LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 1, 2021

Reggie Jackson

Press Conference

Q. When you look at last year where this team was about this time, you were in the playoff situation against Dallas, how is this team different from the way that team was last year? I know you have some new players, but where are you this year as opposed to last year in your opinion?

REGGIE JACKSON: We'll see as we continue the journey, hopefully keep it rolling. But I feel like we're a resilient bunch, especially right now going up two at home, going on the road in a tough environment, finding a way to pull out two, making this a three-game series. We've got a chance to give our home crowd something that they deserve, which is a win tomorrow.

We're going to go out here and we're going to figure out ways to be better. I just think this group, it's a whole new year for us, and we like to have pride and continuity, being one. We're all getting to know other through these ups and downs we've had throughout the season and just being a group that trusts each other. We've all had hard work and trust and just belief.

Q. Ty is stressing that he really wants the crowd to come out and give you guys energy tomorrow. Obviously neither team has won a home game yet, which is probably weird, but why is that important to you guys? Do the first two games kind of feel like people were learning how to be back in a big crowd? What do you want to see from Staples tomorrow?

REGGIE JACKSON: Well, we just want to have our fans there, have it as rocking as possible, have as much support as possible. But yeah, first two games probably was a little weird having fans back. Definitely enjoying having them back, but the crowd hadn't, of course, built up from the regular season. Just trying to get as acquainted as possible with having our fans, having as many as possible allowed to be in the building, and then having them mixed with the cardboard cutouts.

Anytime the fans can bring energy to the arena, it definitely makes the game that much better. You get to find out this game isn't the same -- isn't nowhere near the same experience that it is with the fans, so just having that energy in the building. Being on the road was a great atmosphere. It was fun to play amongst a rowdy crowd. Now we're looking forward to playing in front of a crowd who loves us.

We're going to try to give them a home win, but excited to get back in front of our crowd, and like I said, have a chance to play here at least one more time, hopefully not two, in our favor in those ways. But we're just enjoying having the home crowd, like I said, and we'll just try to use them to our favor and use as much energy as they can give us because we've missed them. We've missed them throughout last year and throughout this year. Just getting acclimated with them again, trying to use that fanfare in our favor.

Q. You've been thrown into crazy situations as far as starting games all year. You remember back in February Ty told you during the National Anthem that you had to start a game right before the All-Star break. What's it been like having to get that call from Ty saying, all right, we need you in the starting lineup in the middle of a series that we're down 0-2, specifically to jump start an offense that outside of PG and Kawhi you've been the only guy in double figures?

REGGIE JACKSON: It's just been fun. It's fun to have your number called. Anytime you get to play this game, you try to do it with joy and passion and you can go out there compete and test yourself, it's a blessing. It's always a blessing to wake up and do something you love, so I never take it for granted. Just go out here and compete with these great talents on this team, and trying to do something special this year has been exhilarating. It's been exciting, and I just look forward to having my number called no matter in what position it may be, whether it's coming off the bench, whether it's starting or whether it's just cheering for the night.

Right now I'm just enjoying being part of this process and enjoying the year and really testing myself and my nine years of experience prior to this season. Really mentally testing myself to see whether I can be prepared for each and every night, and it's been a fun journey, and hopefully one that can continue for another month and a half here.

Q. Ty talked about how he felt like after Game 2 you guys understood the recipe of how you wanted to attack Dallas at that point offensively and defensively. It took a couple games, but at that point, while you guys sort of have had this understanding maybe from it obviously down 0-2 not a whole lot of faith being shown in you guys' ability to come back, what was it like to be in Dallas those four days where it felt like on the inside you guys had this quiet confidence that you had something figured out but to feel like maybe there wasn't that much trust from the public in what you guys can really do?

REGGIE JACKSON: I think it was fun. It was a great experience for us. I think we definitely enjoyed it, just going out there and trying to have a villain's mentality, showing up to try to be a spoiler, showing up not having a -- not probably earning much trust from our fan base, probably not being as deserving of it, but we definitely felt like we had watched some film and figured out some things that we can go out there and attack, and we just couldn't wait to get to the next game, Game 3, and go out there and test it, figure out if it was going to work or not and then put it on display, and it's worked for us Game 3 and 4.

We know basketball Playoffs is a series of adjustments, and I think we've made some. We've found a way to come out and compete, found a way, a formula that's working for us right now. We're going to continue to make a few more adjustments, try to figure out -- be ahead of the curve and figure out how we can continue to test ourselves and be the best that we can be.

But it's always fun to go out there and especially play spoiler on the road, and then at home definitely, like I said, using that fanfare and hopefully we've gained some more trust and we'll continue to do so throughout these Playoffs. As hopefully the mandates are lifted some more and we get more fans in there we continue to have as packed crowds as possible and have our fan base behind us 100 percent, and then when we go on the road I think we're enjoying and embracing the idea of loving being hated.

We're just enjoying being a team, being a brotherhood and being on this journey throughout the year and getting to know each other and going out there and putting all the work we've put in all season putting it on the court and finding out where the chips fall. So we're enjoying the whole process.