Zion Lateef Williamson, a kid from South Carolina. Dunking on kids half his size in High School. Hes only averaging 22 minutes per game in his last 17 games, in part due to nagging knee and calf issues that have bothered him for some time. WebZion Williamson Stats and news - NBA stats and news on New Orleans Pelicans Forward Zion Williamson Instead of driving into the same fate, Williamson stops and pulls up for a smooth jumper, something thats been in his bag since he first started going viral as a teen. Still, 67.4% (1.35 points per attempt) is a great rate of return. It doesn't help that Williamson is lightning quick. This season, 71.3% of Zions shots come at the rim and 96.6% are within 10 feet of the basket. His crossovermakes him a tough cover in space because of how quickly he takes advantage of the smallest of openings. The man is putting up historic stats. Its an admirable philosophy, one that many developing young players could benefit from. Shooting just 41.9 percent from the field entering the game against New Orleans, Mitchell has began to turn the corner when it comes to his scoring efficiency early in the 2021 season. Instead, those opportunities have been few and far between, and the results havent been nearly as successful when they occur. The pre-playoffs conventional wisdom on how this series might play out became the reality of Game 7: Curry and the Warriors are going to get theirs, could the Kings score with them when it matters? Zion also is moving better off the ball this season. He has a good enough handle to blow by defenders who press up on him. The number drops to a minus-1.2 net rating when McCollum shares the court with Daniels, a wing-sized rookie with enough playmaking skill to serve as a point guard in a pinch. The whole point of having a player like Valaninas is to make the game steadier when things slow down and take advantage of having a capable post scorer to maneuver one-on-one. Sunday was a disappointing end to a breakthrough season for the Kings. NEW YORK (AP) Jimmy Butler looked his coach in the eye and said he was staying in the game, no matter how much his ankle might have hurt. His decision-making has been erratic at times, and hes trying to do more than necessary to open up things for his teammates. 8 seed to beat a No. Its easy to tell how much pressure Ingram feels to carry the offense. The Thunders fortunes in close games has them in seventh place in the West. The result is the Pelicans trade their twos for opponent threes, and that math does not add up. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. He's also the first player to do this at all in Pelicans history. Ball isnt just good a pushing the pace via the dribble. Zion Williamson Will Miss Start of Season Due to Injury Again, Which is Extremely Worrying. The rookie takes over the top spot as he continues to provide a steady hand to Sacramento's playoff push. Since then, the Pelicans are 26th in offensive rating, 14th in points in the paint and have been held under 100 points more times (six) than theyve reached 120 (five). He put those guys on his back and said, Im going to make sure were not losing tonight. 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. After the ball goes out of bounds, New Orleans immediately gives the ball back to Zion and he adjusts. 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 More space means more opportunity for him to gain steam. To answer key questions, uncover hidden truths and peel back the curtain on why some numbers matter more than others. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting. Time will tell if Davis continues to play almost twice as much at the four as he does at the five, though the percentage of his shots that have come in the paint hasnt been much higher when hes played center (59%) than it has when hes played next to McGee or Howard (57%). He has seen an increase in his ratio of 3-point attempts to mid-range attempts in each of the last three seasons (from 0.2 in 2016-17 to 0.8 this season), but that ratio could (and should) be higher. More than just spacing, on Tuesday New Orleans settling for Brandon Ingram or Zion or other players going at the Jazz in isolation rather than having player movement. Outside of his sometimes inconsistent outside shot, Luka's offensive game is near-perfect. He hasnt played 20 consecutive games at any point this season. As the game goes on, there is less off-the-ball movement and more isolation. NBA Play-In - West - 9th Place vs 10th Place, Stephen A.: Zion might've cost Pelicans an NBA Finals appearance. Hes been, throughout his career, at about one or two 3-pointers per game, Lakers coach Frank Vogel told NBA.com this week. But its been a more balanced diet and the continued development of his off-the-dribble game will be critical going forward. In what looks on paper to be an even series. Kevon Looney's historically elite rebounding provided separation in a winner-take-all Game 7. 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. 1, Kia Rookie Ladder: Haliburton climbs to No. His passing chops caught my eye early in his rookie season and he's shown real signs of improvement this season. It's something the Pelicans do often because it makes it harder for his defender to duck underneath the screen. Playing with a poorly built roster, under his second coach (who has since been fired), at just 20 years old, Williamson put up historic numbers averaging 27.0 points on 61 percent shooting. * The 54% is if you call the 6-8 Julius Randle the center in last seasons Davis-Randle frontline. The Knicks won the last three of those but have work to do if theyre going to take this one. Last year, his court vision made a noticeable jump as he learned to carry a much larger load without Williamson. from me when watching was the quickness to recover this blocked shot. 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. (To boot, many of his "unassisted baskets" were putbacks). Jokic is averaging a triple-double this season: 25.1 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 10 assists a game, with a ridiculously efficient 65.8 true shooting percentage. percentage and second in true shooting percentage, a barren wasteland between the paint and 3-point line. "Stat Just Happened" is our new series where we'll pair an important stat with how it actually unfolded on the floor. The starting lineups struggles this season has illuminated a larger issue thats popped up while Williamson has been out: The experiment of making McCollum a point guard in New Orleans hasnt worked as well as he hoped when he joined the team last season. Following him: Nikola Jokic (14.5), Andre Drummond (13.9), Clint Capela (13.0) and Domantas Sabonis (12.8). A close look at Williamsons game will show you an array of skills outside of the viral dunks. All of this is to say:Williamson a walking mismatch. I know hes going to see me and try to find me I think it definitely opens up the game for me a lot with a player like him.. In that same game, we also saw a glimpse of how good defense forces Williamson to get deeper into his bag, allowing everyone else to see how special he really is. Since 2000, the only player who has scoredin the paint at a higher clip than what we're seeing from Williamsonthis season is Shaquille O'Neal. It's worth noting that Williamson was the According to NBA.com , that's how many points per game Zion Williamson is averaging in the paint this season. Its the playoffs, number one. The Pelicans have won four of the five to climb within a game in the loss column of the ninth-place Warriors, with all three head-to-head matchups still to come. He's slightly undersized to play power forward or centre at 6-foot-6, but he has the size to power his way through bigger defenders when he gets intothe paint. pic.twitter.com/SLa2UhinrP, Orange is the New Openly Black (@NekiasNBA) January 20, 2021. He reinjured his ankle in Game 5 against Cleveland after missing the final five games of the regular season and hadnt done much since the Knicks returned to practice. Opponents generally want to go under ball screens for Williamson. 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. The start of Zion Williamsons NBA career hasnt come easy. Were together, at home, on the road, through the good and through the bad. Winning in the postseason with Sabonis is something the Kings need to figure out his lack of floor spacing and defense (although he was better on that end this series) hinder Sacramento in the playoffs. Ja Morant is probably going to be a top-three pick in the 2019 NBA Draft because of his star potential. The fine results from Brooks failure to participate in team postgame media availability during the first round. Four of those 19 came in his rookie debut. While hes doing that, hes a developing shooter from the perimeter, from the standpoint finding more opportunities to get clean looks.. Davis still ranks fifth in the league with 13.2 points in the paint per game. Smart stuff.). We need to appreciate Zion Williamsons commitment to efficiency. Former Pelican Anthony Davis has played about 65% of his minutes at power forward this season, down from *54% over his last two seasons in New Orleans. 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. While the Pelicans lack of spacing and dearth of supplementary scoring options have played a large part in the offenses stagnation, the ball getting stuck with McCollum (and Ingram) has also hurt. I think it helps CJ more than anything.. It's scary to think that Williamson is doing this while having played less than a season's worth of games in his career. Here are the 3-point numbers for everyone not named McCollum or Murphy since Jan. 1: Lately, its been tough to believe anyone on this list will knock down a spot-up shot when the ball finds them on the perimeter. The Kings have hard choices to make. He shot 42.9 percent as a rookie on 0.6 attempts per game. This season, that number has plummeted to 59.8percent. 3-point shooting: A. Williams, who made 25.5% of his college 3-point shots in two years, made just one of his first eight deep shots as a pro. The goal for the Pelicans offense in regard to the 20-year-old is the same as it was last season: Get him into the paint with enough runway for him to launch himself toward the rim, where he combines a deft touch with an uncanny ability to slice his wide body through however many defenders might be there (or just bounce off them). Entering his third season, how much of his game has New Orleans Pelicans Zion Williamson unveiled? It wasnt just from the play-in.. But among 163 players with at least 100 shots both inside and outside, only Jabari Parker has a bigger differential between his field goal percentage in the paint and his effective field goal percentage from outside the paint. In time, well certainly see some minutes with Williamson at the five and Ingram at the four, what may be the Pelicans most potent configuration. Its a blow for the Knicks and creates an opportunity and pressure on the Heat to steal a game in Madison Square Garden when New York is not at first strength. They have stocked up on a number of young players the team would have imagined could grow and develop alongside Williamson, but instead, most have struggled to adjust to life in the NBA. His overall shooting numbers are pretty much the same, and hes been fairly reliable as the No. Hall of Famer Ray Allen is as detail-oriented, and as process-driven a shooter as the league has ever seen. Davis is a different kind of player and keeping him from scoring inside is a lot easier said than done, but hes in that category of guys who are much more effective inside than they are from the perimeter. Many of his per-minute statistics look the same as last season. Andrew Wiggins is going to get the LeBron assignment and generally has done well defending him, but the Warriors need Wiggins to have a series like he did in the Finals last year. Zion Williamson played his first regular season debut on Thursday, registering 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five turnovers in a little over 18 minutes in the Pelicans 121-117 loss to the Spurs. Zion is as strong and explosive as anyone who has ever played the game, and when Gobert would play back daring Zion to shoot from the outside, he would use that on a runway, get rolling downhill, get his body into Gobert and get a bucket. Domantas Sabonis led the Kings with 22 points, but he was outplayed by Kevon Looney in Game 7, particularly in the second half Looney had more offensive rebounds (10) than Sabonis had total rebounds (eight). As he showed Sunday, that can be enough. An unheated garage, a cool basement or any other well-insulated cool building or shed will work. 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. 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. With better luck in close games, the Mavs might be in second place in the West instead of sixth. The Pelicans are going to ask a lot of Williamson and he's not going to have the workload of your average 19-year-old NBA rookie. Hes missed the last 32 games and is a week away from being re-evaluated for a possible return this season. However, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports Randle is likely out (which means hes out). Kevon Looney's historically elite rebounding provided separation in a winner-take-all Game 7. Here you can see Williamson notice Embiid is ready to rotate again for another block. He went through a workout before the game, but the Knicks ruled him out about 45 minutes before the start. Also, 44 percentof his baskets were unassisted, similar numbers to Jaylen Brown and Tyler Herro. You expect it to be tough, coach Erik Spoelstra said. And he's getting better at reading defences. For the second straight season, the Hornets have been the leagues best 3-point shooting team in the clutch, 32-for-66 (48%) on clutch 3-pointers entering their game in Brooklyn on Thursday. NBA players and a few celebrities were blown away and went to Twitter to react. Pelicans executive David Griffin said Friday that Williamson (hamstring) was never cleared for 5-on-5 or even full-court 3-on-3 work before the New York led 61-53 early in the third before Kevin Love converted a three-point play to trigger a 21-5 spurt by Miami. Quentin Grimes is available to play. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. UPDATE: The Knicks have made it official, Julius Randle is out for Game 1 vs. Miami. In Tuesdays loss to the Lakers, he had three turnovers in the first quarter that drained the energy from the building. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Our aim? Hes also shooting 43 percent on midrange jumpers, which would be the lowest number of his career. Breaking down the Golden State-Los Angeles matchup with 3 things to watch, 1 X-factor and a series prediction. With a full season officially under New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamsons belt, we got to see the dominance that made him a viral sensation in high school, executed at the NBA level. The Lakers defense has been great in those minutes with him at the five, but the offense has been sub-par (104.8 points scored per 100 possessions), in part because Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green, James and Troy Daniels have all shot worse from 3-point range in those minutes (30% combined) than they have otherwise. Zion Williamson is averaging 26.5 points on 61.7% shooting this season. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. When he was actually healthy this season, he Since 2000, the only player who has scoredin the paint at a higher clip than what we're seeing from Williamsonthis season is Shaquille O'Neal. Happy Friday! Hes a little more of a jump-shooter now than he was the last two seasons. Including his preseason minutes, New Orleans is a plus-52 in 54:03 with Williamson at center. Whenever you're rubbing shoulders with a first-ballot Hall of Famer, you know you're doing something right. This alone demonstrates that Zion is already more than the limited player hes often painted to be. And over the last 23 games, its over 11% (and almost even with that of Brandon Ingram). WebFind detailed Zion Williamson Shooting Stats on FOXSports.com. The Warriors move on to face the Lakers and the best Kings season in 16 years ends. @StephenCurry30 went off the man dropped 50 https://t.co/jnbpt4Vpb3 pic.twitter.com/LTd3V0X1Wf, Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) April 30, 2023, Andy Murray (@andy_murray) April 30, 2023. New Orleans is making strides this season, they are getting better, but Tuesday night showed just how far they and Zion have to go to become one of the better teams in the West. 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. With Jimmy Butler hobbled late by an ankle injury, Miami gets big performances from Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love to take the series opener in New York. Their win in Boston on Monday began a stretch where the Pels are playing 12 of 14 games against the Eastern Conference. Through December, the Pelicans ranked eighth in the NBA in points scored per 100 possessions, fourth in points in the paint, second in free-throw attempts and 11th in 3-point percentage. In total, the Pelicans outscored the Spurs, 29-21 in 8:28 with Williamson at the five. Dyson is really good with the ball in his hands making decisions. This leaves many wondering, what really is Williamsons ceiling, with such a limited, albeit impactful, skill set? According to NBA.com , 76.2 percent of the field goals he made as a rookie were assisted. 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 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. Stephen Curry had one of the greatest games of his career and that is saying something and the Warriors survive and advance, winning Game 7 on the road 120-100. First, it's the highest mark in the league. This might have been the greatest Stephen Curry game of them all. But the ways in which the Pelicans have achieved that goal have changed. He is in the MVP conversation early this season (although his defense could hold him back in that race). Here are some things of note as we head into the Week 14 weekend. 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. This season, there are seven players (whove played at least 500 minutes) in the Jimmy Butler Club: There are also two players with more blocks than personal fouls: Rudy Gobert (138, 112) and Jarrett Allen (74, 70). They gradually narrowed the deficit before halftime, blew by the Knicks with a 21-5 run in the third quarter and pulled away to a double-digit lead in the fourth. Rockets guard struggling to hit jumpers as we dig into 5 noteworthy stats, Plus, a look at zone defense and Al Horford's play without Joel Embiid, Clippers star in midst of worst shooting season as we dig into 5 noteworthy stats. Remember, he missed the entire 2021-2022 season. It would also help if Green played him next to another point guard more often. It gives CJ more of a balance being on the floor where he doesnt have to have the ball in his hands and initiate every time, Green said. Brunson was 0 for 7 from outside and committed five turnovers. Explore all New Orleans Pelicans NBA player stats - including scoring, rebounding, shooting, assists & more! Maybe Valaninas production would improve if Green trusted him more and made him a bigger part of the offense. That may be just a result of a few different circumstances. Zion Williamson is shooting 71 percent from the field during the preseason. And until he shows he can make shots outside the paint, teams will play far off him to take away the drive. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Nekias Duncan of Basketball News put it best: Williamson plays with the speed and dexterity of a Russell Westbrook and the power of a Giannis Antetokounmpo. Williamson has recorded eight 30+ point performances without a basket outside the paint. Ben Simmons and the 76ers have improved on defense since the break, despite the absence of Joel Embiid. The experience and execution of Chris Paul (who has shot 54% on 69 clutch shots) has been huge, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also 24-for-36 (67%) with the score within five in the last five. The truth is, his ceiling is high and his bag is deep, but until NBA defenses find a way to limit him in the paint, we wont see him digging too deeply. The player closest to Williamson is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 16.9points per game in the paint. What makes Williamson unique in those situations is well, a number of things. The last five games have been the highest-scoring stretch (32.4 ppg) of Williamsons career. 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. Latest on New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson including news, stats, videos, highlights and more on ESPN Then he played 6:37 at center in the fourth quarter, when he scored 17 of his 22 points. He still has a lot of developingto do imagine him with even a semi-reliable jump shot and yethe's already one of the league's most dominant scorers, a 20-year-old who is doing things we haven't seen since Shaquille O'Neal.
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