CJ McCollum's Season Diary
https://andscape.com/features/cj-mcc...watch-us-play/
So, CJ is taking part in a monthly season diary with Andscape this season. The link is above, and I'll include notable excerpts from the first Diary Entry, posted earlier today.
This thread is for keeping up with the diary, and I'll post notable excerpts from each monthly diary in here for people who aren't interested in reading it in full. Obviously it also provides a venue for talking about what CJ says without flooding other threads.
Notable parts from Entry One:
Quote:
And as I got settled in, and I started playing games, practicing, competing, getting to know the guys, going to dinners and stuff, I realized this city was a lot better than I thought. I realized it had a lot more to offer than I thought. I realized that there?s a lot more to this city than Bourbon Street and Canal [Street], or where you stay when you come as a road team. And to be able to see the love, be able to see the energy this city provides, the support, the Southern hospitality, it?s just unlike anything I?ve ever seen.
Quote:
The basketball is easy. I always tell people, I never worried about the basketball. When I got traded, I didn?t know any plays. I came and played a game. Landed at midnight, played a game at 6 p.m. But I wasn?t ever worried about the basketball because my focus, my determination, my approach, my professionalism, how much I love this game, it?s never been questioned, and it?s never wavered. And that?s easy. That?s the easy part of my life. The rest of the stuff I do is the hard part.
Quote:
I?m 31. Been in the league a long time. Probably had the most success from a team standpoint than anybody on this team. Larry?s [Nance] obviously been in the [NBA] Finals, so Larry and I have the most experience in terms of consistently being in the playoffs. I?ve been there nine straight years. This will be 10.
Quote:
If you?re not excited about the Pelicans, you will be after you watch us play. We?ve got a good team, young, athletic, the right mix of veteran leaders, experienced players, battle-tested, hungry. Guys who are not afraid. They?re not scared. They?re not ducking nobody. Everybody focuses on the work. They show up, and the work pays off. And that?s the approach everybody has.
Quote:
Zion, we call him Thanos. He?s special. Explosive, hungry, a competitor, gamer. It?s like him and two other people, 27 [points per game], 60% from the field. Him and two people (at age 20, James averaged 27-7-7 and Luka Doncic averaged 29-9-9). Who are those other two people? Hall of Famers.
Quote:
I expect BI to be him: consistent, even-keeled, focused on basketball. If you watch my podcast, you?ll see [Ingram?s] personality. He?s just a basketball junkie. He loves basketball. He loves it. Dissects the game, lives the game, breathes the game. I expect him to be the best version of himself and the most locked-in, focused version, because he got a taste of success at the playoff level.