LIVE: Nets vs. Pelicans Pregame w/ Willie Green 3/19/2024

LIVE: Nets vs. Pelicans Pregame w/ Willie Green 3/19/2024

E e e e e I mean it’s pretty simple you know just taking it one game at a time starting with tonight and making sure that mentally we’re focused on um playing up to our our standards cam Thomas when you the film on what does bring to them what have you

Seen out of him lately uh they’re playing through him a ton and he’s Fearless offensively he he has every shot in his Arsenal and um know he’s going out and producing a number of buckets for this team so uh we’ll definitely be aware of him on the floor

At all times You’ been a pretty solid defensive team most of the Year what’s enabled you in your mind that extra step you are right now defens continuing to work at it every day coming in with a focus that we’re going to start our practices with defense um hold each other

Accountable um and that’s been our process you know since I’ve gotten here really uh Jose ranks really high in all the advanced defensive metrics how is the guy who’s sub six feet able to consistently make such a big defensive impact um it it starts with his his

Heart um he plays with his heart and soul every game and and it’s hard to bottle that up into a stat um but and then you add his instincts uh he has tremendous on court defensive instincts it’s why he was ACC defensive player of the year with all the talent in that

Conference it was him um and he only knows how to play one way and and that’s the that’s the beautiful part about Jose is that he brings it 110% every time he steps on the floor how unique is the passion the energy for it’s uh extremely unique and um

Um you know I don’t I say this jokingly but it’s it’s kind of true I don’t know anybody that’s in the NBA is six feet and under that’s like nice all those guys are all those guys are like you know like kind of like a chihuahua they just

They bite you they bark they ready to fight at any time and and that’s what makes Jose unique is that he’s that way and and to make it to this this level you know you kind of sort of have to have that will you said at the beginning

Of the year that you wanted to elevate the offense this year you said that was part of why James morgo was here I’m just curious what you’ve seen sort of go into it because it has like you look at the numbers been way better this year like what have been the biggest reasons

For the Improvement this year and how have you sort of seen it come together um it starts with JB has been first of all he’s been great fantastic for us and um has extremely uh elevated our program here um across the board offensively and defensively quite

Frankly um but in terms of the offense the consistency of what we’re trying to accomplish every game um we you know we want to play fast we make sure we space the floor we want to be a team that Prides ourself on taking care of the

Ball but at the same time being a high assist team and then our shot quality you know shot profile shot quality what type of shots are we taking what what are the best shots for us and making sure that we work at that you know every

Day that we that we can we can get on the floor we work on it was there a point in the year where you felt like you know you have these three like pretty high usage ball handlers on the team or guys are used to having the ball

Like was there a point where you felt like all right this is comfortable for everybody and everybody’s sort of getting you know accustomed to the different roles that they’re that they’re playing when they’re you know whether it’s CJ being off the ball a little more or whether it’s like Brandon

Playing one way when Z with him and different what you thought with that of it it’s a it’s I wouldn’t necessarily say comfortable but it’s definitely progressing and um it it takes buyin from everyone to understand you know playing this way is going to help us give us the best

Opportunity to win and showing it helps like being able to show it examples of it on film being able to work on work on it in practice and um it’s a credit to to the guys in our locker room they they have the mentality they want to buy in

So that we can be the best team that we can be will just curious um Kevin Alli has mentioned you just as a a mentor and a friend as he’s gone this journey as a head coach with Brooklyn just curious what have those conversations been like

Just with you just helping him in this position and just also what have you thought about just this opportunity for him as interim coach yeah KO that’s my brother man he um he he he played a tremendous role when I was young coming into the NBA as

As a veteran we played together four seasons in Philadelphia and um we’ve been like brothers ever since I’m extremely uh happy that he has this opportunity to coach this team and you know we we text each other call and uh the the biggest thing is that we we just

Continue to pray for each other and you know wishing each other the best for sure you know this lineup of like Zion who with four reserves um that has been like really really consistently good for you guys like what do you think is sort of the identity of that group um and why

Do you think the sort of like the chemistry has been so good for that um just putting the ball in Z’s hands and the guys around him understanding how to play off his gravity uh and then on the other side it’s all of the all of those guys on the

Floor being committed to guarding the ball contesting shots making sure that we rebound so that that group is capable of having you know some good runs on the floor when when those guys are playing that way when you’re talking to a you men talking to Kevin as friends um when

You’re talking to another head coach of another team like how does that what does that look like are you guys talking about strategy or talk each other’s games and two coaches um it starts with the Friendship part of it brother part of it just you know what are you thinking how you doing

Um how’s the family going and then it may lead into a little bit of basketball talk strategy talk with some things that you see with with some things that we can do better what have you so I mean normal conversation I guess when it comes to Friendship

Basketball the last time you were in New York there was a moment where Tre Murphy hadit a big three MSG and I think you said welcome back to him going into the the timeout um I’m was sort of curious what it’s been like to see him kind of

Find his form again and how that has impacted the rest of the team it’s been great you know it’s it’s great to see any of our young guys um go through adversity like Trey has when and adversity is on basketball adversity um have some struggles but then have the

Consistency to work his way through it um it’s a credit to to to his character it’s a credit to coach Cor Brewer they work hand inand every day and they’ve really kind of moved forward to just keeping things simple this is how you can impact the team Trey is doing it

And we’re we’re a much better team when he’s playing with that type of confidence you know like herb yet y herb is in he’s a go hi coach uh I’ve got a question about Zion Williamson cuz it was pretty fun to watch him play in the last I think two months something like

That are you planning to play him more as a point Zion in uh next weeks to I mean now he’s aaging something like five four five and four assist are you planning to play him more at this point Z position yeah we we like Z with the ball in his hands I I

Think we believe that it makes us uh a difficult team to to guard and he the beauty in Z is that he can do a number of things on the floor and um when he sees an opportunity to get off the ball set screens or post up or transition

He’ll attack in those ways too but we definitely like having the ball in his hands for sure okay thank you for

Brooklyn Nets vs. New Orleans Pelicans pregame interview with head coach Willie Green ahead of their game on Tuesday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m. CT during the 2023-24 NBA season.
#NBA #Pelicans #neworleanspelicans

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
Dereon Seabron #0 Guard
Jonas Valanciunas #17 Center
Zion Williamson #1 Forward
Cody Zeller #44 Forward-Center

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