Dallas Mavericks’ Derrick Jones Jr. Interview Before NBA Finals vs Boston Celtics

Dallas Mavericks’ Derrick Jones Jr. Interview Before NBA Finals vs Boston Celtics

why you think everything so uh I guess I probably just took took full advantage of the opportunity that I had uh my coaches and my teammates trusted in me a lot this season and it just worked out for me what has G on through your mind since this past THS you got spot in the NBA final I what have you done nothing has been going through my mind I’m just I’m ready to play that’s it’s all I’m all all that’s going through my mind is I’m ready to play that every game is tough uh you got to go out there with that I guess a game seven mentality and you never know what you going to you never know what you going to get from the game you just got to go out there and give it everything that you have and just live with the results did you find that the Step Up from the Conference Finals to the finals a step up man of course yeah this is definitely going to be a lot more intense but we just got to fight through it and and just play the game that we need to play do you relish this opportunity to go up against two of the best offensive talents in the leag talk about Jason T and Jay Brown that need to you to have this opportun to be able to go against two the best in the league I’m just I’m just happy that we still playing basketball I really I don’t care who we playing against I just want to go out there and play get wins oh way when you look at the match what you see you’re uh I mean they good offensive players just got to like I said before with all the other Seasons I mean all other series just got to keep them from their spots and try to limit them to the shots that they like to take before the last series we asked PJ about the underdog mity he said we don’t play underdogs you guys are confident what do you think is like the reason for that mindset you guys don’t feel like feel so comforable uh we we believe that we could beat anybody I I don’t that Underdog I don’t like that really but I mean they everybody gonna keep putting that narrative on us we go out there and we play the game like we supposed to play and I don’t really think anybody can beat us in the seven game series I asked Lively this about the plane ride back I most saw the photo guys around uh what was that besides the storm uh I it just guys just enjoying enjoying the win together and just knowing that we knowing that we got we got another another goal and ahead of us and just’s getting four more wins so we all we we uh that’s all we prepared to do and and just ready to get get it done you guys have more almost all team combined in thef this year what is it about the LA done take us through why is so successful we got athletes we got players that you could just put the ball up in the air and they going to go get it no matter where you put it at me live gav PJ Josh whenever we whenever we get him and sometimes Kai when he on the break you know we throw Kai some lobs too but like I said we got athletes we just got players that that that know they role and and love to run the floor would you look back when you signed the MS in August and where you are now has worked out better than you could have imagined hell yeah way better I mean I I could have I could have accepted my player option in Chicago and still been on a team that that’s not in the playoffs right now but I mean I just decided to bet on myself and and I took I took less money to come here but the money wasn’t the problem the money wasn’t the issue I just wanted to have the opportunity to be on the floor and to Showcase what I’m able to do and it happened for me free ABC usually goes fast what was it like just to have to wait until AUST to know where you were playing uh for me I didn’t I don’t know it was it was nerve-wracking I guess I just didn’t know what was about to happen like I know where I was going I didn’t know who was who was on who was I know who was interested really because it was just that whole that whole trade with d it was just it just shut everything down for a lot of players but like I like I had I talked to Coach kid and and he told me once I once I sign and if I if I was to come here I was going to have to work for everything and that’s what I did is it kind of funny that the other team yeah I mean yeah it is kind of funny but I’m just glad I made it I’m glad I made the decision that I did and I came here sometimes uh not really I mean a little probably a little bit louder and probably say a couple word that you don’t like but that’s that’s every fan that’s every Arena you you hear things that like people say things that they they shouldn’t say but I mean I’m in between those lines I’m playing a game of basketball I really don’t I really don’t care what everybody else got to say that’s not in between those lines with me you beat up you said what you beat up with the I just I find it funny I mean I I really don’t care what people got to say whatever people got to say they got to say it you can’t change what they going to say as long as they ain’t touching me and and putting their hands on me I ain’t got no problem with it you can say whatever you got to say it’s a free World um we just stay we stay with each other and stay close through the thick and thin when things going bad we huddle up and we talk whenever team go on a little run we always telling each other we taking their punch now it’s time to give ours ain’t no need to to to fold and and just shy away from the pressure because that’s not what we going to do we going to keep fighting when you think back to beginning of all this and that big goofy guy with a name similar to yours walks through the door and kind of get to know him could you see like didon what did yeah uh I mean since since day one when when D came in here we we knew that he could be special and and the kid was he came in here here 19 running the floor he got a lot of energy rebound the ball at a at a high level and mean that’s all we could expect from him that’s all we could ask him he he did it throughout the whole season for us and for a rookie that’s that’s yeah that that’s great I mean I I love it but next year we we expec him to step up and we expec him to step up even more in the finals right now did he surprise everybody need develop uh I mean probably a little bit probably a little bit of surprise for for for a couple people but I mean the ones that was ones that’s been in the gym with him every day we know what he capable of we see it every day so it’s not really a surprise for us there are a lot of narratives heading into the finals what is one thing that you wish Med fans focus on I really don’t that’s up to y’all to focus on whatever y’all want to focus on I’m I know my team me and my teammates we focus on going in the boss getting one win at a time and and then taking it back home and getting it one win at a time but I really I don’t know what what the media should think about this series but I know it’s going to be a fun one do you think you made job former uh I would hope so but uh no I just like I said job not done I still I still got a little bit more that I can give and hopefully I can get a little bit more I know Mar doesn’t play a lot but what do he me to this te notel everything I mean where’s the wisdom he’s been to the finals he’s won a championship uh he actually beat me in the championship when we was in the bubble so I mean now he he has a lot of wisdom with his game and he he teaches us a whole bunch I mean even though he’s not out there playing with us we all we all see that that ke is well able to be out there playing with him but I mean he he he just takes that role he has and he flourishes with it he he lets everybody know what he sees out there and I mean he’s been helping me tremendously this year times when I was times when I was upset I was a little bit out of my head he was the one that brought me back and that’s one thing I always thank him for thank you guys

Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. spoke to reporters before Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

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