Zion Williamson just completed a historic season for the New Orleans Pelicans.
He became the first player in NBA history to score 25+ points per game on more than 60 percent shooting before his 21st birthday, which is pretty impressive.
Some fans are still not happy, as I have seen some giving a 20 YEAR OLD SUPERSTAR grades of B+ and C for the season. Huh?
Expectations for this team were too high and people nit picking a 20-year-old because he’s still got a few flaws is pretty tough. It’s what comes with greatness, so Zion should get used to it.
That being said, there are some areas in which Zion Williamson can and must improve if he wants to get the New Orleans Pelicans to the next stage as a franchise.
New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson’s defense
A lot has been said about this already, so I won’t belabor the point.
Does he need to improve defensively? Yes.
Is he hopeless? Nope.
Are any 20-year-olds in the NBA good at defense? Again, nope.
Am I worried? Absolutely not.
It is a problem when your two best players are arguably your worst defenders but Zion Williamson is just starting to figure things out and it takes time to get good defensively in the NBA. Also, when two guys are expected to get you nearly 60 points a night, you have to expect teammates to pick up the slack defensively, especially when one of those guys is in his first full season.
Zion needs to be a better on-the-ball defender, to close out better on the perimeter, to not get lost in the pick-and-roll and to block more shots off the ball, all things I think we’ll see over the next two seasons as he starts to add nuance to his game.
This problem was way overblown but Zion Williamson should set a goal of being better defensively.