Zion Williamson Bust Watch

[stepbackj34spud]

Dude is literally one of the best scorers in the league at age 20. Lol

 

[Inertia Creeps]

Dude is literally one of the best scorers in the league at age 20. Lol

Took him ~30 games to eclipse Giannis as the league's leading paint scorer

 

[Professor Emeritus]

You gotta look at the context too. A Reggie Miller moment happens once. But if you look at the box score and you it looks like
-17, -13, -18... etc for like a 10+ game stretch then obviously there needs to be a lineup change

Since I made that post....

-21 against Utah (team was +10 when he was out)
-4 against the awful Timberwolves (team was -6 when he was out)
+4 against the awful Wizards (team was +14 when he was out, EVERY other starter was between +15 and +28)

It's a real pattern and people besides me have seen it. He's getting his, so someone needs to explain how the fukk you manage 32 points on 12-16 shooting against the shytty-ass Wizards and still end up just +4 in 33 minutes....but your team goes +14 in the 15 minutes you on the bench.

 

[Ohene]

Since I made that post....

-21 against Utah (team was +10 when he was out)
-4 against the awful Timberwolves (team was -6 when he was out)
+4 against the awful Wizards (team was +14 when he was out, EVERY other starter was between +15 and +28)

It's a real pattern and people besides me have seen it. He's getting his, so someone needs to explain how the fukk you manage 32 points on 12-16 shooting against the shytty-ass Wizards and still end up just +4 in 33 minutes....but your team goes +14 in the 15 minutes you on the bench.

That tells me potentially that nop bench is better than Washington’s and likely opened up the lead

what was ingrams

 

[Ohene]

Nvm everyone had a good plus minus but him lol

 

[NOSaintsFan02]

Since I made that post....

-21 against Utah (team was +10 when he was out)
-4 against the awful Timberwolves (team was -6 when he was out)
+4 against the awful Wizards (team was +14 when he was out, EVERY other starter was between +15 and +28)

It's a real pattern and people besides me have seen it. He's getting his, so someone needs to explain how the fukk you manage 32 points on 12-16 shooting against the shytty-ass Wizards and still end up just +4 in 33 minutes....but your team goes +14 in the 15 minutes you on the bench.

nikkas now at the point of arguing why his + isn't higher 38 games into his career

 

[Professor Emeritus]

That tells me potentially that nop bench is better than Washington’s and likely opened up the lead

what was ingrams

Nvm everyone had a good plus minus but him lol

I was gonna say man, Ingram was +28

 

[Inertia Creeps]

Since I made that post....

-21 against Utah (team was +10 when he was out)
-4 against the awful Timberwolves (team was -6 when he was out)
+4 against the awful Wizards (team was +14 when he was out, EVERY other starter was between +15 and +28)

It's a real pattern and people besides me have seen it. He's getting his, so someone needs to explain how the fukk you manage 32 points on 12-16 shooting against the shytty-ass Wizards and still end up just +4 in 33 minutes....but your team goes +14 in the 15 minutes you on the bench.

And Jerome Robinson also had +4 with a MASSIVE 8 points on a SEARING 28% from the field That boy was definitely matching Zion shot for shot every time down the floor tonight, right??? By your calculations he was Zion's equal in productivity and positive impact as his team got ran off the floor yea????

You a sad ass hater my man; a 20 year old drops 32 on the best efficiency from the field AND the line of everyone on his entire team with more than 5 attempts and all you can do is talk shyt about him; big insecure ass old bytch Shaq would be proud. Find something else to do with your time; you're gonna be in here for a literal decade coming here about meaningless stats like single game on/off +/- if you wanna nitpick every time Zion has 30+ piece going forward.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

nikkas now at the point of arguing why his + isn't higher 38 games into his career

You a sad ass hater my man

Dumbasses, I've been rooting for Zion. I liked Zion in college and repeatedly praised him early on. Like him as a person too. I'm just pointing out a clear issue that a lot of folk are missing.

I even thought Zion would be good on the defensive end based on what I saw in Duke, and as I result I thought this New Orleans team with all these great defenders would look a lot different. With the length and defensive instincts that Bledsoe, Ball, Ingram, and Adams have plus Zion's speed and hops and size....shouldn't they be suffocating teams when he's in there?

Zion has way better hops than Barkley, is quicker, has a better jump shot, and is a much better defender. And they don't have the same playing style at all, you're just saying that because they're the same height and they're both strong and fat. What version of Barkley do you think was playing the role that Zion played last year?

Not so much from the game but from the personnel...I could see this New Orleans team becoming like a new age Grizzlies. The gritty try-hard team with suffocating defense who no one wants to play. Will upset some teams in the playoffs but probably never make it to the Finals.

Zion really needs to embrace the big man role though, rebounds and rim protection. I'm not saying he shouldn't score too, even from the perimeter, but they really need his presence down there as much as possible.

That's a great gesture by Zion.

Exposes what greedy uncaring fukks the owners are. Every single NBA owner out there could have put up this money and not even noticed it leaving their account.

I saw this was bumped and thought it was going to be a picture of Zion heading for Shawn Kemp lockout status.


He's a really good player though and I'm glad I wasn't one of the doubters.

Zion is skilled for his size. He's a good finisher with some touch in addition to his power, he can handle the ball, and he makes quick decisions on offense.

I didn't say his bag is as deep. But with his physical skills and decent touch, considering how young he is, I think he has the chance to be as effective on that end. He's insanely effective already considering his inexperience.

Don't forget that AD was kinda raw offensively coming out of college too. He was a defensive player first. Check out this scouting report from the draft:

I doubt Zion will ever show the touch and finesse that AD has developed, but his aggressiveness and athleticism might compensate for that enough, especially if he works hard on his game.

For a realistic shot at something crazy, if the Pelicans can put together a late run and make the playoffs, it might be the perfect time to put in a press. Remember how Holiday was bulldogging Dame in the 1st round a couple years ago and they kept sending a second player to trap? That was halfway there already. Right now the Pelicans can't guard inside in the halfcourt....so fukk the halfcourt. Have Holiday and Ball blanket whoever is catching the inbounds pass, put Ingram and his long-ass arms out there at midcourt to rush the inbounder if the ballhandler gets in trouble or rush back if they try to clear deep, and then Zion can be back to outposition and outjump anyone if they try to bomb it. They really have great personnel and a great underdog situation to try it for at least one upset series.

 

[Hacksaw Jim Thuggin]

Since I made that post....

-21 against Utah (team was +10 when he was out)
-4 against the awful Timberwolves (team was -6 when he was out)
+4 against the awful Wizards (team was +14 when he was out, EVERY other starter was between +15 and +28)

It's a real pattern and people besides me have seen it. He's getting his, so someone needs to explain how the fukk you manage 32 points on 12-16 shooting against the shytty-ass Wizards and still end up just +4 in 33 minutes....but your team goes +14 in the 15 minutes you on the bench.

You haven't watched them play.

Defense
The guards can't keep anyone out.of.the lane....once they're broken down everyone else is scrambling and rotating....and Zion right now is terrible at closing out on 3 shooters...

Offense
The spacing is awful because they don't have consistent outside shooting. They've been playing faster which has helped....

To sum it up....

The bad defense and inconsistent offense equals a .500 or so team. Which is what you're seeing

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Defense
The guards can't keep anyone out.of.the lane....once they're broken down everyone else is scrambling and rotating....and Zion right now is terrible at closing out on 3 shooters...

That's literally the exact problem that I said Zion had a week ago and other people were trying to cop pleas and say it wasn't true.

The spacing is awful because they don't have consistent outside shooting.

In the modern NBA, if you're a 4 that needs to score inside, but you're not protecting the rim at all so the team needs a 2nd big to defend the rim inside, then you're responsible for that spacing problem.

Ingram is hitting 37% on 6 threes a game, Bledsoe is hitting 41% on 5 threes a game, and Hart is the first guy off the bench hitting 36% on 4 threes/game. JJ hasn't been hitting his shots but it's not a spacing problem because teams are still defending him like he's a great shooter. That's not bad, that's just one perimeter player out of your first five (Lonzo) who is fukking up the spacing. But when you have to have a 4 and 5 who BOTH operate near the rim, it's a problem.


Again, none of this is a "Zion is a bad player" take. It's a "Zion's amazing scoring ability isn't contributing to wins due to other problems" take. And you seem to agree with me in a sense - he's making a bad defense worse and the spacing is poor when he's in there. Either he needs to start leaning on his outside shooting (probably a bad plan considering his gifts inside), he needs to start figuring out how to play team defense more effectively, or he needs to become a rim protector and better man defender on bigs so the team doesn't have to have Adams in there.

Zion
B.I.
Bledsoe
Hart/JJ
Walker

Would be a lineup with incredible spacing if Zion could play that defensive role.

 

[The Exchanges]

Dude doing HB draws to the basket all game lol.

 

[O.T.I.S.]

nikkas still complaining

anyway, I watched the game. Good to see them actually run the offense through Zion. Had some great plays.

Lonzo was doing excellent on Beal and they were still up big, don’t know why SVG didn’t play him hardly at all in the 2nd half because Beal went tf off (probably because Zo fukked up his ankle and they didn’t want to risk it).

 

[Sauce Dab]

Since I made that post....

-21 against Utah (team was +10 when he was out)
-4 against the awful Timberwolves (team was -6 when he was out)
+4 against the awful Wizards (team was +14 when he was out, EVERY other starter was between +15 and +28)

It's a real pattern and people besides me have seen it. He's getting his, so someone needs to explain how the fukk you manage 32 points on 12-16 shooting against the shytty-ass Wizards and still end up just +4 in 33 minutes....but your team goes +14 in the 15 minutes you on the bench.

Probably had something to do with Beal almost scoring 50. But when Beal went to sit the bench was and let the pelicans go on a run

 

[O.T.I.S.]

And this +/- shyt is stupid if you don’t watch the games

Zion would be out there without the starters for long periods of time.

So Washington would make runs and Zion would literally be fighting the runs off literally by himself, with people like Josh Hart (who couldn’t shoot for shyt), JJ Reddikk, and Jackson Hayes.


JJ Reddikk had a -15... but let me guess because Zion had a +4 and none of the other starters had lower, thats Zions fault

Then Pelicans makes runs at times where all starters would be back and they’re all fighting off Beal heating up.


In fact, they started the game aggressive and didn’t even let up and Zo was playing great defense on Beal (nikka had took 18 shots and wasn’t hitting shyt by the end of the first half). Watch the games, this shyt has more to do with SVG’s rotations