Willie Green recaps loss to Memphis | Pelicans-Grizzlies Postgame 12/19/2023
Pelicans Head Coach Willie Green
On second half defensive problems:
“I thought our second half defense was poor, and it was like they were scoring possession after possession. 36 points in the third quarter, 38 points in the fourth, and they win the game by two. But it’s the little things, the things we talk about every day that we didn’t do. 17 second chance points in a two-point game – that is a big difference, 17-8, so, we have to finish possessions, we have to get stops, and when we did, they got offensive rebounds, they got into our paint, and so, we definitely had a letdown defensively in the second half.”
On Brandon Ingram’s performance:
“BI was great. He made plays for himself, for his teammates, made big basket after big basket. Unfortunately, we just didn’t do enough to come out with the win.”
Zion Williamson talks tough loss | Pelicans-Grizzlies Postgame 12/19/2023
Pelicans Forward Zion Williamson
On what Ja Morant was able to do in the second half:
“He was able to do whatever he wanted.”
On what allowed Ja Morant to score so much in the second half:
“Ja (Morant) was able to get downhill a lot. Him doing that opened up the game for the rest of them.”
CJ McCollum on loss to Memphis | Pelicans-Grizzlies Postgame 12/19/2023
Pelicans Guard CJ McCollum
On the team’s second half performance:
“We did not get any stops. When we did get stops, we did not get the defensive rebounds. We had 17 offensive rebounds, they turned to points. It is hard to win games when you don’t rebound and secure the ball. It is hard enough to stop guys in the league once. So, it is almost impossible to stop them two or three times in the possession. Guys are too good. So, we have to do a better job of rebounding, tracking the ball. That was part of it. Not finishing, missing layups, had some turnovers, I think that was a part of it. Understanding they are going to trap ball screens, we just got to make better reads, better decisions. I got to get us better stuff. I have to find better matchups for us down the stretch that we can live with the results, as opposed to doing what they wanted us to do.”
On Ja Morant’s performance tonight:
“He is very good. That is why he got a signature shoe. That is why gets paid. He is one of the best players in the NBA. He is fresh. He been working out, he been waiting on this opportunity for weeks. You know he was going to be aggressive. He was going to go downhill, when he is not fresh. He is going to be really aggressive when he is allowed to kind of get into the paint. Do what he does. We were in the bonus three minutes into a quarter, it is really hard. It is very difficult to guard in this league, when you are in the bonus so early. I thought tonight was one of those nights where it was a tough game for us defensively, especially in the second half. I thought we had a unique whistle tonight.”