look at him a little crazy.

Nate is a veteran coach. He understands what moments like this mean to other guys to have an opportunity to go out on the floor and fill in and do their jobs, and that was the message. Continue to believe. Trae is going to be out tonight, but continue to believe in your abilities and go out and get a win.

Q. Along those lines, like you said, athletes are wired differently obviously from fans and media, so when you first heard and guys in the locker room first heard that Trae was out, what goes through your mind? What's the initial reaction?

LOU WILLIAMS: Honestly, I was on the training table, Nate walked up, said Trae is going to be out, so I'm going to start you, I said okay, and he walked off. That was the conversation. Like it's not like a Remember the Titans thing that happens in the locker room. I promise you it don't. That was it. That was the extent of our conversation, and we got ready for the game.

Q. Could you tell when you got out of the training room or you were around other guys at all, was it okay, let's just go out and play? I'm curious what the general response was to the situation.

LOU WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's game preparation. Everybody has their own routine. It's actually a strange thing when you're in an NBA locker room before the game. Nobody is talking to nobody. Everybody is in their own world trying to get themselves prepared for the game. That was it. The only other person I spoke to besides Nate was Trae. I just asked him was he feeling all right, and then I had to go out on the floor and get prepared, so that was it.

Q. Playing 40 minutes from where you went to high school, what will you remember most about your first playoff start?

LOU WILLIAMS: Well, that I played well and we won. That's it really. In situations like that, from a fan's perspective, I'm sure everybody is like, oh, hell, Trae is out, and so it kind of puts me in a position that I have to play well in order for everybody not to boo me. You know what I mean?

It just feels good to get a win, go back to Milwaukee 2-2 with a realistic opportunity to go get yourself an opportunity to go play for a championship, so it feels good.

Q. You've already been asked about Trae, his injury and of course about you starting tonight, but you were very efficient on the floor. You were taking great shots and you were finding your teammates. I noticed that even when you had some open looks you were finding a way to make sure that you got your teammates involved. What, if anything, changed in your preparation over the last 48 hours?

LOU WILLIAMS: Nothing really. Like I said, I had an hour. The only thing I knew that was going to change just from me being around, I knew my minutes were going to go up, and I just wanted to be efficient, I wanted to take care of the basketball and make sure the guys that's been shooting 10, 15 shots a game got their shots and got them in rhythm, and that was it.