Willie Green on preparations, recent success | New Orleans Pelicans Practice 1/21/24

Willie Green on preparations, recent success | New Orleans Pelicans Practice 1/21/24

Well it’s kind of a weird week where it’s like got I think three days in between games and two game two days in between games um is that change of preparation I mean how do you how do you use that week that’s just a regular it

Allows us to get in the gym and and work a bit more especially going up and down against each other on on some of our Concepts some areas that we’re we know we’re doing well in we can we can touch on them and then some improvement areas

For us yeah when you look at these last two three weeks I I think you guys won eight of 12 I mean winning but you know you guys have played against some like Western Conference contenders like when you look at those games against Denver Clippers the Suns like is that like kind

Of measuring stick games for y all yeah we we haven’t performed well and against some of the better teams in the west like you said um at least the last like you said 12 games Denver tough loss on their home floor the Clippers before that and then Phoenix and um it’s it’s

An opportunity for us to learn grow come back watch film work on some of the cont Concepts and make sure that we’re prepared for those those type of games and those moments is there any common denominator you see in those losses uh it’s a tendency for us that

When teams make shots um you know we can allow that to disrupt just our whole flow of a game like teams are going to make a few shots let continue to get the ball out of the bounds get down the floor and execute and then when teams uh when they’re physical against us

Defensively when they got the hand on us they’re physical they’re top locking um sometimes that stagnates us a bit and just talking to our guys today that’s when we have to trust more more cutting more screening getting to your spots re rebounding the ball getting out playing

And you know when we do it we’re we’re in better shape Willie overall the numbers look good both defensively and offensively but for some reason it seems like the defense in the second half is when you look closely it really slips from what you see in the first half do

You have any explanation for that I don’t we we got to come out of halftime come out of out of the locker room with the same intentions that we had in the first half it’s it’s something that we’re aware of like you said we we have

All the numbers we talk to our team about it and the best thing we can do is get on the floor and work on them and and even that includes a starting lineup right they come out it seems like they have a really good impact first quarter

But then it kind of just tails off and even in the fourth quarter it doesn’t right itself do you think that’s maybe kind of a systemic issue or is it just being Lex can can you point to maybe why that cohesion and that chemistry just isn’t out there where it performs or you

Guys perform well I think we’re we’re all still trying to figure it out and the and the biggest thing for us when I when I say figure it out is figure out we’re having good first halfes not as much in the second half and um those are

Things that we’re looking at looking at the numbers how can we be better talking about it watching film on it working on it but it’s the consistency and to be a top tier team in this league you have to be consistent and that’s an improvement

Area for us we know it and and you know everything is on the table in terms of the possibilities moving forward with that talked a little bit about the after the Phoenix game about the need for the starters to just be better defensively as a unit um what what areas

Specifically can can those five improve on the defensive every area we we’re not guarding uh the first five minutes of the game they they know it I’ve told them I’ve talked to them about it we can score that unit has shown the ability to score but we have

To do a better job defensively so you know it’s something that we just got to continue to work on we even have to be open to mixing up some of some of the the starting lineup the matchups and what have you and and see what we get

But we have enough data on it now to know that it’s an issue and we’re working on it do you feel like this week is like you know you could try some different things or anything like that at any given time for sure at any given

Time but right now we want to give them a chance to correct it but we’re we’re at the point where everything’s on the table and have these practices given you a chance Willie to work with the guys a little bit more than you usually would

Be able to it has having three days in between having another game and then two days it it really gives us a Time chance and time to watch film talk about it have a day of rest have two practice days where we can work on some of our

Concepts and talking about the numbers obviously being a top 12 offensive team and being able to share the ball as well as you as you have um how much is that I guess emphasized especially when you talk about that Suns game where they got a little bit more physical and maybe it

Wasn’t the same habit of sharing the ball that’s the growth that’s the growth for our team you know like you said we we know we have the capability of doing it it’s can we be consistent enough even against the top tier teams to manage a team making tough shots on us manage

When teams are physical and we still execute on both ends of the floor and and the biggest thing is continue to trust each other and um our guys have shown the ability to do it there a lot of positives going on with this team as far as offensively

And defensively but those are areas we’re looking at because we want to be really good against the best teams as well I’m just curious how do you manage the pace that game uh whatever day it was against Suns they the pace was crazy in that first quarter how do you like

Manage just hey we might need we might need a calm down I think you were playing in Booker’s you know Booker’s hands at that point do you just kind of like how do you manage that and say man let’s let’s slow the pace down try to try to

Minimize his his possessions I I don’t think slowing it down would have did anything he he he was at the point where he had it going that’s on us though a part of a big part of it is him he’s talented uh and then some of it was us

Just not coming out with the physicality that we needed to to start the game not executing our game plan at a high level and with Force it’s one thing to just do it but we can’t go go through the motions I thought for a bit we were

Guarding them we were blitzing them but they didn’t fill us to start the game and once he once a good player like that get it going it’s hard to shut that water off uh so those are the things that we talked about and we want to

Continue to get up and down cuz we want teams to have to catch us too uh but we didn’t do a good job of managing when they did make tough shots okay let’s continue to come down and execute on both ends the Jazz are a team that

You’ve seen a couple times but they’re playing really good basketball right now what have you seen from them that’s maybe made a difference like you said they they put strung together wins uh they’ve gotten back into sort of the postseason Race by being close to 500

Lost a tough one last night but they’ve been playing well they sharing the ball they shooting threes um they’re healthy they got all the guys playing on the floor and uh they’ve presented some tough matchups for us we lost two games at their you know at their place and now

We got an opportunity for them to come here and get one on our home floor and how much does like with this week and the rest how much does that help before you go on the road for like eight of the next nine after those 200 it’s helpful

For sure I mean we spent 10 11 Days on the Road come back and play Charlotte Phoenix so we needed some time at home some time to practice some time to to watch some film and and continue to work and uh you know we look forward to it paying off against Utah

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green’s post-practice interview on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024 at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center.
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New Orleans Pelicans Roster
———————————————–
Jose Alvarado #15 Guard
Dyson Daniels #11 Guard
Jordan Hawkins #24 Guard
Brandon Ingram #14 Forward
Herbert Jones #5 Forward
E.J. Liddell #32 Forward
Naji Marshall #8 Forward
CJ McCollum #3 Guard
Trey Murphy III #25 Guard
Larry Nance Jr. #22 Forward
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl #50 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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