This saved Zion’s career…

This saved Zion’s career…

In his first three seasons in the NBA Zion Williamson’s Journey has been a roller coaster ride of highs and lows he’s looked great when he’s playing but he’s only been able to play in 85 games through 4 years for the 2024 season Zion came in healthy and wanted to change the

Perception of him across the league at times to start the year he struggled and had less involvement in the offense than he would have liked the Pelicans would have CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram be the primary ball handlers while Zion set screens and stayed in the corner or

Dunker spot fans demanded to see Zion get more action and even started a Twitter campaign Point Zion in reference to letting him play point guard quickly into the season the Pelicans noticed that fans were actually right and they are their best when Zion has the ball

And now they are playing games with him being the primary ball handler or point guard and let’s just say it’s scary for the NBA when Zion brings the ball up the floor the Pelicans average 1.14 points per possession this is not just a good points per possession but it’s elite and

In games where Zion has six or more assists this year the Pelicans are 15 and three and outscored their opponents by 181 points Zion is not your prototypical point guard he’s 284 lbs making him the third heaviest player in the NBA and he does not shoot from the

Outside since Zion has got to the NBA his weight has been a huge concern for fans and media he’s fat you look like you showed up to the game haven’t just ate a buffet not something from the buffet I said the buffet like you ate the damn table but

When you’re as strong fast and athletic as Zion the number attached to his weight should not matter the Pelicans have crafted a perfect play style for Zion where they use his strengths to his advantage when Zion takes the ball it immediately causes a matchup nightmare he’s stronger than almost every other guard and

Forward in the NBA and faster than every big man if you place a big man on Zion he can blow right by them and if you place a smaller Wing or guard he will bully them to get an easy bucket let’s look at Point Zion in action if

Defenders give him space instead of shooting like a guard normally will he builds up speed and Powers through them or gets a crafty bucket where he literally jumps around them Defenders sag off Zion since he won’t shoot but he uses this to his Advantage by running

Full speed at them Zion is Elite at getting to his spot under the rim he leads the NBA with 4.8 shots per game from 0 to 2 ft from the basket which is the most attempts from this range since 2014 this is crazy since most times Zion

Is bringing up the ball and creating this look for himself he isn’t just camping in the paint like an old school Center that really just shows how crafty and Powerful he is at getting to his spot the Pelicans offense also utilizes pick and rolls perfectly to allow Zion to get the right matchup

Like on this play the Heat put bam adabo on Zion this is probably one of the best Zion counters in the league but yonas Valen chunis sets a good screen and takes bam out of the play now Zion has NOA yovic on him who’s 80 lb lighter and

Not as quick and Zion gets to his spot with ease to score and here’s another pick and roll done the opposite way this time Zion has a smaller defender on him but the screen brings up the bigger Marvin baggley baggley is not a good perimeter Defender at all and is very

Slow at moving laterally so Zion does a quick crossover and it leads to him getting ahead for an easy drive and dunk sometimes all you can do is foul Zion in these pick and rolls he has the third highest free throw rate as a pick and roll ball handler with only Giannis and

Butler ahead of him or teams can double team him and force him to pass the ball but this is where he’s getting deadly on this play he takes the ball up and both Anthony Davis and LeBron shade to his side to prevent the drive now D’Angelo Russell has to pick up either Larry

Nance Jr or herb Jones He hesitates and sticks with Nance and this is all the time Zion needs to kick it out to Jones for an open three since December 28th Zion is averaging 5.7 assists per game and plays like this are a frequent occurrence teams have to pick their

Poison and decide whether to double Zion or not but he’s getting so good at reading defenses and the Pelicans have surrounded him with great Shooters CJ McCollum and Herb Jones are shooting 42% from three this season Trey Murphy has had an up and down year but he can be a

40% three-point shooter and then Brandon Ingram can score at all levels and is not a guy that you want to leave in a one-on-one either as this season has gone on we’ve seen the Pelicans finally find a perfect play style for Zion the proof is there and that when Zion is

Controlling the ball the Pelicans are a better team there are not many big men that can handle the ball and get to spots as easily as him there is almost no player you can compare Zion to since with his skill set he’s such a unicorn

In the NBA but if you to pick one player who’s the most similar to him I think it would be Giannis both are freakish athletes and have overpowering physical traits yet can handle the ball and be patient on offense and always get their spot or get a good look for teammates

Comparing their year four stats it’s almost identical both average around 22.5 points per game both average five assists per game and both have a usage rate around 28% in giannis’s fourth season the Bucks started giving him the keys to be the primary ball handler similar to how Zion is just now getting

The role as the primary ball handler however the bucks after giannis’s fourth season continued to increase his usage rate every year until it got as high as 37.5% the increased trust that the Bucks gave Giannis to control the ball even more took him from an Allstar to an MVP

And the Bucks leaped from being a playoff team to the best record in the NBA to eventually NBA champion it’s not to say Zion is guaranteed to do this if he plays as the primary ball handler but fans don’t realize it’s still in his range of outcomes to reach

His ceiling Zion went from being one of the most hyped up NBA prospects ever out of college to being criminally underrated he’s gone through major injuries and coaches who use him like a traditional big man now Zion has found his role and the Pelicans quietly are the fifth seed in a loaded Western

Conference the Pelicans are a team to watch out for going forward since we’re just seeing the beginning of what point guard Zion can truly Be

Zion Williamson is a point guard now…. And lets just say this might be the key to the Pelicans success. Zions NBA career has been filled with ups and downs from major injuries, bad coaching, and the media hating him. But now he has finally figured it out and the Pelicans are one of the hottest teams in the NBA this year.

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