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.
How Zion Williamson playing center impacts the New Orleans Pelicans offense
The improved spacing with Williamson at center was evident right off the bat. With him as the only big on the floor, the Pelicans were able to get quality looks for both himself and his teammates. Often, it was Williamson who took on a larger creative burden, something which he showed himself capable of doing at Duke but has not been tapped into in New Orleans.
In the play below, Williamson sets a screen for Eric Bledsoe. He rolls hard to the rim, sucking Devonte’ Graham over to try to help. Williamson makes a quick read on the short roll to find Josh Hart in the corner and it’s a wide-open three for the Pelicans.
A few moments later, Williamson’s sheer presence near the basket has three Hornets players paying attention to him. He makes the pass to Bledsoe who then just has to make the extra pass to get Redick an open three on the wing. Redick misses, but just the space available is noteworthy.
These wide-open shots are golden for the Pelicans, who entered the game among the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA. New Orleans doesn’t have many players who are threatening from beyond the arc and those who are have struggled. Getting good looks should help the likes of Hart and Redick.
Williamson led the Pelicans with 26 points, and he probably should have had more. He missed some looks which tend to go in, but the important thing is that they were all makeable shots‑especially for him. When he was at the 5, the Hornets’ defenders could not focus exclusively on Williamson. If they converged on him, they knew he could find the open man which, in this case, was someone capable of making a three.
Above, Williamson gets to face PJ Washington up. The Hornets can’t help too much because Redick and Hart are on the weak side. Gordon Hayward eventually rotates over which might deter some players, but not someone with the explosiveness of Williamson. This is an easy bucket for him. Charlotte eventually went even smaller with Miles Bridges at center and this was also easy pickings for the former number one pick.
Even when Williamson didn’t touch the ball, his gravity as a roller created openings for his teammates. Williamson has been used a lot by Van Gundy in face-up or post-up situations, but his uncanny ability to attract defenders by simply getting downhill—be it on the ball, off a cut, or diving off a screen—needs to be utilized more. On this occasion, he rolls hard again for Bledsoe, pulling Gordon Hayward into guarding the rim, and leading to Hart hitting another three.
How Zion Williamson playing center effects the New Orleans Pelicans’ defense
Before the season, I wrote about how Williamson at center was not a legitimate option yet because of his defensive shortcomings. I stand by that, even after his positives on the other end of the floor.
Van Gundy’s micro lineup carved out tons of space on the attack, but it did the same on defense. At this stage of his development, Williamson is a sieve on defense. The first nine games of the season have done nothing to placate those concerns.
Below, the Hornets get a good lookout of dribble penetration just as they had for the entire game. Redick’s closeout on Caleb Martin is bad, but Williamson does not protect the rim at all. He is essentially easily boxed out by PJ Washington and he can’t come over to contest Martin’s lay-up.
This play would not happen with Steven Adams on the floor. It shows that, while Williamson is a generational vertical athlete on the attack, he has a long way to go before he can be considered a genuine rim protector on defense.
It was concerning to see the Hornets rack up good shot after good shot with Williamson holding down the paint (or trying to). At one point, LaMelo Ball got an offensive rebound, the Hornets missed another shot, and Hayward then jumped over Williamson to tip the ball in.
On one of the Hornets’ next trips down the floor, James Borrego’s squad targeted Williamson in the pick-and-roll. This is a big weakness for him. Williamson was too slow recovering and generally looked lost, resulting in a foul and two free throws for Hayward down the stretch. Van Gundy subbed Adams back into the game shortly thereafter.
It’s a shame that Williamson at center is not a tenable option on defense yet for the Pelicans because of the improvements he brings on the attack. Like we’ve written about extensively, New Orleans desperately needs to find an offensive groove.
The Pelicans have gone from one of the best attacks in the NBA to one of the worst. Williamson will undoubtedly be part of the solution, but he has to iron out his defense first.