The New Orleans Pelicans’ rookie has been sensational so far, but the overtime loss to the Mavericks revealed a few things he needs to improve moving forward.
Let’s get something straight right away: the New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson is a 19-year-old superstar in the making who will eventually be the face of the NBA.
He has been spectacular in his young career, pouring in 24 points a game and grabbing 6.8 boards while leading the New Orleans Pelicans resurgence and doing things like this:
.@ZO2_ pokes it away and @Zionwilliamson finishes with the slam! @Zatarains pic.twitter.com/on73281KLu
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 4, 2020
Williamson seems to break a record (or a rim) every night and his scoring and high field goal percentage have put him in the same conversation as Michael Jordan.
It is the height of nit-picking to start talking about what he needs to improve, but this is the world we live in.
As the most hyped rookie since LeBron James, Zion is going to spend his career under a microscope and will need to get used to the type of media scrutiny that is coming.
Yes, he has been amazing, everything the New Orleans Pelicans could hope for and more, but if he wants to be mentioned in the same breath as the greats, there are still some things for the 19-year-old rookie to work on.
Here are three things that Zion can improve to make the leap from hype to MVP.
Develop Some Kind of Jumper
Zion is a powerhouse in the paint, a nearly unstoppable force the likes of which we haven’t seen since a young Shaquille O’Neal. It would be crazy for the New Orleans Pelicans to try to turn him into a soft stretch-four or worry about him developing a 3-point shot.
He’s a dunking machine and should remain so.
As tough a cover as Zion is physically, he’s extremely easy to scheme against.
Everyone in the building knows what Zion wants to do with the ball and defenders are just dropping off and waiting for his inevitable drive to the hoop.
Maxi Kleber did this brilliantly for the Mavericks and was able to block several of Zion’s shots just by standing his ground and waiting for the young phenom to plow into him.
Kleber provided the rest of the league a blueprint for how to guard Williamson. Back off, wait for him to drive, stand your ground and wait for help to come from the weak side, which it did, in the form of Kristaps Porzingis.
Kleber and Porzingis combined for 10 blocks, most of them against Zion.
If Zion can develop even a mediocre mid-range jumper it would prevent teams from sagging off him and clogging up the paint. This would allow his elite quickness and athleticism to go to work and Zion would actually get better looks at the rim.
Some have suggested that Zion doesn’t need a jumper and at this early point in his career they are right.
He may not need it, but if he wants to be an All-Time Great, then developing a jumper will get him there.
Zion does not need to be Stephen Curry, but if he can start hitting 12-15 foot jumpers he’ll be almost impossible to stop.
A Leaner Build Means Better Results
A lot has been made about Zion’s weight, going all the way back to his days at Duke when some outlets made “light” of his girth.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons even went as far as to say that Zion weighed over 300 lbs. in a recent podcast, information he got from “good sources.”
This has all been a bit overblown, as Zion has missed much of the season with injury and has had to work himself back into shape on the court. Plus, not too many fat guys can do this:
Some of the fat shaming surrounding Zion has been ridiculous and mean, especially considering he is a 19-year-old who hasn’t even had a full offseason in the NBA.
Zion’s weight has not seemed to deter his superhuman athleticism, but he has looked gassed at times, especially last night on the tail end of a back-to-back.
Zion was having trouble getting through traffic, got his shot blocked continuously and even fell down a few times as a result of what looked like fatigue.
https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1235404978585395200
Having better conditioning will prevent these late game lapses and allow Zion to play more minutes in the future.
Carrying less weight will also ease the burden on his joints, especially his knees, which have already been injured in his young career.
The idea that Zion is “fat” is absurd and I’d love to hear some of these Internet Tough Guys give their hots takes about his weight to his face.
Zion can and will get into better shape and with a full offseason of conditioning, will enter next season lean and ready to dominate.
Zion’s offensive game is currently limited due to his inability to shoot and his lack of a go-to post move.
He doesn’t have to be the next Hakeem Olajuwan in the post, but he needs more tricks in his bag than he currently has.
Right now everyone in the world knows what Zion is going to do when he gets the ball with the post. His “move” is basically just to lower his shoulder, impose his will on a weaker opponent and dunk.
Last night against Kleber and Porzingis showed that this strategy isn’t always going to work.
If Zion could develop one reliable post move like a jump hook or a spin that didn’t always go left, then it would open up the lane even more for him to go to work.
Right now opponents just have to force Zion right and then wait for him to come back to the left hand, as he has trouble finishing with his right.
To be fair, even without much of an elaborate post game, Williamson is still very difficult to stop. Running through opponents and getting dunks works pretty well.
https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA/status/1235417165903228928
If Zion ever develops a real post game or a jump shot he is going to win multiple MVP’s and possibly even a scoring title or two.
What Zion has done so far has been impressive and he is already an elite talent that will lead the New Orleans Pelicans to big things. Once he is in top condition and has more offensive weapons to choose from, the NBA won’t be able to stop him.