2 Plays from Zion Williamson vs Trail Blazers showing his new conditioning

After a brief one-game hiatus due to illness, Zion Williamson made his return for the New Orleans Pelicans in their second game of the season, taking on the Portland Trail Blazers on the road. Both he and the Pels started off extremely behind the ball. He went into intermission with just four points on a paltry 1-7 shooting while the team only had 37 as a whole.

New Orleans came roaring back, erasing a 10-point halftime deficit to eke out a win, 105-103. Zion was able to improve his field-goal percentage in the second half but not by much, ending with 16 points on 4-15 shooting. He also added 11 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks, and a steal, however, putting his fingerprints all over this game even when the shots weren't falling.

Working on a minutes restriction, Zion finished with just 29 minutes played, including a long stint on the bench in the fourth quarter before he finally checked back in with just a little over three minutes left. Playing through illness is no easy task, and he likely needed the extra time off the court to catch his breath. Still, despite the rust, the minutes restriction, and his illness, Zion Williamson was able to show off his new level of conditioning in his debut, particularly in these two plays.

Zion Williamson looked extremely fit in his Pelicans debut, despite his recent illness

Play 1: Lob number two

Coming out of a cold first half, it was clear that the Pelicans and Head Coach Willie Green wanted to draw some things up to get Zion going. Their plan worked to perfection.

Just barely over a minute into the second half, Brandon Ingram is sauntering down the floor when he suddenly fires off a halfcourt lob. His pass found Zion at the hoop, who flushed it down with authority. Zion used a quick spin off of Jerami Grant to free himself up for the easy scoring opportunity.

Looking at the play in a vacuum, it's not anything that we haven't seen from Zion before. On a list of the top dunks in his career, this one might not even make it out of the cutting room. However, it's a testament to his renewed conditioning and fitness, because 22 seconds earlier in the game, he did this:

When playing a word association game, it wouldn't take long for someone to come up with 'dunk' if they were presented with the prompt 'Zion Williamson.' But, he slowed down his high-flying acrobatics dramatically throughout his career. Last season, he finished with just 78 dunks on the year, representing a career-low eight percent of his total field goals. Seeing him display this level of explosiveness in back-to-back plays, especially while still recovering from an illness, is an extremely encouraging sign of his improved conditioning.

Play 2: Z saves the day

Due to his illness and ensuing minutes restriction, Zion rode the bench until the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter. When he came back in, he was the only big man on the court.

In the offseason, Coach Green stated that Herb Jones would be the de facto center in the Pelicans' small-ball lineups and told fans and analysts not to expect any center play from Zion. That all went out the window against in the closing seconds against the Trail Blazers.

New Orleans found themselves protecting a two-point lead with the shot clock turned off and the Blazers with possession. Portland put the ball in Anfernee Simons's hands to try to extend the game. Despite his prolific 3-point shooting, Simons decided to take it to the rack shadowed by none other than Herb "not a center" Jones.

Jones did a fantastic job impeding Simons's path to the rim without fouling. He used his quick feet and sturdy frame to make it difficult on the Blazers guard, causing Simons to have to slow and elongate his gather to try to finish around and over Herb.

With Herb slowing Simons's drive, though, Zion found the time to help and ultimately swat Simons's attempt away, forcefully, assertively, and while floating several feet in the air. His fourth block of the night sealed the game for the Pelicans and made a statement to the league: Zion Williamson is back and better than ever.