LIVE: Pelicans vs. Suns Postgame Interviews 4/7/2024
e e e e [Music] congrats coach start your trip off on the right foot yes what what switched or what how did your team settle in after that first quarter they seem to control the ball better and and just get into a better Rhythm uh just I want to start off just by thanking God giving Glory to God and um that’s a that’s a fun team to have an opportunity to coach those guys are resilient and they know what we’re playing for and um this team has beat us twice pretty similar Booker you know hitting incredible shots and and we wanted to come out tonight and and um play with a level of toughness that we know is up to our standard and that’s what we did Zion both sides the ball tonight winning his bag offensively but we saw him play a lot of good defense too was that something you talked to him about is that something that that just came out of him naturally he’s been getting better and better um defensively as the season has progressed and Zam was he was everywhere I mean he was guarding the ball he was blocking shots coming up with Big Time offensive rebounds attacking the basket making his free throws um incredible performance he carried us the Devon Booker incident got you off the bench as well when people rush in like Dyson and Jose to defend to defen Z do you think that means something to him do you think it ticked off Z plays better type of a thing absolutely it definitely means something to him and uh he’s always ticked off he’s a competitor and you know when things happen our our our guys they they’re going to have each other’s backs that’s what they’re supposed to do and uh regarding Booker I mean he knows I got nothing but respect for for him he’s a competitor he brings it night in and night out and we really had to mix up our coverages and and be aggressive against him T made a 13 footer and a 15-footer I mean how much you like do you like to see him have the confidence hey I’m just going to take that jump shot when it’s there in a in a really important game huge shots and uh he’s capable of doing that you know just loosening the defense up by taking a few jumpers so it was good to see him knock down a few uh Jose back after five games you know how critical were those threes in the first half and just the overall energy Playbook Jose is a dang on Tasmanian devil on the floor and um it it was great to get him back get Zion back he he sparked the second unit hit big shots he’s causing all kind of ruckus on the floor and uh that’s that’s who he is and that’s what our team needed and just how crazy was it just to see not just the blocks but just how he went about you know getting them kind of soaring through the air the one he had against k at the end just the way he’s able to just get up and get some blocks that very few people can do in this league it it’s incredible to watch and um it never gets old when you see him make those type of spectacular plays uh great to have him back on the floor tonight and just huge win collectively by our group all every every guy that touched the floor today uh we played aggressive we played fast and you know with this type of Team you have to spread them out and go after them well this with Dyson with like four minutes into that game what do you think about you know Dyson how he fit in tonight uh it was great and it’s something I’ve been watching and studying and feeling for a long time and um you know we’re getting more and more comfortable playing a small unit and um you know we we got to continue to rebound we out rebounding them today and and that’s the goal is when we go small we play fast we open up the floor it’s harder for teams to load up the paint on us and you’ve seen a lot of the greates that have come through this League how important is it to to have these type of games where you’re back against the wall and to show up the way he did tonight and play you know perhaps you know the best game he’s ever played as a pro uh it’s it’s a credit to the character in our locker room it’s a credit to our our staff our entire staff uh not just coaches front office managers performance everybody we stick together uh through difficult times we don’t panic we don’t point the finger we stick together and we know we will come out of it better and sometimes you got to go through some difficulties which we we did and the timing wasn’t wasn’t great uh but this is a resilient group and I’ll just go ahead and ask him was that the best game You’ seen him play yet that was one of the best games I’ve seen him play especially with with where he is in in terms of playing as many games as he’s played this season that’s an accomplishment and uh we’re extremely proud of him so what you talk about small lineup uh was that a reaction that because it was a slow start for you guys a turn over and not many points or were you going to do that anyway uh it was just something I felt that we needed to do than e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e [Music] get the uh defense defensively I mean five blocks previous care high was three I mean what kind of Zone were you just like in on that end of the floor tonight you think um I was just real locked into the the game plan and you know they got a few players over there that just spay to spay they’re special players so you know I feel like if I was guarding one of them late in the game that’ll give my team energy yeah I mean you know five five games left including this one you come in tonight you know like obviously understanding the stakes but no one like I got to leave it all out there cuz there’s just you know not that much left depend on island Coast no absolutely uh it’s it’s that time of the season um you know me and Coach spoke and um we just taking it one game at a time every game for us is very important um we understand the situation we’re in and you know we going to play The Cars de and we’ve talked to you a few times about the strategy teams are throwing at you where they’re you know kind of parking their Center under the basket and waiting for you uh what was kind of key do you find in the response to that tonight um well it was JV um especially Dyson just the quick flash um the quick Flash and you know make yourself a threat to where you know whoever’s the help whoever the help Defender is they got that moment of hesitation cuz I can take advantage of that moment and in the fourth quarter uh it seemed like you really just had it on your mind that you wanted to take over what was kind of uh your mindset what were you looking at there at the end kind of close it out um I don’t remember which possession it was exactly but I don’t think we got the shot we won and I just I just looked at Larry and said find me just find me and uh I’ll make a I’ll make a play for us um like I said taking it one game at a time and my for taking one game at a time and just going out there and competing it’s always fun to watch your face after a big dunk or something like that but what about these violent blocks that just shut down the other team scoring what’s that like out there for you um I was just telling herb this the other day like you know when you see what he does on defense it’s inspiring um so it’s one of those now I need to elevate my defense and you know uh I was able to get some of those blocks cuz a help defender came over and kind of made the offensive player make another move take another step and that allowed me to just kind of recover two two mid-range jumpers tonight is that something you know you want to kind of incorporate into your game more and more uh absolutely um especially with how teams are guarding me um definitely just got to find a easier way to mix in some other buckets like that and we talk a lot about you know the journey you’re on to to become the type of player you want to be uh how important is it to have games like this and moments like this to kind of continue to take those steps up um it’s just kind of one of those moments uh you know people remember the greats because of key moments um whether it’s in the playoffs or key regular season win uh people remember moments and you know you know if I want to be one of those players I got to make it happen in those moments to the defense point you were sticking with Brad on a lot of possessions tonight guess how much pride do you take in being switchable and being able to guard anybody out there um I could definitely tell in the beginning of the Season that CU I’m an offensive player as well uh I could tell that uh the other team would try to hunt me on defense and you know I’m watching the film and I I didn’t like that so I just like I said watching her inspiring her Jose and Naji um so I just started taking a lot more pride in it and worked on it and continue to work on it as well so that if I get CAU up I can hold my own that you’re a lot of times initiating the offense this season being the finisher is there much more extra I guess intensity doing coming through and slashing and you know making those plays for yourself um it’s just kind of one of those at the end of the game make a play um sometimes it’s not the play is not going to get executed exactly how you want it to but uh you’re just kind of take it upon yourself and just say I’m about to make a play but also you guys are pretty much Suns and Pelicans are in similar predicament trying to avoid the playing tournament you know being in seventh and suns are in sixth obviously the dust up happened and there’s for a couple of years there since 21 playoffs do you guys basically feel that you’re pretty much in the same boat right now fighting just climb out of that laying spot absolutely and like I said it’s that time of the Season every game is important um so you know as a team we going to take it one game at a time but every game for us is important how important was was Jose in this one three easy hit in the defense he played on I mean I don’t think it’s a surprising anyone at this point um you know Jose has always carried himself you know as an underdog but I think he’s finding that transition into no like I I do this and his energy tonight I mean I said in my postgame interview y’all saw it uh you can’t you can’t teach that you can’t coach that um so you know I got to give a big shout out to Jose for the energy he brought tonight thanks problem you guys e you came out a man on a mission ready to make up for L time to man yeah I miss playing basketball in the in a high competitive level so yeah it was it was fun um obviously we need every win that we can you know the we know the circumstances of our situation and then also you know we want to play against really good team and we know Sons is one of them and you know DB gave us 50 every time you know this three what three in a row so we just wanted to maintain him I don’t know what he had he’s obviously a great player so he is going to score and affect the game but he didn’t have 50 so I know that so that’s what that’s what it’s really good you seem to take it personal when that Skirmish no yeah you know like those other the guys those those guys are the one of the best in the league you know dbook Brad Bill KD but everybody you know that whole team is really good but those guys you know they did a lot of Legacy things in the league and for me to be in the court is honor me to go at them and you know guard them and try to compete with them that’s that’s you know that’s what I play the game for what did you think of se’s Defense to amazing you know um I told him in the beginning of the game your dog is back like you know I’m I’m going I’m I got you and you know he did his thing today you know play good defense and won us a game seemed like a big part of the game plan was putting you on book just to kind of get up on what was kind of your focus I asked I asked him I said you know let me guard him you know let me get him frustrated let me take my fouls let me get him tired he’s a good player he’s going to score you know but um try to just make everything difficult for him and uh you know uh we did a good job I guess for him to have 25 points you know you know if I had 25 I think I have a good game you know for him we we made sure that’s probably a good a bad 25 but he you know I want I want know that assignment he talked about you know you having that Underdog mentality but also getting to the point where you’re like no I’m just him I can I can play like that I guess how how how far have you kind of come getting to that point where you really just playing with that confidence consistently yeah you know um just compete you know I I want to do what I do best and you know obviously I got good energy you know I’mma play defense but don’t get a twisted I could I could hoop and I think my teammates believe in me you know my coaching staff believe in me and that’s who I believe in myself you know and that’s the biggest thing for me there’s a team what’s the biggest key to kind of Defending Kevin cuz it’s just like getting up under him and forcing him off the spot it’s hard KD is the best scorer probably in the league you know is the best scorer in the NBA um you just got to maintain him you know um be try to be physical with him and then you know hope he miss sometimes and you know and let that affect him what does that mean your dog’s back you know like a a guy that’s going to go out there and do the little things and you know bring that energy and make sure when I’m running full speed you know if you you know if you know he he got a lot of love for us and he not going to just jog if I’m full speed so he going to run full speed with me so that’s what I mean by that good was it him see him take those two jumpers tonight it looked good you know I was excited on the sideline you see is you know he work on that a lot and to finally see that right now is is is is a good thing is there mentality coming into this game guys are down two games into this three Game season series that we’re not losing to these guys they came and gave it to us twice at our place yeah that was you know we didn’t want to lose to them again you know they they punked us twice and we know that and we we came in here and said that’s one thing they can’t do regardless of the outcome it is win or lose they not they can’t come in here and punk us and you know obviously like I said they a good team we came out we competed with them um the uh the standards is tight you know we see it you know we know it you know we obviously lost games that you know we felt like we we could have won and we did the right things and you know now we got what four games left and we got to probably wi forward them to hopefully make the playoff rank among the best games you seen Z play so far this is probably one of them um I haven’t watched the the film but man he did a lot of things you know I he protected he played defense everybody say you want z z you know on that U like let’s see he played defense he did it today what do you make of that block that he had on Kevin where he just punched it you know with you about just four minutes left or or even the play where he tightened up and you ripped him twice but was called for that foul the second time in basketball it shows that he’s he cares he shows that he want to win you know um like I say he he he want to compete he want to he want to win like that’s way he shows you do the little things and he’s doing that he’s doing little things the big things and you know uh he’s doing a lot he’s doing he’s doing a good job how does CJ’s uh shooting help open you up for those you know five I mean teams is going to probably leave me open Bes before they leave CJ open so I got to make them pay and I know that I’m okay with it cuz then it makes my job easier I can make an open shot I can make a contested shot I can make a pressure shot that’s I know that I practice and I work hard than apprciate y’all be good e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e my my peoples CJ when you look back at this one uh what was the Difference Maker in this one versus the previous matchups of his sons I thought we got off to a better start um we were more aggressive uh better defensively didn’t give up uh 20 30 40 50 points in the first quarter um got some stops and I think that was the difference speaking of defense what do you think got Z going so so hot on that side of the ball tonight I think it’s the contact he gets on offense throughout the game consistently I think that gets him going um defensively and he plays with more energy uh was more assertive block shots rebounded the ball and obviously finish around the basket as well see and uh Trey talked about like kind of an offensive adjustment of having Dyson flesh and there do you feel like that helped just what I guess you know loosened up the defense tonight against the third coverage yeah Dyson was great he defended well like he always does he hit some big shots for us timely three some great floaters um Jose he was big for us uh knocked down some threes for us brought energy defensively and we got to all figure out ways to contribute towards winning and and do what we can uh to provide good spacing for uh for big fella when you okay considering just how tough the past week or so has been how big was this one for yall just to kind of get some positive vibes on yeah I mean we we had a good good practice table where you know coach just basically told us we just got to go out there and hoop man and have fun and just enjoy the moment and I think we did that we got off to a better start after the first few minutes and you know every game is a must win game so I think it’s just the mentality of just playing hard and trusting your talent executing and playing for your teammate and you know outside of that that terrible loss against the Spurs we lost to some good teams so it’s just about you know competing at a high level and giving yourselves a chance and I thought we did that tonight and just I mean you’ve seen a lot of the greats in this league when you’re trying to you know take that Journey up to to that you know height how important is to have games like Z did tonight you know against an opponent like that in a moment like that to play the way he did yeah it’s important that’s what greatness is all about it’s about seizing the moment it’s about utilizing your talents and your strengths and uh not being afraid I think he was great you know BL shots he was great defensively finish around the basket made his free throws hit a couple pull-ups and close the game out for us and that’s what we’re going to need when you played uh in the first quarter and you guys were down by 10 your shot was going for you did you feel that that kind of started to open up z a little bit more being that the focus was more to close out on you yeah I just try to be aggressive and take advantage of space take advantage of pace and and close outs and as as the season progresses I got to be aggressive especially to start games on the road cuz you know we don’t have fans in the building um there’s not a lot of momentum and you got to create your own juice and I thought we did that tonight when you have uh Z playing this late in the season for basically first time in his career how much do that do for you guys’ confidence as you guys are trying to avoid the play like the suns are yeah it’s just about you know getting healthy you know we still we still are completely healthy we miss Naji tonight obviously be hasn’t played in a little while so as we continue to become more whole I think we become more dangerous how does happened Jose out there change you as a team aggressive um great mentality not afraid of the moment not afraid to defend not afraid to take shots and uh we need the energy for sure and was it about this team we’ve seen it a few times this year you know uh just able to dig deep and respond to adversity uh a lot of teams kind of crumble in certain moments but it seemed like y’all back against the wall have responded you know more than once this season yeah I think that’s a testament to the type of players we have type of guys that we have their Journey their stories what they’ve been through to get to this point and then our staff bringing the best out of us when it matters e e
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Phoenix Suns post game interviews with head coach Willie Green and Pelicans players as they recap their game on Sunday, April 7 during the 2023-24 NBA season.
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New Orleans Pelicans Roster
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Jose Alvarado #15 Guard
Dyson Daniels #11 Guard
Kaiser Gates #12 Forward
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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