CJ McCollum on being able to control your own destiny | Pelicans vs. Magic Postgame 4/3/24

CJ McCollum on being able to control your own destiny | Pelicans vs. Magic Postgame 4/3/24

Yeah for you you know in the in the fourth quarter did it feel like anything changed to allow you to to get into a little bit of Rhythm there anything like that no I was just more decisive made some open shots created a little bit

More space but I mean I had some great looks in the first half I missed two floaters in and out two threes in and out um it happens I got to get off the better starts but I think for us collectively we were just more aggressive got to be aggressive

Throughout the game game and uh sense of urgency you need need a sense of urgency um earlier in the games and I think that’ll be the difference for us going forward yeah for you guys this is another a second game in a row with a pretty low three-point attempts I think

You guys were under 30 was there anything they were they were doing tonight to just like limit you guys from the AR I mean they’re a good defensive team I think they’re ready the second best defensive team in the NBA so like they they make you play in the yard um

They load up on the paint and they close out well um they do a good job of playing well lot of scrambles and some of it was us missing shots some of it was them just playing good defense but I think you know these last six games we

Playing against good teams you know good defensive teams they got good offense they got you know star Powers so we’re not going to get open looks all the time if it comes more of a half court game and that’s why it’s really important you get stopped so you can get out running

Transition and be more free and obviously you know guys going to be pissed about losing uh but how would you assess just where the guys are right now does this kind of feel different than some of the lows y’all experienced earlier season I mean we got

45 wins with six games left it’s not the end of the world you we would have liked to win more games at home during this home stand we would like to have clinched the playoffs already but if you would have told me we got six games left

Before the playoffs starts and we got a way to control our own destiny I would to say I’ll take that so I mean you got to look at it um two ways right you know we got to be better obviously we got to uh get back to the basics but it’s also

You know not the end of the world we lost some games um some games that we feel like we should have won but still games left to be played we still have a say in how this season is going to finish up for us and we still have

Control um over over how we play and and hopefully we can get some wins and and lock in this playoff seed and does it feel like there something that’s kind of connected these losses that that y’all need to address whether it be offensively or just just focus or

Execution just do you think there’s something like bigger picture y’all need to uh I mean I the game just ended I got I haven’t even watched the game yet so I have to watch the game but I mean we gave up 117 points we had what seven technicals so that’s seven free throws

That’s 110 and that’s that’s not a bad defense tonight gave up 26 in the fourth a lot of technical free throws we was in a bonus early in the first quarter um so we just got to do a better job of guarding smarter we guard well but we

Got to guard smarter getting in foul trouble early getting them in the bonus early makes it harder to play defense but I mean that second quarter we gave up 34 points gave up 33 and the third you know that was the difference in the game really um so we got to be better

Defensively and I think from our offensive standpoint um continuing to play point five getting downhill you know I had you know four turnovers I think it’s the little stuff right like I can’t control me making or missing shots you know I I get my work in every day uh

I watch film I pride myself on being prepared but I can control for a turnover so I think it’s about us just figuring out collectively individually how can we be better for our team how can we can control some of those things and you know making the mission

Shots is a part of the game but we got to be better at the things that we can actually control and what was kind of the reactions to seeing three guys tossed at the end of the game you know back to back to back like yeah that was tough

Um this is an emotional game you know everything you know that happened probably shouldn’t have happened but we got to be better and I think some of it was questionable questionable ejection you I don’t know what Trey said I think Trey said something but then I was by Dyson

When Dyson got thrown I don’t think that he should have been ejected for that uh for what was said he didn’t say a curse word or anything um he just agreed with what Trey said and he threw him out so I was like that’s kind of tough you know I

Think you know they obviously wanted to get control of the game but it’s 7 seconds left now like it’s the deed is done you know let the game end and let us go home but we got to to be better it’s a it’s a growth moment for us um to

Learn you got you got to win with class you got to lose with class and it’s a part of it and obviously we was all frustrated we all wanted to win but I credit them they played well and they beat us CJ do you feel like some of the

Frustrations came from stuff that happened earlier in the game like for instance I know I think Gary Harris may have slipped but he still took Z out from underneath his feet yeah I mean it looked it looked dirty but I know G we all know G he’s not a dirty player but

It it looked it looked bad and you know I fou sucks and I’m sure it looked bad but we all just trying to compete and trying to win at the end of the day we’re going to protect each other and protect our teammates and and do what we

Can to to win the game and you know I don’t I don’t necessarily think that was the issue I think it was a collective 48 minutes of inconsistencies throughout the game where I think that just that that causes frustration sometimes because um since since what January or February the game

Has been referee different right like I mean I it’s no secret it’s it’s the least amount of free throw attempts per game since 1930 1940 since before it was the NBA so the game is being refereed differently right so we’ve adjusted to that and then you have a game like

Tonight where they calling fils like it’s pre- January so it’s just confusing and I think that’s the the frustration and the in the frustrating part is like yo we’ve been guarding like this for like 20 games and it’s these aren’t fouls you know for those 20 games we

Played and now these are fouls and then we get guarded the same way and it’s like it’s just it’s just confusion I think we just got to get a better understanding of how the game is going to be caught every night cuz tonight was different than how it’s been like I shot

11 free throws I went five games and I shot three free throws through five games I had multiple five game stretches where I wouldn’t shoot free throws for three or four games if I’m shooting the ball 20 times a night I’m I somebody’s hitting me at some point right so I

Think that’s that’s why it was it was just we were just a little confused um with how the game was being officiated tonight a lot of young younger guys on the D are you pretty confident that that mentally they able to fight oh yeah we’ll be fine man we’ll be fine we know

What what needs to be done they they here for a reason

New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum speaks to the media following the team’s game against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, April 3, 2024.

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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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