CJ McCollum talks OT loss | Pelicans-Grizzlies Postgame Interview 12/26/2023

CJ McCollum talks OT loss | Pelicans-Grizzlies Postgame Interview 12/26/2023

Viws in 1.5 seconds never in my life um I think this was the most bizarre game I’ve ever been a part of for sure just the reviews the way I mean what went the combination of the reviews the way it was finished one was it the second left two

Reviews under a second I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before in my life um I thought we had possession of the rebound after the the um no call or foul call that was overturned I thought herb had possession so that was that was interesting because

In the rules it’s supposed to be Whoever has possession in the ball gets the ball they said they blew the they blew the play dead but how is the play blown dead if if the foul is overturned it’s just it’s complicated I guess but I mean game

Shouldn’t come down to you know point4 seconds left I mean up in the fourth quarter we got to do a better job of closing out and I don’t know what we scored in the fourth quarter but we didn’t score um hard to win when you don’t score down the stretch of games

The play you brought up with her getting the rebound uh did you guys get an explanation in the game or anything he said that the the play was blown dead was what I was told I don’t understand how the play is blown dead you it was a

Foul they called it a foul herb had the ball he dribbled the ball looked at the ref like what’s going on if it’s overturned and he’s the closest and he has the ball I would think it would go to him but it’s unfortunate and that’s a

That’s a tough loss uh we got to be better I got to be better I missed two free throws and um I had a pretty good look from three and overtime but I think we just we got to give ourselves a chance and um play with better Pace the entire game I

Thought we did well for about three and a half quarters um down the stretch of the fourth I think we got a little congested you know tough tools not a lot of spacing we got to do a better job but for any other up set set good screens

Cutting hard and trying to play off misses it I think the last 3 minutes we weren’t getting stops either so we walking the ball up not being able to play off misses you guys are 5 and eight now in clutch games what are you kind of seeing

With the offense uh late in some of these fourth quarters where the execution kind of slips and allows some of these teams to come back and get the win yeah I mean I’m going to watch the film we got to be better I got to be better from an organization standpoint I

Think we we putting the ball in our best players hands we just about making sure the spacing is Right making sure that we have who we want to be the next pass just a little stuff like that um I thought we got some some decent looks and then some some possessions were

Awful so we just got to do a better job with the organization um then just figuring out matchup wise who we want who we want to be in the action um the difference in the game was they scored on possessions right you know they tried

To go to Jackson some they went to job some some job pick and roll but we were BL we were blitzing in Dublin so he had to kind of make make the rotation pass and then there’s a couple possessions where we didn’t get the um rebound so um

This a little stuff we got to we got to be better at and then we got to make shots down the stretch too like only so much that everybody can do we got to put the ball in the basket and is it at the point now where it’s kind of a a mental

Thing where it kind of feels like a Here We Go Again type of thing in some of these leg games um I thought I mean we were up double digits so we got to extend the league and um tonight it was just I mean it was a weird game with the

The circumstances and how it ended but we just we got to put the pass behind us really learn from the mistakes that we’ve made historically you know one game is turnovers and then some games it’s like execution tonight we miss shots I don’t think we turn the ball

Over down the stretch I have to watch the film but just figuring out how to get quality looks I feel like it’s a lot of tough congested contested shots um where guys are shooting over you know hands or shooting over the best play or there’s a double team coming late how do

We get our spacing better how do I make sure I’m you know spacing properly or calling the right action so you know just back to the drawing board watch the film talk to the guys and um figure out how we can all be better I think it

Starts with looking at yourself like how can how can I be better um I have some wide open threes I got to make got to make free throws you can only control like certain things right so not give up and ones um you know not help out of the

Strong side not give up offensive rebounds like those are the things if we do those things better if I do those things better gives us a better chance of winning Yeah you mentioned the free throws another game but the team misses double digit free throws just how you

Know frustrating is that that’s continue to be an issue in some of these Co games it’s frustrating especially like I got to make my free throw I’m you know career 81 82 uh can’t miss two in a row especially in the game where you got a

Chance to make it a one possession game so that’s on me we we practice we all work out we all shoot our free throws after practice we just got to lock in to make him um during the game but um you going to make her Miss shots I got to

Make my shots and I got to be more um Dependable down the stret of games but we got to do the other stuff better cuz you can’t rely on makes or misses like that’s going to happen they miss shots you know they a’t missed the free throw

He’s probably 90 85 90% so you going to miss shots but the efforts got to be there on the defensive end we got to rotate we got to communicate can’t give up transition baskets like that’s the stuff you really got control over you really can control communication you can

Control making the next pass you can control stepping up taking a charge or getting a contest but you going to miss shot sometimes but I think we got to do the other stuff better too so that if we not scoring we still getting stops see you talked about how it felt like things

Were more difficult like a lot of shots were contested how much do you feel inexperience plays A Part cuz you guys we talked about before you know of course you guys have barely play together as a group in in key minutes yeah I mean that’s a part of basketball I’m not

Going to make excuses will we play 14 games together maybe 13 games game together this season but we just got to got to communicate and we got to figure it out um I think that’s the bottom line like five and eight is unacceptable you know being up double digits in the

Fourth quarter you got to close um we got to win these types of games and um I guess it starts with one so we got to get one and then you got to ride the momentum and um go from there but I think it’s like you said before we’re

We’re a young team in terms of not having played together but you know how to play basketball you got to figure it out and we got to execute got a lot of you know guys who understand how to play the game so now it’s about putting it all together and executing down the

Stretch and just taking shots with confidence you going to make something you going to miss some but everything has to be done with force and with confidence in your previous experiences has that how it’s typically worked a young but talented team if you just get that first one maybe then you can get

That ball rolling yeah I mean I played I was in Portland for a long time so the continuity was different play calling was different and they played together from day one you know I mean so it was just a different level of understanding and what we wanted to accomplish in like

What sets the space what we wanted um so we’ll get there we got to continue to to collaborate continue to have conversations and continue to walk through stuff together like this is what I’m seeing what are you seeing and I think as you have those conversations it

Gets better we had some really good possessions on the stretch which was encouraging and we had some where we were like no this is this is unacceptable we got to be better um as long as we’re putting oursel in position to succeed like I can be comfortable

With the results but we got to make sure that we’re getting what we want in terms of the action in terms of the matchup like if you get what you want and you don’t score or you lose then you can live with that um but I don’t think we

Did that every time we did it sometimes but sometimes it was stagnant or we getting denied this is a good defensive team right they’re going to deny mess up the action so like what do we do after that and I think that’s the next step for us especially when you get towards

The um playoffs and playing against teams who are aggressive in a half court um you got to be able to get to the next action maybe there’s a play play call but like what is the next action if the play don’t work yeah CJ the last few

Minutes and over time’s going to get the Highlight but 20 points in the fourth quarter against Houston 19 to start the night tonight 23 in the fourth is it maybe something bigger there that needs to be addressing that the tweaks aren’t working they do something drastic because it’s more than just the crunch

Time what you say about the fourth today what was it I didn’t I didn’t watch the game yet 23 and the fourth tonight uh first in the first uh 19 in the first and then 20 in the four so we scored 19 in the first and 23 and the fourth

Correct that’s three quarters out of the last five that you’re not you’re better yeah uh I I got to watch the film but I mean you’re not going to win many games and not scoring in the fourth quarter unless you’re up 20 you know

What I mean so we got to be better some of it was just us missing shots some of that is missing shots and some of that is just lack of execution and the other part of it is we get stops in the second quarter we got some stops in the third

Quarter to extend the league so we’re able to get out runs he’s able to get play around the rim get Drive kick thre Dyson’s finishing herbs finishing run the basket so that makes the game easier when we’re playing with Pace we’re playing off of Misses I think in the

Fourth quarter in both games we wasn’t getting stopped singon was scoring around the basket or they was driving and kicking hitting shots then it’s a walk up and you playing against Houston who’s the top five defensive team you playing against Memphis who’s number one defensive team in the NBA since J’s back

So those are good defensive teams with Rim protection so it’s hard to score in a half court so you got to get stopped you got to make the game easier and I don’t think that we did that in those quarters and that’s why it’s harder to score for us schematically it looked

Like Zion was bringing the ball up more Point Zion experiment sets and you said at practice you want to see more movement were you happy with the movement today and at times I thought we had pretty good movement uh I think it’s just getting used to the spacing you

Know he’s going to be bringing the ball up a lot he’s going to have the ball finding matchups and getting downhill and we got to have proper spacing um to where you know there’s there’s driving angles there’s passing angles uh there’s ability for somebody else to make a play

If they have to um so we we’ll continue to watch the film and figure out how to get better from there

New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum’s post game interview after the Pelicans’ overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 26 during the 2023-24 NBA season.
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New Orleans Pelicans Roster
———————————————–
Jose Alvarado #15 Guard
Dyson Daniels #11 Guard
Kaiser Gates #12 Forward
Jordan Hawkins #24 Guard
Brandon Ingram #14 Forward
Herbert Jones #5 Forward
Kira Lewis Jr. #13 Guard
E.J. Liddell #32 Forward
Naji Marshall #8 Forward
CJ McCollum #3 Guard
Trey Murphy III #25 Guard
Larry Nance Jr. #22 Forward
Matt Ryan #37 Forward
Dereon Seabron #0 Guard
Jonas Valanciunas #17 Center
Zion Williamson #1 Forward
Cody Zeller #44 Forward-Center

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