CJ McCollum - Rockets at Pelicans Postgame Interview
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00:00 [LAUGH]
00:02 >> Sorry.
00:02 >> [LAUGH]
00:03 >> I don't know what you're talking about.
00:05 >> He didn't know purpose?
00:08 He's a gator, you guy, I'm not.
00:10 >> Clearly.
00:12 >> [LAUGH]
00:13 >> They ain't paying.
00:14 >> [LAUGH]
00:15 >> It's not every game that a guy gets seven steals.
00:19 What do you think about what Herb's able to do?
00:21 >> If he don't make first team defense, somebody need fired, man.
00:24 He's great defensively, gotten so much better on offense.
00:28 A menacing transition finishes by the basket, shooting 40 from three.
00:32 I mean, he does a little bit of everything for us.
00:35 I think you got to see some of that tonight.
00:37 >> Yeah, did you like just the team defense overall?
00:40 It seemed like it was kind of everyone.
00:42 >> We had some time to practice, to really just work on our game plan, discipline,
00:45 understand what we want to accomplish these last 27 games.
00:48 And I thought we got off to a great start.
00:50 We'd like to finish the game better.
00:52 I got to do a better job of staying ready until the zeroes on the clock.
00:57 But I think all in all, I like the way we play.
01:00 I like the way we competed.
01:02 And we gave ourselves a chance to win against a good team in the first night off
01:05 back to back.
01:06 >> Yeah, since you came here to New Orleans, you talk about how the young guys
01:11 on this team need to embrace being more vocal, showing their emotions more.
01:15 We saw that from Herb tonight.
01:17 We saw it from Zion tonight, how much you kind of see that as a sign of
01:20 maturation for them and just being more comfortable in their skin on the court.
01:24 >> Yeah, I mean, Herb talks more than you all think in general.
01:28 And so does Z.
01:29 Z talks a lot, too.
01:30 You all just don't see it.
01:31 So for them to be able to be demonstrative out there on the court, vocal,
01:35 obviously, celebrating good plays, whether that's dunks, finishes around a basket,
01:39 block shots, or just celebrating your teammates' success, I think that's a sign
01:42 of growth and just comfortability.
01:44 Everybody's just getting more comfortable, getting more time together on the court,
01:48 playing later into seasons together.
01:50 I think all those things help.
01:52 >> And we talked to you before about when you flipped the calendar past All-Star,
01:57 how everything changes.
01:58 What do you think--in what ways do you think the focus changes for good teams
02:03 when you get to this point in the season?
02:05 >> I think the sense of urgency has to increase.
02:09 Every game matters.
02:10 We've been in the playing game a few times, so we understand how one game can
02:14 kind of shift the season, literally.
02:16 So being able to beat teams under .500, winning games at home is important.
02:19 Even though we've got .500 and .700, I feel like we should be able to compete
02:22 at a high level and give ourselves a chance to win these games.
02:25 That will carry over as we get closer and closer to finishing the regular season.
02:30 >> CJ, how much did you like the start of you guys--or your guys' third quarter,
02:34 first few minutes?
02:35 That's been kind of a trouble for you guys for most of the season.
02:38 >> Yeah, we did a great job of just giving Z the ball and getting out of the way.
02:41 It was the game plan.
02:44 It worked.
02:45 It worked pretty well.
02:46 Got some stops when we needed to.
02:48 I think we fouled a little too much in that third quarter.
02:50 We got in a bonus quick.
02:51 But outside of that, I think we defended well in the half court,
02:54 tried to limit their second-chance points, and did what we needed to do to get a win.
03:01 >> CJ, in the second quarter, Herb, Zion, and Jonas had their own little slam-dunk
03:06 contest, kind of back-to-back-to-back.
03:09 When the arena gets rocking like that after you've been on the road for so long,
03:12 what does that feel like?
03:14 >> It's amazing.
03:15 The fans have been great all year.
03:16 They continue to support us.
03:18 Even though we've had some really great wins and some not-so-great losses,
03:21 I think they've been consistent.
03:23 And obviously, we've had some spectacular plays throughout this season,
03:26 and that was a great stretch of really good basketball and defense that led to
03:30 transition offense.
03:31 And I think Z capped it with a lob, which was when they ended up calling a timeout.
03:36 Big momentum swing in the game.
03:37 JB was great all night.
03:38 Easy double-double for him tonight.
03:41 Just kind of got whatever he wanted, established his presence down low.
03:44 Got some good and foul trouble and made the game very easy for us.
03:48 >> In the past couple years, I think a thing we've seen with you guys a lot of
03:51 times is you're good when everything's together, but when the B-I-Z is not there
03:55 and a lot changes in this year, we've seen you guys win more often than one or
03:59 even both of those guys are.
04:01 What do you think has kind of changed this year that's allowed you guys to be
04:04 more successful in these type of games?
04:06 >> I think everybody just has continued to figure out ways to get better collectively.
04:12 I think we've gone long periods with one of them not playing, and I think you
04:17 kind of figure out offense game flow, game plan discipline, and how to be
04:21 effective individually, how we can be effective as a team.
04:24 I think that's the sign of a good team being able to win games, even with guys
04:27 being up.
04:29 >> CJ, HBCU Legacy Bowl is playing on Saturday.
04:34 Going to the thoughts about the NBA, it hasn't been an HBCU kid drafted since
04:42 2012.
04:44 What do you think can help them to be able to develop and catch the eyes of more
04:49 of the NBA scouts and executives?
04:52 >> Yeah, that's a great question.
04:54 I think -- I went to a small school in Lehigh.
04:56 I think the scouts have historically done a pretty good job of finding talent, so I
05:01 think it's just about continuing to put more focus and spotlight on that.
05:04 Hopefully they continue to get more TV games and better caliber players continue
05:09 to choose to go to HBCU schools.
05:11 I never was recruited by HBCU schools, so I didn't have a chance.
05:14 I wasn't recruited really by anybody, to be honest.
05:17 So my situation was different.
05:19 But I think there's been more of a point of emphasis on it, more of a spotlight.
05:23 And Broco was one of my good friends, so he went to HBCU, and he always talks
05:27 about his experiences and stuff.
05:29 And I think it's cool.
05:31 People need to share their experiences more often.
05:33 I think it's only a matter of time before someone is drafted from HBCU.
05:36 >> Thank you.
05:37 >> Thank you.
05:38 >> Thank you.
05:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]