Zion Williamson keeps evolving for the New Orleans Pelicans
Zion Williamson grazed perfection in the New Orleans Pelicans 128-123 win against the Sacramento Kings, scoring 31 points on 13-of-15 shooting, not missing a single free throw, and being decisive down the stretch for his team.
By now, most of us have probably seen his mind-bending, gravity-defying reverse layup over Marvin Bagley III. It’s a mere glimpse of Williamson’s generational athleticism, which was on full display over his 35 minutes in Sacramento, but it also speaks to Williamson’s expanded offensive role over the last two games in California.
I have criticized Stan Van Gundy more than once this season for his one-dimensional, conservative offense which largely converges around Brandon Ingram creating his own shot out of pick-and-rolls. I don’t think this maximizes the arsenal of unique players Van Gundy has at his disposal, but especially Zion Williamson. For much of the season, Williamson’s offense has been reliant on him getting the ball in the low post and either quickly making move with his back to the basket or facing up.
That’s certainly a way to use Williamson, whose combination of strength, mass, and dexterity around the basket overwhelms most NBA players. It has indeed led to Zion Williamson averaging about 22 points per game. But it’s also because of that unique cocktail of skills that Williamson’s potential is wasted, or at the very least hampered, if he’s only used in the post.
Van Gundy has deviated from that in the past couple of games, mostly in two ways. It remains to be seen if this will continue being the case once Lonzo Ball—in practice, one of the team’s primary ballhandlers and creative forces—is back, but the signs of Williamson in a more expansive attacking role are encouraging.
New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson is playing some point guard with Lonzo Ball out
The first thing that has changed is that Williamson is bringing the ball up a lot more. This is troublesome for opponents right off the bat. It means that their 4 or 5 has to guard Williamson not in the post or around the baseline, where help can be sent straight away, but with lots of open court behind them.
Williamson is comfortable handling the ball and he is extremely difficult to stop when he gets downhill. In the above clip, he has the room to do just that. Here, it’s Kings center Richaun Holmes who is tasked with staying in front of Williamson. The Pelicans’ no. 1 already has the step on him after the first dribble, but he then sends him into the stanchion with one shoulder bump and finishes. Good luck defending that.
Later in the game, it was Marvin Bagley tasked with stopping Williamson as he brought the ball up. Bagley sags off, in part so that Williamson doesn’t immediately explode to the basket and maybe also to tempt him into taking a jumper.
The problem with giving Williamson that space is that it only builds a bigger avenue for him to get to the rim. In single coverage, this is not effective at all. This is giving a freight train freedom to attack the basket against a sole defender on the off chance that he might pull up. Williamson is not going to do that.
If the New Orleans Pelicans make the playoffs, then I imagine that this will be an idea worth revisiting. Zion Williamson might see coverages more similar to the ones Giannis Antetokounmpo faces, with walls of two or three defenders being formed between him and the basket, but that is unlikely to happen in the regular season.
Williamson sees the space, hits Harrell with a quick in-and-out dribble, and finishes with the lefty floater. It’s light work for him.
The one thing to watch is Williamson’s finishing over length. He was almost impeccable against the Kings, but struggled a little against the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite scoring 21 points, he missed an unusual 10 shots.
More than once, Williamson barreled his way to the basket and was unable to score. He got blocked by Anthony Davis a couple of times, stifled by Marc Gasol, and found it difficult against Montrezl Harrell. Of course, we have to keep in mind that this was against the most stacked frontcourt in the league, but it is still an area of interest.
New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson moving better off the ball
Another shift in Williamson’s offense has been his movement off the ball. Typically, the former number one pick starts possessions near the baseline so that he can go into the post or find a good angle to face his defender up. A smattering of cuts has been added to this.
This is a great way to use Zion Williamson and it is one I have longed for since the start of the season. Because of Williamson’s strength and explosiveness, his movement has a ton of gravity that Stan Van Gundy can exploit to get points for himself and the Pelicans.
Against the Lakers, Williamson got his first two points off a cut. The New Orleans Pelicans have many capable ballhandlers on the roster and I think it’s a waste if they just feed Williamson through entry passes.
Below, a pick-and-roll results in Nickeil Alexander-Walker being matched up with Marc Gasol and Dennis Schroeder on Steven Adams. Williamson is being guarded by Anthony Davis, who is distracted for a split second by Adams. Although Davis sees Williamson’s cut, it’s too late by the time he receives the ball. Williamson is just too skilled around the basket and it’s an easy two points.
Another look the Pelicans used, this time versus the Kings, was Williamson as a roller. For the same reasons as cutting, I think this can be efficient for the Pelicans—even if the stats don’t back this up right now. Per NBA.com, Williamson scores under a point per possession as a roll man, although in a tiny sample size.
However, I am confident that the stats will eventually tilt towards what I’m seeing if the New Orleans Pelicans use Williamson as a roller more often, especially with Eric Bledsoe who is putting up good advanced numbers as a pick-and-roll ballhandler.
Below, however, it’s JJ Redick making the pass. The action flows into a pick-and-roll after Williamson’s handoff, and Redick executes the simple read for a bucket.
The Pelicans’ road trip has not been ideal so far, with a health and safety protocols scare for Williamson, Bledsoe missing a game, and Lonzo Ball sidelined—and that’s without mentioning the two losses to the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers that could end up being important in the ever-so-tight Western Conference.
However, it does seem like the New Orleans Pelicans are willing to write a new chapter in their offensive playbook when it comes to Zion Williamson, who for all intents and purposes remains the Pelicans’ franchise star. In my eyes, this can only be a good thing.