1 defense since the All-Star break, the most defensive boards since the break, the leagues best 3-point shooting team in the clutch. There are also times when the Pels need a perimeter player who can get into the paint and collapse the defense. 1 when they toppled Milwaukee in the first round. Though hes made just eight 3-pointers, Williamson has the highest true shooting percentage (66.2%) among the 47 players with a usage rate of 25% or higher. As his responsibility has grown without Williamson, those mistakes have stood out more. When Alvarado and McCollum play together, the Pelicans outscore opponents by 3.8 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. Valaninas had some of the best numbers in his career last season, carrying a larger-than-expected load with Williamson sidelined all season. It's something the Pelicans do often because it makes it harder for his defender to duck underneath the screen. This alone demonstrates that Zion is already more than the limited player hes often painted to be. The Pelicans players know how hard theyll have to work to match that kind of production with their limited 3-point shooting. It's worth noting that Williamson was the Fantasy Basketball PF Exit Interview: Is drafting Zion Williamson Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. That latter number comes with a small sample size (48 attempts) and will probably improve with time. The only blemish on an otherwise sterling campaign was Williamson's diminished 3-point shooting percentage. Recently, Giannis Antetokounmpos Finals MVP has done great work for the Anti-Bag Twitter campaign. While Myles Turner is turning heads down low, T.J. McConnell is leading with effort in the backcourt. The last five games have been the highest-scoring stretch (32.4 ppg) of Williamsons career. Our aim? After getting traded to New Orleans, McCollumembraced the opportunity to show he could be more than just the single-minded scorer he was in Portland. It's scary to think that Williamson is doing this while having played less than a season's worth of games in his career. Perhaps the wear and tear from everything Valaninas did last year and the first half of this season is catching up with him. However, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports Randle is likely out (which means hes out). The Kings have a young core with Fox, Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Huerter, Monk, etc. They leverage their superior advantage in height with strength and vertical leaping ability, enabling them to protect the paint. If he catches him leaning in the direction of the screen, hell go the other way , And one reason for Williamsons effectiveness off the dribble is an improved handle, like a wicked in-and-out dribble , Its all about space. Why is that notable? Stephen Curry dropped 50 in Game 7 Sunday the most points ever scored in a Game 7 lifting the Warriors into the second round with another epic performance. And this is set to be the seventh time in his career that Butler has had more steals (63) than personal fouls (47). I mean, hes that good, Steve Kerr said. New Orleans, by contrast, has reached 15 3-pointers in a game only once since the start of the new year. Donovan Mitchell had 28 and some fantastic kick-out assists back to the top of the key, Gobert added 13 points and 18 rebounds, while Jordan Clarkson (18 points) and Joe Ingles (15) provided a spark off the bench. Power Rankings Notebook: Zion Williamson with the ball, plus Three more charges against Ridgway in Green River case The Pelicans rank third among teams at 6.2 per game, and the more their guards put defenses on their heels, the more opportunities Williamson will have to do damage on the move. Zion Williamson Out Indefinitely; Pelicans Blame Officiating Zion Williamson nearing Shaquille O'Neal's record, posts another Best Centers That figure jumps to 106.6 in half-court sets when the four other starters play with someone other than Valaninas. That may be just a result of a few different circumstances. It's scary to think that Williamson is doing this while having played less than a season's worth of games in his career. 1, Kia Rookie Ladder: Haliburton climbs to No. While the Lakers game was an obvious example, weve seen the Pels react similarly in other games during this stretch. This isnt a huge surprise after Thibodeau said on Saturday that Randle had not gone through a full practice and had done some shooting, lifting, and pool cardio. In fact, if you counted only games that werent within five points in the last five minutes, the Mavs would have the best record in the West. Davis has an effective field goal percentage of 39.4% on shots from outside the paint, a mark that ranks 117th among 122 players who have taken at least 200 shots from the outside (not including backcourt shots). 71.4: This is Williamsons shooting percentage this preseason.No, not his free throw percentage. If Williamson doesnt have it, he can run into trouble . Give the Warriors defense credit for some of that, but a lot of it was just the Kings learning how to play in these moments. The player closest to Williamson is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 16.9points per game in the paint. FROM @EliasSports: Zion is the youngest player in NBA history with consecutive games of 30 points on at least 70% FG pct. I can make cuts off the ball sometimes to break the play. Randle struggled in the first round against the Cavaliers, averaging 14.4 points a game on 33.8% shooting (and a dreadful 45.9 true shooting percentage). The saddest part for the Pels is McCollum has been deadly in the role the team intended for him next to Williamson and Ingram. Will Guillory is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the New Orleans Pelicans. They scored at least 120 points in 16 of their 36 games and were held under 100 just once. Golden State will need more out of Jordan Poole than they got against Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/D6eYVF3ubi, John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) January 23, 2020. He will take what is given to him; often that has been the basket. Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. shooting While the Mavericks have the leagues 10th best record, they have its third best point differential (+7.1 per game), that of a team thats 32-12. They did it without needing the type of huge performances Butler delivered in the first round, when he scored 56 and 42 points in the final two games. Quentin Grimes is available to play. I was horrific, he said. At the very least, their offense was rolling through teams nightly. The 6-foot-7 Williamson, in his second season out of Duke after becoming the No. Weve been rewarded for our patience with the debut of the No. That is by far the worst figure of any five-man lineup with at least 300 possessions this season. The 10-year veteran is shooting 43.4 percent from the field, his lowest figure since his second season in the league. Zion Williamson Latest on New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson including complete game-by-game stats on ESPN. (To boot, many of his "unassisted baskets" were putbacks). Williamson took DeRozan into the paint and Ball lofted a lob pass over the helpless defender. Hes also shooting 43 percent on midrange While hes had some exemplary moments as a point guard during his time with the Pels, he still tends to fall back on some of his bad habits. Happy Friday! And one may wonder how much that affects their approach to trade talks with the deadline now less than two weeks away. Even if a team thinks theyhave one player who has a decent shot at hanging with him, they almost certainly don't have two, making switching against the Pelicans adangerous game. Two, just because the regular season didnt go the way we wanted it to go or other people wanted it to go, doesnt mean we werent developing grit and tough habits and good things. Whenever you're rubbing shoulders with a first-ballot Hall of Famer, you know you're doing something right. Before joining The Athletic, he was a writer at The Times-Picayune/NOLA Media Group, and he's been on the Pelicans beat since 2016. Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. The Heat fell behind by 12 points in the second quarter, but that wasnt going to faze a team that eliminated deficits of 15 and then 16 points in the last two games against Milwaukee. With Williamson rarely looking to score outside of the paint he's taken a grand total of eight shots from midrange and 24shots from 3-point range this season you'd think giving him space would be the easiest way to contain him. Zion Williamson scored 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting in New Orleans' 113-109 win over Denver on Sunday, marking the 20th straight game in which Williamson But are they even better than that? Prune back the tops of the geraniums, leaving about 8 inches The 10-year veteran is shooting 43.4 percent from the field, his lowest figure since his second season in the league. Its not just Zion Williamson: 4 reasons the Pelicans Williamsons spectacular performance in the Pelicans 119-118 win over the Timberwolves Wednesday night encapsulated what makes him different from anything NBA fans have seen. The fine results from Brooks failure to participate in team postgame media availability during the first round. Its an admirable philosophy, one that many developing young players could benefit from. Brunson was 0 for 7 from outside and committed five turnovers. Breaking down the Golden State-Los Angeles matchup with 3 things to watch, 1 X-factor and a series prediction. More space means more opportunity for him to gain steam. Remember, he missed the entire 2021-2022 season. a constant gripe of head coach Willie Green, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2023/03/17040208/CJ-drop-off.mp4, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2023/03/17040230/CJ-corner.mp4, when McCollum shares the court with Daniels, are outscored by 2.7 points per 100 possessions, have a staggering plus-19.5 net rating this year, has been the main cause of his rocky season, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2023/03/17040300/BI-TO-2.mp4, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2023/03/17040325/BI-TO.mp4. Hes missed the last 32 games and is a week away from being re-evaluated for a possible return this season. Prior to the 911 call reporting the shooting, at 4:56 p.m., a sheriff's office sergeant driving north on Highway 3 between Gorst and Bremerton spotted a man De'Aaron Fox was 5-of-19. His passing chops caught my eye early in his rookie season and he's shown real signs of improvement this season. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. Butler had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and the No. It's something the Pelicans do often because it makes it harder for his defender to duck underneath the screen. We want to continue to grow Dysons game in that position where hes having the ball (and) making plays for his teammates. 1 Biggest Draft Need: Floor general In truth, the Houston Rockets' biggest draft need is more abstract than any singular item. If not, Davis only played 4% of his minutes at power forward last season. Zion Williamson Malik Monk was 4-of-14. RJ Barrett scored 26 points and Jalen Brunson had 25 for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who are in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The Hornets actually lost a clutch game on Sunday, falling in overtime to Phoenix. Zion Williamson Knicks All-Star F Julius Randle (ankle sprain) is expected to be out for Game 1 vs. Miami today, sources tell ESPN. He hasnt been a very effective jump-shooter, though. This season, that number has plummeted to 59.8percent. Even if a team thinks theyhave one player who has a decent shot at hanging with him, they almost certainly don't have two, making switching against the Pelicans adangerous game. Looney had 21 rebounds total, while Sabonis had no rebounds in the third quarter when the Warriors started to pull away. Your default site has been set for 7 days, Stat Just Happened: Zion Williamson is dominating the paint in a way we haven't seen since Shaquille O'Neal, Shaquille O'Neal-type force of nature with a point guard skill set. So the Pelicans will sometimes try to set those screens as low as possible, like at the dotted circle , A low screen can make it tougher for the defender to get under and give Williamson a runway , Switching the ball screen can keep Williamson from being able to get downhill, but it can also put him in a matchup he prefers , Williamson has also shown an ability to read his own defender. New Orleans Pelicans news fromFanSided Daily, 5 bold predictions for Cowboys against Patriots, Bills zoom into AFCs drivers seat, Chiefs reach crisis and more. Ranking the best players in the NBA this season, from 100 to 51 In the 2019 Draft, in addition to Zion Williamson, the Pelicans also got Jason Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Utah exploited Zion for chunks of the game by putting him in motion and making him read and move on defense. When McCollum does get off the ball, he often gets caught with a different type of tunnel vision, telegraphing drop-off passes to bigs or kick-outs to the corner that defenses easily read. That stretch continues with a back-to-back at home, where the Pels are hosting the Orlando on Thursday (8 ET, League Pass) and Atlanta on Friday (9 ET, League Pass). The Warriors have been in these moments for a decade and had the poise to handle it. Code 911 | Kitsap Sun In a season full of comically awful numbers, this one has jumped out the most: The Pelicans normal starting lineup without Zion (McCollum, Jones, Ingram, Murphy and Valaninas) is getting outscored by a whopping 26.3 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. It doesn't help that Williamson is lightning quick. Our guys know how to do it, theyve got to go out there and put it together, Green said.

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