Tim Legler Film Breakdown 📽️ How the Pacers defended Zion Williamson | SC with SVP

Tim Legler Film Breakdown 📽️ How the Pacers defended Zion Williamson | SC with SVP

Tim legler joins us once again and and legs we were talking about this in our meeting today I said I want to talk to Tim about Zion because in my time here at ESPN and it’s been 20s something years there’s a short list of people that were made our Network collectively

Lose its Minds right over an athlete you can think of who they are tiger Brady LeBron TBO for a period of time Barry Bonds Etc Zion was clearly that guy at Duke he comes out New Orleans wins the lottery and remember their season ticket Sal sales folks react like they won the

Power ball because they got Zion now he’s in year four he scored 23 I don’t want to get on the wrong side of their social media I’m not saying a bad word about the man he can play right but I’m asking you what is he because he we

Thought he might be this sort of singular thing what is Zion at this stage of his career it would be very difficult to make the case that Zion Williamson is as dominant as he was when he came into the league and I think he plays differently stylistically Scott

And I think that’s really where it’s changed because because at his best he was an overwhelming force a one-off that only they had right this incredible unique force of nature that would come into the paint and attack he would finish with that kind of touch at that

Size regardless of who was in the lane he doesn’t really do that as often he doesn’t have as many nights like that because they’ve changed the way he plays and I think he wants to play more this way as a facilitator more of a ball handler and less of that raw dominance

Okay and so for me I think this is what he’s going to be probably the rest of his career so what you’re seeing is what not a fully finished product he just 23 but give us some examples of what he is now this is what he is at his best when

He still does it and he doesn’t do it as often when you get Zion moving before he receives the basketball like he’s going to do right here and he gets into here and you don’t provide the weak side help that you have to to get guys to fully

Commit and you can see guys are sort of hedging they’re not going to quite get there when Zion Williamson sees that kind of space and he’s already on the move the next thing you’re going to watch is this big Defender and the angle he takes to get back to him and this is

Where Zion just destroys you when you come back at him and you are allowing him to get to that left hand and you can see he’s squared off the defender does not get back and cut him off and force him back to his right Zion’s going to

Get here he’s going to jump stop he’s going to get into your body and there’s absolutely nothing you can do he’s going to take you to the rim this is still Zion at his best he had some opportunities like that tonight but I also think there are ways now to defend

Zion Williamson and if you’re able to do it with a second big on the floor and you can provide this kind of help this is where Zion could run into some trouble and he takes some shots that aren’t necessarily his this is his teammate here you’ve got another big on

The court so the spacing isn’t great and now this is favorable for Indiana you’ve got three Defenders back in here and Zion Williamson can’t get where he wants to get which is to that left hand he brings it back to the other side Scout but here’s the difference he doesn’t go

Up with his right Zion Williamson is still going to shoot this basketball with his left hand into the body of a bigger Defender and when you get that you’re going to take something off balance you see he never gets any lift doesn’t get it off the ground there’s no

Evolution of a counter move here’s another one great players in this league Scott are going to get this opportunity when you have a big here squared up and he’s sort of backpedaling great players in this league are going to probably back this thing out and operate at space

And figure out a counter move or they’re going to have an opportunity to get in here and maybe spin back to this hand he doesn’t really do that he makes up his mind he goes and if you can force him to jump before he wants to you again have a

Chance to make him take an off-balance shot outside the lane that doesn’t go the number of opportunities he has in the game where he’s got that quick burst on a catch and go and get there they’re just far fewer than they were when he first broke into the league and I think

That’s when we became enamored with him and what he could be that he could just dominate you to such an extent by playing that way that now you put the right pieces around him you’ve got a guy the franchise guy that’s your identity every night I think now he’s sort of

This Blended player that has lesser of those moments on a given night facilitation is great he’s making feeds his assist numbers are up but to me this is what made him special that attacking ability get into your chest Unstoppable inside six feet he doesn’t do it as

Often as he used to and I think that’s why maybe we think as he regressed is he not going to be what we thought he was right and I thought it was interesting the way you framed it earlier when we were talking that of all the star type

Players he has more ways to be guarded than perhaps some others and yet that is still a dangerous team in your estimation no question about it and then we look at Dallas and we saw uh we saw Luca tonight get what 20 a 30o triple double on his 25th birthday yeah at 25

Where where are we seeing Luca maybe add a different level to his game as we look towards the spring and the play the best version we’ve seen in Luka for a variety of reasons number one he just looks like he’s in better shape he looks like just

Like he is made out of granite like you don’t see any softness on him right he’s wide shouldered he’s got the big he’s always had this strength that bed his body type well now the body type is starting to look like that a little bit he’s taken it more seriously so that

That’s the first thing secondly I just think the way he conducts himself in the course of the game his leadership is absolutely improved there’s less moments where you’re distracted by him getting caught up in something with the officials or the opponents or whatever it may be or kind of jogging back with

His head down on the play when he had turnover and now he’s not back in transition defense there’s fewer of those he’s definitely a more committed Defender he’s never going to be considered a stopper but there’s no reason he can’t be a great positional Defender and a guy that utilizes his

Strength in certain matchups I’m seeing much more of that this year so I just think look he’s 25 there were things we were going to nitpick because the talent level’s been off the roof since day one he definitely is maturing there is no question he is embracing what it means

To be a leader in this league it’s not just about statistical production it’s how you care yourself and how your demeanor and the way it uplifts your teammates he’s showing me that this year so I’m super impressed and you know I love the additions that they made sure I

Think Dallas is a team man you get them in a seven game playoff series with LCA donin’s controlling the action you know good luck we’ve seen what he’s capable of NBA is

Tim Legler joins SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt to discuss Zion Williamson’s performance in Year 4 of his NBA career and break down footage of the Pelicans’ loss to the Pacers. Legler also discuss Luka Doncic (4:46) recording a triple-double on his 25th birthday.

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