New Orleans Pelicans: The good and bad of Zion Williamson at center

If there was one thing of note in another bad New Orleans Pelicans loss, it was Stan Van Gundy’s willingness to play Zion Williamson at the 5.

It’s now three games in 2021 and three bad losses for the New Orleans Pelicans, who were defeated 118-110 by the Charlotte Hornets. There weren’t many positive takeaways for the Pels who, once again, blew a considerable lead behind sloppy turnovers, defensive lapses, and bad outside shooting.

Stan Van Gundy has played around with the idea of Zion Williamson as the sole big on the floor over the past few games, but the Pelicans’ head coach appeared to fully embrace it—at least for one game—to mixed results. Jaxson Hayes only played a touch over three minutes, while Nicolò Melli came on for a brief cameo and was promptly ushered off the floor after being targeted by the Hornets. That meant much more of Williamson at center.

This move reiterated Van Gundy’s unhappiness with his back-up bigs, who have struggled the entire season so far. Their poor showings have unfortunately contrasted Steven Adams’ consistently good performances. But this decision also showed more innovation from Van Gundy, whose offense has been too one-dimensional and is yet to truly get going.

The most notable stretch with Williamson at center came at the beginning of the fourth quarter after the Hornets were truly starting to mount a comeback. In a tiny unit that featured no players over 6-foot-6, Van Gundy surrounded Williamson with shooters in JJ Redick, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Josh Hart, and Eric Bledsoe (arguable but New Orleans’ best three-point shooter so far this year). This micro lineup produced some favorable results on the attack.

Playing Williamson really opened the floor for the Pelicans, who have often suffered from a lack of spacing this season. No congestion meant more space and better looks on offense. This is something that the Pelicans need a lot more to kickstart their waning attack.