New Orleans Pelicans: 3 reasons this frustrating season was a success
New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson as point guard
One of the biggest revelations of the season was that Zion Williamson can be the primary ball handler who initiates the offense.
The Lonzo Stans would tell you that this development is why Lonzo didn’t blow up this season, but the truth is that the Pels’ offense really took off once Zion Williamson became the point guard.
The Pels had one or the best offenses in the NBA after this transition, which is something I don’t think the Pelicans were planning for in his first full season the league.
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This is important for a number of reasons: the first is that Zion gives the Pelicans an advantage that few other teams have, which is that he can get to the rim whenever he wants and there is not much anyone can do to stop it. Every team that plays the Pels from now one will have to game plan around this anomaly, which gives them an advantage.
It’s also important that the Pels figured this out so early in his career, as they can now build their team around Point Zion and not Post Zion, which might change the type of players they pursue.
Had they known Zion Williamson was going to be this successful in this role, the Pelicans might had adjusted their draft, free agency and trade acquisitions last offseason, but that ship has sailed.
Moving forward, the New Orleans Pelicans should be able to target the types of players to add around Zion Williamson so that the Pels can be successful on both ends.