Zion Williamson on defensive improvement, Herb Jones | Pelicans vs. Bucks Postgame 3/28/24

Zion Williamson on defensive improvement, Herb Jones | Pelicans vs. Bucks Postgame 3/28/24

Team um just staying consistent and uh trusting our game and also just uh attacking the basket that helped a lot uh you you got a pretty high on the pick and roll defense against Dame there late in the game you know just how are you feeling as a um you know defender in

Space you know in the past few weeks and tonight you already know what I’m about to say man you tell me man what do you think I’m I’m actually curious like you can say z i I don’t think it’s there like what do you think I’m curious I

Thought it looked great you know what I can accept that I can accept that uh yeah yeah I’ve been feeling pretty good on defensive end I know there are things I still definitely didn’t improve on but um especially when like our guards like herb and N are fighting over a screen

And trying to get back uh got to do the best I can to at least hold the guard off as much as possible so I definitely feel like there’s been improvements there for me yeah you you were like the primary defender on Giannis um you know

A lot in that game just you know what is that that challenge like of having done check that guy man uh I thought I attack the basket I mean he attacks with force and then he gets to the free throw line and I think he missed his first few but

Then he started knocking him down but uh he has a high motor um I got to give him his respect on that he has a high motor and he’s always on the attack so I said it in my postgame interview um I love competing against him I mean

He’s a competitor and like I said these games we got I’m excited for each one just taking it game by game yeah you said after that OKC game a couple nights ago I I got a demand the ball more late in those late in the game uh how would

You just assess the way you handled uh those late game situations tonight you tell me man come on what what you think what you think I want to hear y like I said you can be real say h i don’t think it was there but what you

Think a you you got to the basket that was important got to got to make the free throws that’s good and I’m telling you but you got to the basket what was I from the free throw today 10 and 16 ah 13 16 would have been better but um

Yeah uh said the last game um you know me and CJ talked about it if uh you know if we’re going to lose certain games just at least we want to do it the right way knowing that we got the shots we wanted so that was the emphasis on

Tonight and we’re able to get the win and it’s been a learning process all year for y’all in those late game situations where do you feel like y’all have made the most progress and where do you feel like y’all need to still improve um we definitely made progress progress with uh executing with

Force but where the Improvement for us is is being consistent with it like if we have four games in a row where they’re late games instead of having one out of four where we executed like three out of four four out of four is what we are aiming

For and uh JB Larry n say combined for 26 points 17 rebounds just how big Z was that coming off of an OPC game where you guys were actually outrebounded by a smaller team was close rebounding um that was for us uh especially with JV uh his

Energy was there from the start and then um Larry especially on the defensive end just like playing in coverage and able to kind of cat and mouse uh the big and the guard uh is definitely great for us so those two had a really great game and

Trey had 11 rebounds tonight how much has he improved in that department in your eyes I know we’ve asked you I think probably a few times over the last month or so uh he’s definitely in Pro cuz man there are some rebounds where I’m like

Oh I got it and there go murf soaring in but uh n he’s definitely uh he’s put some energy into that and uh it’s been showing over time Milwaukee is kind of unique where like Brook just sits in the paint the whole game um and just want to know like when when they

Have someone doing that plus with with a like you know someone like Giannis provides and they’re kind of a big team just how are you navigating those spaces and and like what’s your decisionmaking process when you see like okay there there’s a lot of people in the paint how

Should I navigate this versus spray out to to Shooters and that kind of stuff uh it’s a there’s a lot of things to look at um a few would be uh not just looking at where Brooke is um if Yannis is guarding me then I know he’s not

Tracking me from somewhere else it’s looking at where the rest of the help defense is because some teams when I attack the gaps they’ll kind of hedge and then get back to my Shooters other teams will stay there and let me pass it to my Shooters but um with a combo like

Giannis and Brook you almost got to like kind of play at their feet cuz if uh they’re if they’re there and they can just jump straight up it’s real difficult to try to finish shots over them so it’s just kind of playing at their feet and just

Getting it right angles and timing it right is it is it one of those things you kind of have to like bring the contact to them you got to finish through rather than like over uh bringing the contact to them I know sometimes I do it but you know the refs

Aren’t going to give me those calls cuz I initiated the contact so like I said it’s just kind of finding those angles and just kind of knowing which when to attack and just one more thing on on the defensive end like all season long you’ve been really good in those

Situations where you are heding out like you know 20 30 ft from the basket just tonight uh you had a lot of different coverages what went into process late game you know D bringing you off for a pick and roll cool like all night you guys have played it one way but right

Now we’re about to hedge this you know what I got to give her all credit on that I’m talking about like as he was bringing the ball up the court herb goes we’re about to hey Blitz him on this one and I was going to like kind

Of turn around and ask the coaches like are we blitzing but I mean the way he said I was like you know what I let’s let’s Blitz him uh so yeah no I got to give her all credit on that he he made that call and

Um you know we were just able to executed and you used to uh people taking charges on you what was kind of going through your mind when Y is coming at you and you try to take the charge right there and was it a Char I think the refs did the best they

Could with the car and I mean I fully agree with it but I thought I was there I thought I was there that might have been my first charge since I was like 12 but they they took it away from me that was crazy but uh I knew he was trying to

Get downhill so I was just trying to anticipate like which way he would go and just try to sell it but I didn’t get there in time it’s I know every game in NBA is is tough but what is this this the stretch of games

With top three teams in the east in the Western Conference man how does this kind of prepare you all for the playoffs when you look at OKC um because uh these games are definitely playoff atmosphere like type games um you know every every game matters and I’ve said that in interviews where you

Know uh how many games we got left 10 nine um each game matter especially with how the standings are so I don’t know what’s going on in the East too much but every game matter for us and I know every game probably matter for them so the intensity is definitely gearing up

Towards playoffs so I think that’s why I definitely enjoy these games so much are you watching the standings a lot are you like paying attention uh like I said I take it game by game and I mean we got to put ourselves in a great position so that mean we have to

Win but honestly whatever cards have dealt us I’m try to make something shakee

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson speaks to the media following the team’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, March 28, 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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