Pelicans Head Coach Willie Green
Willie Green recaps win vs. OKC | Pelicans Thunder Postgame 11/28/2022
On being able to pull out a scrappy win:
“Those are the type of games that we relish. Guys are out and we believe in each other. Guys had opportunities to play more minutes and some guys that don't play a ton had an opportunity to play. We went into practice and shootaround with the mindset that we were coming in and trying to take away some things that they do well, which is points in the paint. So, I’m proud of our guys, proud of the effort and just a big time win on our home floor.”
On Zion creating plays without Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum:
“I thought he handled it well. You can see by his numbers, eight assists and eight rebounds, that he was patient. He had moments where he knew he could get to the basket with his speed, force and quickness, and he had moments that he just kicked it out and trusted his teammates. That's what our team is about. We had to dig down tonight, with guys being out, and pull out a win. We're all super proud of our guys for their effort tonight.”
Trey Murphy III talks win | Pelicans Thunder Postgame 11/28/2022
Pelicans Guard/Forward Trey Murphy III
On pulling out wins when some of the starters are injured:
“We have a really deep team. We have a lot of guys who can really play basketball at a high level. We played together, and we played smart. We just fought together to get the team win.”
On the work he has put in outside of shooting during the offseason:
“I put in a lot of work. I knew what my reputation was going to be coming into this season. I knew people were going to run me off the line. With the way the start of the season went with me not missing many shots, I knew that people were eventually going to be closing out really hard. With that being the case, I just need to make the next best decision. Being 6’10 and athletic, finishing over the rim is a pretty good decision.”
Zion Williamson on Herb Jones, OKC win | Pelicans Thunder Postgame 11/28/2022
Pelicans Forward Zion Williamson
On tying his career-high in assists:
“I always try to play basketball the right way. Mathematically speaking, if there are three people on me, then two people have to be open. I trust our shooters. We have great shooters on our team. I was just finding them, and they were hitting shots.”
On having played his 100th game and the journey that has come with that:
“It has been a long journey. Would I like the journey to have gone like that? Absolutely not because I wish I could’ve played every game. At the end of the day, I’m still grateful that I went through that. It helped me realize a lot mentally and spiritually. It just helped me grow as a man. I didn’t even think about it, but for me to hit 100 games, that is a big milestone because this journey has been – I think I’m on three coaches. This is the first year where the locker room has looked somewhat the same with the players. The thing that I take away from it is that it’s good to have steady people around you.”