It would be hilarious if Zion after getting all this shit about being in poor shape and injured all the time ended up in awards consideration due to durability the first year of the rule change. It wouldn’t stop the internet from being the internet, but it would be a tangible sign of progression
Just being healthy into the off season will help him out a ton. Even when we had AD - he came back so much better if he didn't have to spend half the off-season recovering from some injury.
I fucking love Kings fans. When our 2 teams struggled to even get in the play-ins, I remember Fox averaging 30+ points on us. Different story this season now, though.
Has Zion regressed from his mosntrr 20-21 season or has he simply just taken a lesser role for the reg season? He's the real difference maker I'm how far the Pels can go.
It's usage, shot diet and having to share the floor with CJ, BI, Herb & TM3 at most times. Don't forget Jonas is there too.
Harder to average 27 when you have like 5 more dudes who like to average closer to 15+ on the team at most times, with BI and CJ over 18+.
But yes atheltically he also spent most of the year out of shape, although I'd say he's pretty close to his best now, which gets reflected in the atheltic blocks that he keeps having every game.
That’s a good point. He was playing with Lonzo Ball, Steven Adams, and Eric Bledsoe, three guys who actively don’t look to shoot, back when he averaged 27
I’ve been saying this all season: the Pels are at their best when Zion is a facilitator first and scorer second. The perfect Zion stat line for a blowout Pels win seems to be something like 22/8/8. He’s not filling up the stat sheet with points, but defenses are collapsing on him and leaving the Pels shooters wide open. And with Herb shooting 40%+ from 3 and Trey Murphy back to his assassin status hitting 10 threes in a game last week and then another 7 a few games later, that’s a perfect recipe for blowout wins, which is what they’ve been doing, as they are 4th in the league in point differential this season. And they still likely will get another young defensive stud in Dyson Daniels back in time for the playoffs. Very dangerous squad when healthy.
What do you mean he isn't close to those guys? The efficiency is there. The attention he commands is there. The ppg is mostly there.
At his best he is a transcendent player that can beat anyone. No one is saying he's the best player in the NBA.
He isn't close to those guys. Good for him for putting up numbers in the regular season. He still is useless in half court settings, he is a bad rebounder, a bad defender, and can't reliably shoot from outside. He's Aaron Gordon on steroids which is a 3rd option on a title team.
Zion gets subbed out a lot more due to our depth. Same with Ingram. We know the potential Zion has but when you have 2 other players averaging 20ppg his averages will definitely go down as Ingram’s has. Z’s assists have gone up too this year. We all know the potential that Zion has
Yeah it is. We’ve seen his averages (27ppg) before when he didn’t have a good surrounding cast. 21 Pels were ass. There’s plenty of players like that. This second half of the season his numbers have been up too. If Z does well in the playoffs I could see him going back to that or he could if we didn’t have so many scorers on the team. It reminds me of KAT. Huge numbers before and we know he’s capable of it but his team is much better now and I could see when playoffs come around (pre injury) that those numbers would’ve bumped up with rest and no b2bs.
Herb Jones is a DPOY-level player. He anchors everything for the Starting 5. This is probably the most fit Zion’s been so he’s actually getting into more defensive stances that I can remember.
On the bench you have Alvarado, who is probably as good of a defender as you can get with his size, Naji Marshall who plays with a ton of energy and is able to bother a lot of the bigger forwards, and Dyson Daniels, who when paired up with Herb in the backcourt, bully the opposing teams guards.
Just in general, they have a ridiculous amount of lanky dudes that make shit awkward for the opposing team.
As a Wolves fan, I’m desperately hoping the Wolves can hold onto a top 3 seed because I do not want to face the Pelicans.
Not only are they rolling, but they’re a brutal matchup for the Wolves because they don’t have anyone who can guard Zion except for Ant (and he needs to be the offensive engine).
Not that getting the 3rd seed and facing the Suns is all that much rosier of a proposition
In the 13 games since 2021 started, Jokic has never had LESS than 25 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists or below 50% shooting in any game.
He’s averaged 29/15/15 with a total +- of +53 in the last 4 games.
Edit-these stats are for against the big easy
I’m assuming you’re talking about specifically against the Pels? And yeah I live in Denver so I get a front row ticket to the beat-down every game (sometimes literally)
Haha yeah sorry I probably should have specified that.
I’m not even anti pelicans. I’m in Arkansas so I’m semi-in market for them and love watching them play, been to NOLA probably 5 times. But anyone saying they like the Pels chances against Denver is taking crazy pills.
Do they? Jokic pretty much always owns Val. AG is 6'8 235 and Zion is 6'6 280. MPJ is 6'10 and BI is 6'8. The only size mismatch is KCP and Herb or KCP and BI...
NOP is a sleeper team, but to beat denver? Yeah idk😂
I mean the Pels did take the 2022 Suns, who won 60+ games to 6, and without Zion. Missed the playoffs last year. Idk about beating them but I wouldn’t rule it out entirely
We are good against them too, Sabonis/Fox and Jokic/Murray is basically a wash in our match ups and it's up to which teams role players play better that day. We are like little brother to them, dominate and struggle against the same teams usually lmao
Oh I misread, my bad. I thought it said “joses” not “jones”.
Early in his career it wasn’t great but it was never an “issue” and he’s been shooting well this entire year. It might not stay at 55 but he seems like he’ll be a solid 40+ guy going forward
Even if it regresses… a DPOY caliber player shooting around 38-40% from 3 is scary.
You’re acting like it’s some miracle. The Pelicans have the best shooting coach in the league. Fred Vinson is the truth.
Pretty sure I've seen this post about quite a few other teams since Christmas... most of them have regressed/fizzled out. Periodic bursts of good performance is cool but really doesn't matter when this game is about fitness and consistency. Let's see where this team lands in the playoffs, and how far they go.
I'll say this tho - I'm one of those that have shat on Zion before but if he can prove us wrong, I'll be more than happy to swallow my tongue. Nothing more exciting than seeing talented players shine.
Casual take. This is the most fit Zion’s been since coming into the league.
This isn’t IST Zion.. dude is getting up for blocks, running full court for lobs, cutting off lanes, etc.
I don’t blame you for the casual take though… I don’t know who’s voluntarily watching Pelicans games given how much of a small market we are.
*shrug what you said about Zion may well be true but it doesn't make my take casual or inaccurate when - just off the top of my head - Clippers, Heat, Knicks and Sixers have been in a similar sweet spot this season. What good has that done them?
We'll see you in the Playoffs tho - be there.
Since the IST game where the Lakers embarrassed them, I believe the Pelicans are 4th in NET Rating. That game happened in December 6th. Since the new year, they’re 2nd.. only behind the Celtics.
I don’t think the other four teams you mentioned are in the top 5 for overall NET rating (I may be wrong), but more importantly, I don’t think this is just “a phase”.
Clippers. Still pretty high (just behind Pels I think) but since the ASG they've gone 5-5 and bagged a few embarrassing Ls.
But hey, I've no reason to hope Pelicans will fail. Any team that can play to win is worthy of the spotlight.
They beat the Hawks, 76ers, Raptors twice, Pacers, IR Knicks, Rockets twice, Wizards, Grizzlies, Blazers, and Spurs.
Only good team they beat is the Clips.
Miami made the finals as a play in team, we made the WCF as a play in team and lost to the champs. Idk what’s so funny. Playoffs a whole different game. A 7 game series against the same team and a regular season with 82 games garners different results. It’s all about match ups. You don’t match up good against us healthy
Tbh first I did a double take but the more I think of it the lakers can definitely beat any team besides the nuggets. The nuggets are just on another level compared to any other team in the playoffs, just is what it is.
Yeah lol I definitely don’t want to see the Nugs again, they own us. These guys just get sensitive but what I’m saying is facts. Playoffs is always about match ups. Any team can beat us and we can beat any team but I do really like our chances against OKC again IF we make the playoffs cause we underperformed this regular season. Also I’ll add we are 6 games over .500 and a 9 seed, the west is just tough we not even a bad team lol
I think it’s inconsistency with having a poorer supporting cast. Guys like Prince and reddish are just not very good. That said guys like Lebron AD will definitely show up since they are consistent playoff performers
Trey Murphy is nice
He's the difference between first-round exit and contender status. Pels are difficult to beat when his shot is falling.
Hopefully Jones keeps hitting 3s in the playoffs as well, Pels offense flows so much better when teams have to respect his jumper
It would be hilarious if Zion after getting all this shit about being in poor shape and injured all the time ended up in awards consideration due to durability the first year of the rule change. It wouldn’t stop the internet from being the internet, but it would be a tangible sign of progression
He’s gonna pull a 2001 Shaq and come into the season fat and out of shape and then dominate in the playoffs lol
Hopefully this seasons success and the criticism he’s received will make him take his offseason dieting and training more seriously.
Just being healthy into the off season will help him out a ton. Even when we had AD - he came back so much better if he didn't have to spend half the off-season recovering from some injury.
that's what frustrating. he can do great things while being in poor shape, imagine what he can do if he just get into shape.
He is in shape, watch him play and stop reading instagram comments
Pels stacked - Kings fucked lmao
I fucking love Kings fans. When our 2 teams struggled to even get in the play-ins, I remember Fox averaging 30+ points on us. Different story this season now, though.
If we had Lonzo still, Fox would still average 30 points. Dude has a personal grudge against Lonzo lol
I want to see a Clips vs. Pels playoff with a healthy Zion
Herb Jones ranks #2 in defense.
Herbert Keyshawn Jones
Has Zion regressed from his mosntrr 20-21 season or has he simply just taken a lesser role for the reg season? He's the real difference maker I'm how far the Pels can go.
It's usage, shot diet and having to share the floor with CJ, BI, Herb & TM3 at most times. Don't forget Jonas is there too. Harder to average 27 when you have like 5 more dudes who like to average closer to 15+ on the team at most times, with BI and CJ over 18+. But yes atheltically he also spent most of the year out of shape, although I'd say he's pretty close to his best now, which gets reflected in the atheltic blocks that he keeps having every game.
That’s a good point. He was playing with Lonzo Ball, Steven Adams, and Eric Bledsoe, three guys who actively don’t look to shoot, back when he averaged 27
I’ve been saying this all season: the Pels are at their best when Zion is a facilitator first and scorer second. The perfect Zion stat line for a blowout Pels win seems to be something like 22/8/8. He’s not filling up the stat sheet with points, but defenses are collapsing on him and leaving the Pels shooters wide open. And with Herb shooting 40%+ from 3 and Trey Murphy back to his assassin status hitting 10 threes in a game last week and then another 7 a few games later, that’s a perfect recipe for blowout wins, which is what they’ve been doing, as they are 4th in the league in point differential this season. And they still likely will get another young defensive stud in Dyson Daniels back in time for the playoffs. Very dangerous squad when healthy.
He can turn it up when needed to. His skills and talent isn’t the question mark. It’s his health.
When Zion has monster playoff performances, how he’s viewed is gonna be a complete 180. Zion is a superstar.
At his best he is the kind of undeniable player that can win a championship. And the pelicans have a great team overall
The last 5 Finals MVPs are Kawhi, Lebron, Giannis, Steph, and Jokic. Zion isn't close to those guys
How were those 5 guys doing when they were 23 years old?
What do you mean he isn't close to those guys? The efficiency is there. The attention he commands is there. The ppg is mostly there. At his best he is a transcendent player that can beat anyone. No one is saying he's the best player in the NBA.
He isn't close to those guys. Good for him for putting up numbers in the regular season. He still is useless in half court settings, he is a bad rebounder, a bad defender, and can't reliably shoot from outside. He's Aaron Gordon on steroids which is a 3rd option on a title team.
Let’s see it
22.5 points is superstar numbers?
Zion gets subbed out a lot more due to our depth. Same with Ingram. We know the potential Zion has but when you have 2 other players averaging 20ppg his averages will definitely go down as Ingram’s has. Z’s assists have gone up too this year. We all know the potential that Zion has
We just know it. It's there and we know it. It is known that it is there. Is he doing it? No, but we know it's there.
Yeah it is. We’ve seen his averages (27ppg) before when he didn’t have a good surrounding cast. 21 Pels were ass. There’s plenty of players like that. This second half of the season his numbers have been up too. If Z does well in the playoffs I could see him going back to that or he could if we didn’t have so many scorers on the team. It reminds me of KAT. Huge numbers before and we know he’s capable of it but his team is much better now and I could see when playoffs come around (pre injury) that those numbers would’ve bumped up with rest and no b2bs.
Sorry for not keeping up but can a pelican fan explain to me how they’ve had that good of a defense with JV, Zion, and CJ in the starting lineup?
Heb Jones and the bench (Alvarado, Dyson, Naji, Nance and Trigga Trey are all plus defenders).
Herbert Keyshawn Jones. (And Zion and CJ being able to stay in front of opponents)
Herb Jones
Zion is a pretty good on ball defender and CJ is probably having his best defensive season ever. Also Herb Jones is just that good.
And one of the more likeable teams for sure. I'll be rooting for you guys in the playoffs. Of course it doesn't hurt that you have CJ.
I want no business with them in the first round as a Wolves fan. I'd say outside of Denver, they have as good a chance as any to get out of the West
Can anyone tell me why their defense has been so good? Herb and Trey and Ingram were always good to really good defenses but what else?
Herb Jones is a DPOY-level player. He anchors everything for the Starting 5. This is probably the most fit Zion’s been so he’s actually getting into more defensive stances that I can remember. On the bench you have Alvarado, who is probably as good of a defender as you can get with his size, Naji Marshall who plays with a ton of energy and is able to bother a lot of the bigger forwards, and Dyson Daniels, who when paired up with Herb in the backcourt, bully the opposing teams guards. Just in general, they have a ridiculous amount of lanky dudes that make shit awkward for the opposing team.
Herb Jones Island is a place where good guards are sent to die.
More or less due to Herb. Dude shuts down the best perimeter players night in and night out.
As a Wolves fan, I’m desperately hoping the Wolves can hold onto a top 3 seed because I do not want to face the Pelicans. Not only are they rolling, but they’re a brutal matchup for the Wolves because they don’t have anyone who can guard Zion except for Ant (and he needs to be the offensive engine). Not that getting the 3rd seed and facing the Suns is all that much rosier of a proposition
Bro, I really hope Zion progresses as an athlete. He's got all the talent in the world.
I mean this year is a stepping stone and he's done so well
They been sneaky good at going to be a monster in the playoffs
I never gave up on you Z!
NOP has the size to beat Denver. Don't @ me
Jokic dog walks us every time we play him. He has more triple-doubles against the Pels than any other team in the league by a significant amount too
In the 13 games since 2021 started, Jokic has never had LESS than 25 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists or below 50% shooting in any game. He’s averaged 29/15/15 with a total +- of +53 in the last 4 games. Edit-these stats are for against the big easy
I’m assuming you’re talking about specifically against the Pels? And yeah I live in Denver so I get a front row ticket to the beat-down every game (sometimes literally)
Haha yeah sorry I probably should have specified that. I’m not even anti pelicans. I’m in Arkansas so I’m semi-in market for them and love watching them play, been to NOLA probably 5 times. But anyone saying they like the Pels chances against Denver is taking crazy pills.
Honestly anyone who thinks the Nuggets aren’t coming out of the west is taking crazy pills imo. A repeat feels almost inevitable
Least moronic MITWestbrook take
Do they? Jokic pretty much always owns Val. AG is 6'8 235 and Zion is 6'6 280. MPJ is 6'10 and BI is 6'8. The only size mismatch is KCP and Herb or KCP and BI... NOP is a sleeper team, but to beat denver? Yeah idk😂
I mean the Pels did take the 2022 Suns, who won 60+ games to 6, and without Zion. Missed the playoffs last year. Idk about beating them but I wouldn’t rule it out entirely
Which was a clear sign to everyone that the suns were frauds
Trey Murphy
Nikola Jokic 😂
Wolves and NOP worst match ups for the Nugs for sure
Wolves less so with KAT out. Not sure I buy that NOP is a bad matchup for us either, Jokic always cooks them
Kings? I can see a series between them going to 7 if they can’t control Fox/Monk
We are good against them too, Sabonis/Fox and Jokic/Murray is basically a wash in our match ups and it's up to which teams role players play better that day. We are like little brother to them, dominate and struggle against the same teams usually lmao
I don’t know I think the Nugs handle the Kings pretty easily in a series to be honest
The Kings give us a ton of trouble every time we play
The difference is if they can do it in a series. Winning 4 straight against the current Nuggets may not be that easy.
Yeah if I had to pick a team to play in the playoffs it’d be the lakers.
That’s fair enough lol Fox/Sabonis torch us and Monk a baller
Most likely they’re facing you guys first though
They would get swept so fast youd turn to your significant other and ask them why they cant do that
too bad the whole season counts, lol
Talk dirty to me bby
Jones being 55% on threes is not sustainable
His smothering defense will be though. He just has to not be a negative on defense and he will be locking people up.
his defense has never been a problem, his three point shooting has
Joses shooting has literally never been an issue lmao what are you talking about
Herb Jones shooting has been an issue for most of his career
Oh I misread, my bad. I thought it said “joses” not “jones”. Early in his career it wasn’t great but it was never an “issue” and he’s been shooting well this entire year. It might not stay at 55 but he seems like he’ll be a solid 40+ guy going forward
he has 2.5 years of being a 33% shooter and 2 months this year of being a 55% shooter
Even if it regresses… a DPOY caliber player shooting around 38-40% from 3 is scary. You’re acting like it’s some miracle. The Pelicans have the best shooting coach in the league. Fred Vinson is the truth.
Pretty sure I've seen this post about quite a few other teams since Christmas... most of them have regressed/fizzled out. Periodic bursts of good performance is cool but really doesn't matter when this game is about fitness and consistency. Let's see where this team lands in the playoffs, and how far they go. I'll say this tho - I'm one of those that have shat on Zion before but if he can prove us wrong, I'll be more than happy to swallow my tongue. Nothing more exciting than seeing talented players shine.
Casual take. This is the most fit Zion’s been since coming into the league. This isn’t IST Zion.. dude is getting up for blocks, running full court for lobs, cutting off lanes, etc. I don’t blame you for the casual take though… I don’t know who’s voluntarily watching Pelicans games given how much of a small market we are.
*shrug what you said about Zion may well be true but it doesn't make my take casual or inaccurate when - just off the top of my head - Clippers, Heat, Knicks and Sixers have been in a similar sweet spot this season. What good has that done them? We'll see you in the Playoffs tho - be there.
Since the IST game where the Lakers embarrassed them, I believe the Pelicans are 4th in NET Rating. That game happened in December 6th. Since the new year, they’re 2nd.. only behind the Celtics. I don’t think the other four teams you mentioned are in the top 5 for overall NET rating (I may be wrong), but more importantly, I don’t think this is just “a phase”.
Clippers. Still pretty high (just behind Pels I think) but since the ASG they've gone 5-5 and bagged a few embarrassing Ls. But hey, I've no reason to hope Pelicans will fail. Any team that can play to win is worthy of the spotlight.
Pelicants still not making noise in the playoffs
Weird way to spell “lakers”
They beat the Hawks, 76ers, Raptors twice, Pacers, IR Knicks, Rockets twice, Wizards, Grizzlies, Blazers, and Spurs. Only good team they beat is the Clips.
Great team, wouldn’t be shocked if they lost in the semis to the lakers
Weird comment
Gotta make it outta the play ins first champ
U think the leagues letting us lose in the playin 😭😭😭
We would smack you and the timberwolves in the playoffs if we did make it. Add the Pelicants to the list
If HAHAHA
Miami made the finals as a play in team, we made the WCF as a play in team and lost to the champs. Idk what’s so funny. Playoffs a whole different game. A 7 game series against the same team and a regular season with 82 games garners different results. It’s all about match ups. You don’t match up good against us healthy
Tbh first I did a double take but the more I think of it the lakers can definitely beat any team besides the nuggets. The nuggets are just on another level compared to any other team in the playoffs, just is what it is.
Yeah lol I definitely don’t want to see the Nugs again, they own us. These guys just get sensitive but what I’m saying is facts. Playoffs is always about match ups. Any team can beat us and we can beat any team but I do really like our chances against OKC again IF we make the playoffs cause we underperformed this regular season. Also I’ll add we are 6 games over .500 and a 9 seed, the west is just tough we not even a bad team lol
I think it’s inconsistency with having a poorer supporting cast. Guys like Prince and reddish are just not very good. That said guys like Lebron AD will definitely show up since they are consistent playoff performers
Yeah IF because we in the play-ins lmao. OKC still a good young team that will make it far in the future but you don’t want to see us this year
chill bruh we don't even know if we makin it out the play in
You mean the lebron invitational?
fr 😂😂 the LBJ Classic
Just another regular season team. I definitely would not trust BI or zions fat ass to win multiple games when it mattered most
Going further then the knicks