Willie Green recaps win vs. Dallas | Pelicans Mavericks Postgame 10/25/2022
Pelicans Head Coach Willie Green
On defending Luka Dončić and the plan going into the game to defend him:
“Yeah, that was the plan, to pick him up full court, continue to throw bodies at him, take the ball out of his hands when we can, contest all of his shots (and) just make it tough. Like I said, he’s a great player and he’s going to score points. Let’s not get frustrated, and (we) have to have the next play mentality, which we did tonight. Once again, truly proud of our group and thankful and blessed to come out tonight and get this win.”
On CJ McCollum’s performance tonight:
“I saw CJ battling. It’s not his best shooting night but he did other things for us. Got guys involved - 11 assists and then when it counted in late game situations, we put the ball in his hands and he delivered. Very proud of him.”
CJ McCollum on teammates stepping up | Pelicans Mavericks Postgame 10/25/2022
Pelicans Guard CJ McCollum
On the shot he made in the fourth quarter to get himself going:
“I put in a lot of work on my game with shooting the basketball and getting to my spots. Sometimes, the ball doesn’t go in for you, and that’s just a part of the process, and you just continue to fall in love with the work. I just needed to see one go in. I got some good looks tonight, but I give credit to our team. They played really well tonight. Guys stepped up and made shots. They made plays, and defensively, I thought we played a much better game, especially down the stretch with rebounding and getting stops. I didn’t get scored on for the game-winner tonight, so it was a better night.”
On Dyson Daniels stepping up and guarding Luka Dončić in tonight’s game:
“He’s a very hard worker. He’s one of the guys that gets to the gym early. I pull up, and I get there pretty early, but I see his car there. I see him stretching and getting his shots in with Fred Vinson. He’s doing what he’s supposed to do to stay ready for these types of moments. I think, he was known as a defender coming into the draft, and he showed a willingness and eagerness to defend, but he also showed that he can finish around the basket. He’s explosive, athletic, and his shot has continued to improve because he puts in the work for it. I’m happy to see him get minutes, and I’m happy to see him deliver and play well. He showed that he gives us another element of versatility on the offensive and defensive end.”
Trey Murphy III talks perfect night in win | Pelicans Mavericks Postgame 10/25/2022
Pelicans Guard/Forward Trey Murphy III
On the significance of this win tonight while not having three starters available:
“It’s just next man mentality. I talked about that earlier today and said that guys are willing to step up, and we have a lot of guys on our team and a lot of depth. It just shows that we’re a team that’s resilient. That’s what I said last year, and it’s carrying over to this year.”
On Jose Alvarado’s energy and what it’s like to practice against him:
“We can even throw it back to college when I used to play against him at Virginia. I hated playing against Jose (Alvarado). He was just so annoying. I couldn’t stand him. Even my parents and my cousins couldn’t stand him. That just shows the type of player he was, and now he’s on my team. I just love him to death. I love playing with Jose (Alvarado). He’s one of those players where you hate to play against him and love to have him on your team. Everybody needs one of those guys on the team.”