Pelicans' Yves Missi gets painfully honest on physical battle with Grizzlies' Zach Edey
12/28/2024 03:04 PM
The New Orleans Pelicans are still waiting for Zion Williamson amid one of the worst seasons in NBA history. The front office has been shopping Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum to no avail while Willie Green tries to get the new-look roster back on track. Rookie Yves Missi has been one of the few bright spots but even the big man from Baylor has been getting bruised up lately. Unfortunately, a battle against Zach Edey and the Memphis Grizzlies was cut short. At least the Pelicans showed signs after being called ‘soft’ by Willie Green following yet another loss.
Missi pulled no punches when asked about playing against Edey and leaving the game with an injury.
“I feel like I could have done a better job overall. I mean, I got some defensive stops but my falling didn’t help at all,” Jenkins admitted. “I tried to come back and help my team win the game. That was the main thing for me, just try and go back on the court. I was still a little hurt. I still feel the pain a little bit but that’s about it.”
The exit against the Grizzlies was the second game in two nights where Missi had to be removed due to injury. Fans should not be worried about the big man’s availability though.
“I’ll be alright. I’ll be fine. I’ve seen worse than this,” Missi explained. “I just got hit on my chin (against Houston) and I bit my tongue up. There are a lot of cuts on my tongue. I was just bleeding, that’s about it. It’s nothing serious.”
Being called out did not get ignored by the locker room. Missi saw a big difference in attitude from the Pelicans against Zach Edey’s Grizzlies. It was encouraging even if the result (another loss) was the same as it was against the Houston Rockets.
“Compared to yesterday (vs. Houston) it’s two different teams,” Missi said. “Yesterday, I felt like we didn’t give it our all. It was just us running around not really having a plan. Today (vs. Memphis) was about us being more physical and setting a tone from the beginning.”
The problem has been stringing together full quarters of good plays. Next up is James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans is in the midst of a nine-game losing streak. Yves Missi, always looking to help in some way, had some notes on what worked after the Pelicans went on an 8-0 run in the third quarter.
“Moving the ball and attacking the paint was the main thing for us, executing,” Missi noted. “Coach (Willie Green) drew some plays for us to execute for (CJ McCollum) that were good.”
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