How Zion Williamson’s role should change when he returns to the Pelicans

Zion Williamson missed the entire season for the New Orleans Pelicans after a breakout season in which he averaged 27 points and made the All-Star team as a 20-year-old.

Stan Van Gundy unlocked Point Zion, turning the offense over to the big man and letting him create, which turned out to be very hard to stop.

So hard that teams turned to hacking Zion relentlessly, which had David Griffin ranting about the referees after Williamson suffered a late-season injury.

After missing the entirety of this one with a foot injury, Zion Williamson’s health is going to be the biggest question and concern of the offseason.

The Pelicans are potential contenders when at full strength, which is why they need to consider how they are going to use Zion when he returns. Here’s how his role should change.

New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson should play less point guard

Having a 285 lbs. athlete who can handle the ball and initiate like a point guard is certainly an advantage and one of the things that makes Zion a potential generational talent.

But he doesn’t need to do it all of the time, especially in the half court, where the Pels have other guys in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum who can create and draw double teams.

The Pelicans often forced the action with Zion in the half court under SVG, something that led to a lot of stagnation, tough shots, and hard contact.

The Pelicans need to get Zion more easy shots, ones that don’t require him to sacrifice his body by taking on the entire defense in the post. This should happen naturally with the addition of CJ McCollum and the leap in playmaking from Brandon Ingram, as the Pels have way more ways to beat you then they did in the 2020-21 season.

Playing Zion off the ball more will also allow the other scorers to take advantage of his gravity, get more open looks, which will eventually open things up more for Zion himself.

Zion Williamson needs to pass more

Zion Williamson is going to have more weapons around him next season and needs to use them to his advantage. He averaged 3.7 assists in 2020-21, so we know he can pass, but he needs to do more than just dump it off after the double team comes.

Willie Green instilled a team concept into the Pelicans’ roster last season and the team was much better at playing together, moving the ball and not just relying on isolation as they had in the past.

With four guys in the starting five that average 18+ points each, the Pelicans don’t need to rely only on Zion and instead can keep the ball moving and exploit the mismatches wherever they come.

The Pelicans shouldn’t try to slow Zion down when it comes to handling the ball in transition or initiating the offense in the open court, but when things slow down, they need to have him keep the ball moving, which is going to make them much more difficult to defend overall.

There are times when Zion Williamson is going to take over a game, but he needs to get more easy shots throughout the season, take less damage and play more within the team concept when he returns, as the Pelicans have a better team around him and more ways to help.