Pelicans-Kings Postgame Quotes

Pelicans.com

"I think that was the beauty in it. Not only did he get it going, but the guys were all looking for him. Every time he got the ball, they were looking to run plays just to feed him, and it's beautiful to watch the connectivity of our guys. He is capable of doing that night in and night out. It's good to see him have a big game like he did tonight."

"Yeah, Herb is... you guys are seeing it. He's just getting better. He's getting more confident, and when he has games like this, it triggers everybody. He was on Fox pretty much all game guarding him, had a couple of big blocks, and he hit some threes down the stretch, which were huge for us. He's continued to improve. His confidence is growing, and you know we're blessed to have him."

On what Willie Green has been telling the team at halftime to have such good second half performances:

"He just tells us to come out and not let the energy drop. That's been a point of emphasis for us throughout the season. We've been coming out in the second half kind of lackadaisical and tonight we just came out with a ton of energy, played very hard on the offensive end. Shots were falling, (and) we came out and got the win."

On what they do when Brandon Ingram is taking over:

"We know how BI (Brandon Ingram) can get it going, and once he gets it going, we just try to play off of him and get him to the right spots so he can score the ball."

On the team’s defensive performance tonight:

“We picked up the sense of urgency in the second half. That’s what it was going to come down to, whoever played defense first. Everybody was doing good on the offensive end, but it was important for us to pick up the urgency on the defensive end, get some easy buckets and stop them on the fast break.”

On the Pelicans third quarter performance:

“It’s the voice in the locker room. Everybody had a sense of urgency in that third quarter, and (we) came out and played really good on the defensive end and we got some easy buckets offensively.”

“It’s fun to play here right now. Willie (Green) is setting the table for us to go out there and be really, really good offensively and defensively, and we’re just going out there and just trying to be really, really good every night. Be the best version of ourselves and these last three games, it’s been happening.”

pelicans-vs-kings-postgame-quotes-3-2-2022

Pelicans vs. Kings Postgame Quotes 3-2-2022

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“They did a really good job, and we did a really poor job. We came with no energy in the second half. Third quarter was awful, and the turnovers…that’s where, to me, the game was in the second half. We’re just turning the ball over all the time and that’s what was fueling their second chance, fast break. We played really poorly. Listen, I’ll always give the other team credit. Their defense was good. Our offense was terrible. I did a terrible job. I could not figure out what to run offensively that would get us going and get us shots. I did a poor job too. We were just really bad in the second half. I don’t mean to take anything away from Sacramento and what they did, but yeah. When you’re missing shots it’s fine, you get a chance to get back. But when you’re turning it over, that’s hard.”

“There’s some energy there. They haven’t played the number of minutes these guys have. I mean, that’s our eighth game in twelve days. I mean, that’s grueling. That’s grueling. I said to my wife today before I left the house, ‘I hope our players aren’t as tired as I am.’ I don’t even run up and down the court. That’s a grueling schedule, eight in twelve days. The whole season has been a grind, but that’s a grueling schedule. I think that showed in the second half also.” 

On what it's been like getting to play with Isaiah Thomas these past nine days:

"He's been the ultimate professional, just coming in and doing his job whenever he gets in the basketball game, but also on the bench, giving advice, talking to our young guys, cheering us on no matter whether he gets in the game or not, and that's big for our team also."

On his thoughts on the team being able to hold the lead in the fourth quarter:

"I think we just stayed together. We knew we were on the second night of a back-to-back and we knew that we were playing against a really, really good team that has some really, really good players, so it was important for us to go down and execute, rebound the basketball, just stay together and knock down the shots we needed to knock down. Free throws helped us out a lot at the end of the basketball game. (Eric) Bledsoe hit some free throws. Naji (Marshall) has been big for us the last two nights. Zion (Williamson) is doing what Zion does. Just everybody is filling in, so we just did what we needed to do down the stretch."

On this being the eighth game in twelve days and whether that is catching up:

"Not really. I've been in it for a little while now, so I know what to expect. I know how to take care of my body, so I'm kind of used to it."

On Brandon Ingram's and Zion Williamson's offensive consistency:

"I mean, they're supposed to. They're two great talented players and they're only going to get better. I think we've been great for them as far as on the offensive end, knowing when to catch and shoot, knowing when to backdoor and things like that. I think we're doing a better job helping them out. And I think they're doing a better job searching for us too. Like I said, the more and more they get comfortable with certain situations, this is only going to get better."

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Pelicans vs. Kings Postgame Quotes 4-12-21 | 2020-21 NBA

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On the performance of the Pelicans’ young players in tonight’s game:“I thought that they played with great effort, number one. I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half of moving [the ball]. We ran into a little bit of a turnover problem in the third [quarter], but I will say this, most of the turnovers that we had in the third [were] guys trying to make the right play, so I think that was the most important thing. A lot of times they were trying to make the right play, it’s just a matter of them not being out there night in and night out, so the timing was just a little bit off. I can look [at the game], and I thought obviously Jahlil (Okafor) played great. I thought Frank (Jackson) did a good job. I thought everybody that went in there had their moments and did a good job. The big thing is, is that I thought Lonzo (Ball) played well and he was almost back to where he was before we had the hiatus, so that was really important for us, I thought.”

On Jahlil Okafor’s 21-point performance in tonight’s game after not playing in a game since February 25th, and the example he sets for the rest of the team:“Well, I’ve said this before, I think he’s as professional as any guy that I’ve been around. It’s been tough for him, because I mean obviously everyone wants to play. He hadn’t played in those games, but he did exactly what you talked about. He’s kept himself in great shape. He’s kept himself ready, so when the opportunity ever comes, he steps up. If you can remember, he hadn’t played for a while and we stuck him in the Detroit game at Detroit and he dominated that game. He’s just a pro’s pro, I think. He’s a pleasure to have on your team and a pleasure to coach.”

On being able to make an impact, regardless of how many minutes he plays:“Definitely. I think I’ve become more comfortable overall, just with the whole league. I know that when my name is called I’m going to be ready. I’ve been able to put in the work and I know my teammates trust me, so when my number is called I know I’ll be ready. I’m fine.”

On what it will take for the Pelicans to be more consistent on defense going forward:“We’ve got to be consistent. We have to remind ourselves who we are and we have to remind ourselves [that] when we pressure the ball and are up in people, that we win ball games and it creates a lot more opportunities for us. So we just have to keep reminding ourselves to just play hard and lock in defensively before we worry about anything else.”

On the opportunity to play tonight and show what he can do:“I was really excited about getting the opportunity to play tonight. We knew that we were going to have a lot of guys out. The guys that were available to play, we just all wanted to come out and play hard. I was very excited to get on the court tonight.”

On staying ready when his number is called, despite getting limited minutes:“It hasn’t been too hard. We have really good player development coaches here. They keep me ready. I’ve credited them before, in the past when I haven’t played and I didn’t get to play big minutes. They always keep me ready, so I give a lot of credit to our player development staff.”

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2019-20 NBA Restart Seeding Game: Pelicans at Kings Postgame Quotes 8-11-20

On the Kings’ shooting performance in today’s game and if he’s ever seen anything like that:“Well, I did just two nights ago against the Clippers. They shot the ball extremely well. We were never into them [defensively], though. That was the tough thing, that we never got into them. If you give up basically a 50-point quarter, your defense has to adjust and do something. I thought we played great defense in the second quarter and did a good job of getting ourselves back in the game. Then the third quarter comes around and the fourth quarter comes around, and we just really didn’t guard. We weren’t into the ball. They drove the ball to the basket. Not so much the three-pointers in the second half, as it was them driving to the basket and getting in our paint.”

On the Pelicans’ defensive effort through the first four seeding games:“I don’t think it’s that we’re not playing hard, we’re just not into the ball defensively. I think we’re trying to compete and doing some [good] things, but you just can’t give up a 49-point quarter, and you can’t give up a 40-point quarter in the third quarter. Our defense has to be better from the standpoint of following game plans and then just the overall effort as far as you’re talking about. We’ve just got to

On if he thought the Pelicans lacked urgency in today’s game:“No. I think they came out blazing. I don’t think it was a lack of effort. I have to go back and watch it at some point and kind of figure it out. They were knocking down shots and making good plays. They were making some tough shots at first. We stayed in it for a little bit, but it just kind of got out of hand.”

On what the Pelicans have to do defensively to get back on track:“Just lock in, take pride. Just be able to be disappointed when somebody scores on you. Sometimes that might be hard because you’re giving all of your effort on defense and leaving it out there, and offensively shots aren’t falling and plays that we usually make, we weren’t making. We’ve just got to lock in. This game is hard. It’s tough to play, but you’ve got to do it.

On the frustration of losing while scoring 125 points in today’s game:“Like I said, we have to come together as a whole team and discuss how we can get better. Hats off to the Kings, they shot the ball [well].”

On the hardest part about getting right on the defensive end:“Defensively, I think we’re fine. It’s just that when a team is shooting like that, there’s only so much you can do personally. They were shooting the ball; they were hitting every shot. We’ve got to come together as a team, our coaches have to come together, and we’ve all got to just figure out how we’re going to adjust to it.”

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2019-20 NBA Restart Seeding Game: Pelicans at Kings Postgame Quotes 8-6-20

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