The New Orleans Pelicans suffered a close loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 98-91. In this loss, one thing was evident: Derik Queen is following in the footsteps of Zion Williamson and not in a good way. Throughout Zion's entire career, one of the biggest knocks on him has been his conditioning, and after Queen's debut, he is facing the same criticism.
Queen's counting stats looked solid, he finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists, but those don't come close to painting a picture of how Queen played. He struggled getting up and down the floor and was often caught in the middle of the court in fast-break situations. He was sloppy and lazy for the majority of this game.
Queen is very talented and possesses skills as a passer and a scorer, but early on, it appears he needs to put in major work to improve his conditioning.
The summer league typically has way more fast-break opportunities than a regular season NBA game because of the skill difference, resulting in more misses. However, that's not an excuse for Queen, who struggled to keep up in just 26 minutes of action.
He spent a ton of time standing around and watching the ball rather than trying to create separation to get open. This was likely because he was exhausted from playing at the required pace and speed of any NBA game. This is a massive cause for concern, as the game will only demand better stamina as he advances through the levels of competition.
Is this an overreaction or a fair assessment
Honestly, the summer league is all about overreaction, but I don't think this is one of those scenarios. The idea of Queen struggling to keep up with the skill level and conditioning in the NBA isn't a new one. It was actually one of his biggest concerns coming from draft experts, and in his debut, it was proven to be true.
We've seen the issues that not being properly conditioned has created for Zion Williamson, whether it's through injuries or just pure exhaustion. However, Williamson is one of the most talented players in the NBA, so he can get away with it. Queen, on the other hand, cannot. His skill set is undeniable, but to stay in the NBA, he's going to have to get in much better shape.
After just one summer league game, it seems apparent that Queen is trending in a bad direction, and if he doesn't improve his stamina, he is going to have a hard time sticking in the NBA.