The Pelicans should dominate this statistic next season

When the New Orleans Pelicans get Zion Williamson back next season they expect to have a roster that can compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Adding 27 points and seven rebounds per game to any roster would be a big boost, but Williamson’s presence will pay off for other players as well.

Guys like Devonte’ Graham and Trey Murphy III should get more open looks from long range, and the Pelicans can run out offensive units that will be tough to stop.

Zion Williamson will also help Jonas Valanciunas and vice-versa as the latter can step out and shoot more threes to open up the lane for Zion to operate and Williamson will draw defenders away from Jonas, which should benefit him on the offensive glass.

In fact, offensive rebounding is one statistic that the New Orleans Pelicans should dominate next season when they are finally back to full strength.

New Orleans Pelicans on the offensive boards

The New Orleans Pelicans were third in the NBA in offensive rebounding last season, largely because of Valanciunas, who was 7th in the NBA overall.

That was actually a down year for Jonas, who was second in that category the year before, which was the last full season Zion Williamson played.

Williamson was 12th overall in offensive rebounding himself, so the Pels will have one of the top duos in the league when it comes to grabbing offensive boards. Zion’s double-jump move where he gets up and after his own miss before an opponent has time to react, is one of the toughest things in the league to stop.

He’ll also create more opportunities for Valanciunas, whose defender is often going to leave him to try and stop Zion.

But these two aren’t the only ones who can clean up the offensive glass. Larry Nance Jr. (1.6), Jaxson Hayes (1.6), Herb Jones (1.3) and Willy Hernangomez (2.9) all get after the offensive rebounds as well and should get even more weak side opportunities when Zion is on the floor.

The New Orleans Pelicans could easily lead the league in offensive rebounding next season, which should lead to a lot of easy put backs, kick-outs for open 3-point shots and fouls on the other team.