Scotty Pippen Jr: I've carved out my own path now

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Over the last two seasons, Scotty Pippen Jr. has established himself as an impactful NBA player. Ever since leaving the Lakers after his rookie year, he has been a staple rotation point guard in the Grizzlies' robust depth chart.

Pippen Jr. talked with HoopsHype after a game vs. the Clippers about his mindset with Ja Morant in and out of the lineup, advice he's gotten from him, growing up behind the shadows of his father, and more.

When Ja Morant isn’t going to be playing, and you know you will get the starting nod, does your mindset change knowing you will be playing more minutes?​

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Scotty Pippen Jr: I feel like yes, I'm about to be a little bit more aggressive, but I just feel like every game I kind of approach it the same way. Whatever the team needs in me, I try to do it. So, Ja’s not out there, I know we're missing a piece, so I try to not just fulfill that piece, but I try to do all I can just to help the team win.

So is it a game-by-game basis on how you plan to contribute? If your shot isn’t falling, do you feel like you can help in other ways like rebound more, assist more?​

SP: I’ll just say, whenever I'm on the card, I try to play hard. If the shots come to me, I'm always trying to be aggressive. So even when Ja's playing, I kind of play the same way.

In terms of Ja as a leader, what does he talk to you about in terms of giving you advice the last two years since you've been with Memphis?​

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SP:Yeah, he's giving me a lot of advice. Even when we're playing together, he's always giving me tips and stuff. And a lot of seeing him watching him play, I feel like I pick up on a lot of stuff that I've taken part of my game.

What in particular?​

SP:Just the way he's in the ball screen, the way he's in maneuvers and stuff, the way he pass the ball, I try to take some stuff from that.

When you run the pick-and-roll, which bigs do you like to run it with. Is it Jaren, Edey, or someone else?​

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SP:Whoever, we have a deep team, so whoever’s out there with me, I try to just maximize. I feel like we have a bunch of players that are different. Jaren [Jackson Jr] and Jay Huff, they might pop more. Zach [Edey] rolls a lot, so I feel like everyone’s kind of different, so I’m just kind of knowing who you’re out there with and trying to maximize yourself as well.

With coach Taylor Jenkins, what’s the most important piece of advice he’s told you in terms of staying ready?​

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SP:I'm just continuing to keep coming in and playing hard. Whether that be picking up defensively, being disruptive full-court, pushing the pace on offense. My role has changed a lot this year, starting, coming off the bench, and out of the rotation, so I was always being ready. I was just going out there playing hard.

Your dad, Scottie Pippen, was sitting courtside. Do you have an extra gear on the court when you see him or is it kind of like whatever?​

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SP: I think it’s kind of like whatever. He’s been to a lot of games at this point. It’s cool just to see like finally I’m at this level. Him being able to come to my game and support me, whether it be LA, whether it be Memphis or somewhere on the road. But at this point, I’m kind of just used to it.

Him being a Hall-of-Famer, what’s the most important piece of advice he’s given you?​

SP: I just feel like he sees the game might be a little bit different than most parents who see it, and I just always have like the tool that he can just give me feedback after all games. So just having him is just a great resource that I’m able to use.

Is it tough to live under the shadows having the same name as him?​

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SP:No, I don’t think so. I feel like I felt more pressure when I was in high school, like younger, just because people only associated me as being his son, but I feel like I'm kind of carving my own path.

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Scotty Pippen Jr: I've carved out my own path now

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