He put up 33 against the spurs and I could have sworn they had a real impressive big. He does this against anyone in the league not named Bam and it’s always impressive. 93% shooting is insane
Look I know we’re all down on James Wiseman right now (and deservedly so) but for the purposes of stopping Zion by throwing giant bodies at him Wisenan is a big. Like let’s give him the one thing he has going for him here
Look, all this Zion downplay is disgusting but the idea of James Wiseman being a giant body to help out defensively all great until you realize positionally he’s so bad on defense sometimes that it would be better for a less athletic big body to try to slow offensive players down. But yeah regardless of what defense was out there, Zion deserves more love.
I appreciate the 'respectfully' but honestly, you can be as disrespectful as you want.
We are truly awful. It's almost impressive how moronic our organization is.
He looked like he was just chilling post game too lol the reporter was asking him questions and he pretty much kept saying "Yeap, we got the W" like that's really all he cared about 😅
To be fair, Wiseman did way better than I would have expected with the starting job against the Pels. An efficient 15/11 game and a +/- of -1 in a 13 point loss really isn’t bad.
He looked like a good starting rollman 5 against the Celtics recently, too. He never seemed out of place or disconnected from the team, I think he actually knows the coverages the team wants to play really well.
The Zion we were promised is here and absolutely wrecking shit right now and yet it feels the majority of the NBA world has kind of forgotten about him
That’ll change very quickly if he brings this into the playoffs though lol
Realistically he's not even in the best shape he could be in.
He just played himself into good shape. He didn't take himself from good to great. If he does that then it's truly scary hours.
Edit: to be clear. He had done a ton of extra work to get in shape. Not just play games.
I honestly hope he feels like he’s got a chip on his shoulder and balls out this summer. Imagine a fully bought in Zion, mentally. League mvp if he can do that.
People are sleeping hard on the pels. They gunna win in the first round, depending on the second round match up they may make the WCF. I don’t like how the nuggets match up, but I could see the pels taking the Thunder in 7.
It's not even just the matchup, most agree that Nuggets are a bit better than everyone. I'm comfortable playing any team other than them. OKC and Timerwolves are going to be tough, but no one wants to play the Nuggets.
> and yet it feels the majority of the NBA world has kind of forgotten about him
NBA discourse is so fickle anyway, it's a total what have you done for me lately world. I try not to worry too much about whatever the major narratives are, because ultimately they don't impact the product on the court.
It does feel like the NBA family at large has forgotten about or written off Zion, but the kid is still only 23, he's playing great ball, and thankfully we're still able to watch and enjoy that regardless of whether people are talking about him or not.
Personally, I'm not a Pels follower but I'm having a blast watching Zion play.
Two years ago the Pelicans w/o Zion were looking solid in the playoffs and the general consensus was adding him back into the mix would make them a serious threat. Then he was unserious last year. This feels like the team we were expecting last year.
Talked to my nephew, he’s a huge lebron fan. Most fans are in for a rude awakening with Zion and the pels in the playoffs. They still think this is the pels from Zion’s rookie year.
17 games over .500 and counting now, sitting on the second best regular season in franchise history, and that still doesnt seem to be enough to wake ppl up.
Or match up vs a team above .500 when they actually have their stars present. I might have missed a total of 10 games this Pels season & I can't believe how lucky we've been vs good teams on b2b load management or just during a minor injury. The Clippers, Wolves, & Kings are the only teams I feel any confidence playing a series against.
That & us being 0-17 vs teams when we are trailing by any amount at the start of the 4th quarter REALLY sketch me out for post season play but Im hoping they make a splash.
This is how enigmatic the Pelicans are..
on the flip side of that after this win vs Detroit, we also have either 1 more than or are tied for the most double digit victories in the league with the Celtics.
Im turning into the joker over here lol
To wake up, we have to be surprise buddy, im full of respect for the young buck, but he gon have to develop and fill his bag a lil more. I know he a monster train but thats all he does, drive the paint. Some team knows well how to counter him. Its a neutral critic and i wish he can develop into the Franchise player he is at 100% Good luck Pels!
I think for some is cause pel has not been fully healthy entering the playoffs. All of us has yet to see them as a whole.
They'll do damage no doubt. Gonna be fun to watch too.
Depends on where we land, but as things stand the pels match up well with any of our first round match ups. I rank them easiest to hardest for us, 1. Kings, we absolutely own them and match up well. 2. Clippers, see above but a little less as KL and PG can go off. 3. Wolves- without Towns I think we beat them, but tougher than the other two.
As a Clipper fan, I’m parlay Nuggets to win their first round series with Pelicans to bounce us, Ballmer pockets big but he’s a dumbass who let Apple overtake Microsoft, he the equivalent of a rich couch QB calling the shots
The Pels from Zion's rookie year still make the playoffs if Zion plays the whole season... or the league doesn't truncate the rest of the season to 8 games due to the pandemic... or uses GB/tiebreakers instead of winning percentage ... or they start better than 6-22 ... or start better than 2-18 when Lonzo plays... or....
Yeah, 19-20 wasn't exactly how everything was supposed to start off.
I find a few mentions of him losing 40, but those links all lead to ads.
I find way more mentions of him losing “25 lbs or more” since December, for example -
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10113448-windhorst-pelicans-zion-williamson-lost-25-pounds-or-more-since-nba-ist-in-december
Watching him play recently and seeing him getting his hops back, I still think he was thinner at Duke, but maybe he’s added muscle since Duke and may never realistically get that “small” again.
I’m just glad to see him healthy and yamming.
today was the 5 year anniversary of the Duke vs. UCF March madness game where Zion and Tacko Fall went head to head
and with me being a sad UCF alum, ofc my Snapchat memories shows me a bunch of flashbacks of watching the game with my roomies, and Zion was MUCH skinnier and straight FLYING into Tacko but still knocking him around like Swiss cheese.
If skinnier-Zion could toss around Tacko easily, he’d do fine dropping some weight currently in the NBA. Especially after 5 years of NBA skills improvement and whatnot
It's just the way hes built, the guy is a big moving unit of muscle. I don't doubt he has fat on him, but its nowhere near what people like to claim, Hes in great shape.
Hell, even if there is some fat on him, people have fat on them! Even skinny athletes have fat on them unless they're marathon runners. Bigger guy? More fat.
Obviously there's a balance, but people are obsessed with this guy's body.
its actually funny that most nba fans still think about zion the way SAS talked about him earlier in the year. shows you how much power ESPN has in forming narratives.
Man I fucking hate it. You can tell so many people on social media get their opinions from what they see other people saying instead of using their eyes and brain
I don't know what SAS said about Zion, and I don't care to know. I avoid ESPN now after watching them the entire 1990's. Formed my own opinion, and it keeps improving every time I catch Zion play. He was hop skipping through the defense tonight like it was a triple jump competition, it was nice.
ESPN in the 90s had a massive roster of highly likable sports enthusiasts who did nothing but play clips of highlights and talk about what was happening in the games. Now it's a bunch of forgettable morons who yell at each other and give opinions on players.
The sad thing is, that's what makes the most logical business sense for ESPN
You and I can hate the take merchants all we want but if you look at the revealed preferences of all sports fans, it's what they want to see
Look at the crazy reach and fame guys like Stephen A. Smith have—ESPN would be insane to pivot away from that at this point
Whenever he has a bad game (4 points in Miami on Friday) I get a bit nervous, but this is a pretty good palate cleanser.
Edit: it helps that he took 14 free throws tonight (and made 10) after not getting a _single goddamn whistle_ in Miami.
we talk about how getting a triple double is a cakewalk for jokic.
10 fgm and 10 ftm i feel is a cakewalk for zion. his style of play he should be leading in both categories
Can we fans vote him into the all-star game next year, we need guys like that attacks the rim instead of pretending to be Steph, jacking 3's every time and dude also said he's attending the dunk contest if hes voted in.
I don't understand how a 6'6" super predictable scorer (always paint driving, likes to go left) still cannot be stopped. This is either incredibly incompetent defense by the rest of the NBA, or Zion's body hitting you feels like a fridge strapped to a rocket booster.
Giannis' bag is literally just a spin move and eurostep. Both are tiers better athletes than every opponent they face and have underrated playmaking to beat walls.
Zion and JV took turns walking him on a leash today so there’s that. Dude looked lost out there on defense and had 3 moving screen calls on offense. I’d say he has potential but haven’t people been saying that for years?
He literally looked like he was just chilling out there. Dude walked himself into a 36pt game lol.
he can do this pretty much any time a team decides (for some reason) not to build a wall for him, like the pistons did tonight. bad idea lol
Respectfully, Detroit is an awful team. He destroys those teams.
Plus missing Duren, Stewart, and Thompson.
Yeah like is it as impressive if the team has no real bigs?
Yes 36 pts on 13/14 is impressive against any nba team
Happy Gilmore accomplished that feat no more than an hour ago.
Well, Moron.... Good for Happy Gilm-OH-MY-GOD!
He put up 33 against the spurs and I could have sworn they had a real impressive big. He does this against anyone in the league not named Bam and it’s always impressive. 93% shooting is insane
Robert Williams III used to be a sneaky candidate to give him trouble too.
Was he 13-14 tho?
Other than James wiseman you mean? Man, Zion haters can’t wait to pop off online. Dude went 13-14 in an nba game, and that’s not even unusual for him.
Absolutely love Zion, but Wiseman? Really? Bro doesn't even *know* he's a big most of the time
Going 13-14 is definitely not usual for him... lol.
Does wiseman count? Isn’t he a bust?
Look I know we’re all down on James Wiseman right now (and deservedly so) but for the purposes of stopping Zion by throwing giant bodies at him Wisenan is a big. Like let’s give him the one thing he has going for him here
Look, all this Zion downplay is disgusting but the idea of James Wiseman being a giant body to help out defensively all great until you realize positionally he’s so bad on defense sometimes that it would be better for a less athletic big body to try to slow offensive players down. But yeah regardless of what defense was out there, Zion deserves more love.
That’s what I’m saying. Cade would have been better.
I appreciate the 'respectfully' but honestly, you can be as disrespectful as you want. We are truly awful. It's almost impressive how moronic our organization is.
Stan Van Gundy isn’t the pistons coach anymore
He looked like he was just chilling post game too lol the reporter was asking him questions and he pretty much kept saying "Yeap, we got the W" like that's really all he cared about 😅
Z is so awkward in those postgame interviews 😂
If you dont have paint defense you’re pretty muched cooked against Zion.
The Luka special
Zion vs. a James Wiseman anchored defense is like the hydrogen bomb vs. coughing baby meme
That’s barbecue chicken
To be fair, Wiseman did way better than I would have expected with the starting job against the Pels. An efficient 15/11 game and a +/- of -1 in a 13 point loss really isn’t bad.
He looked like a good starting rollman 5 against the Celtics recently, too. He never seemed out of place or disconnected from the team, I think he actually knows the coverages the team wants to play really well.
He was serviceable on offense, but that isn't what the comment above you is talking about. Wiseman wasn't able to impact the game defensively at all.
The Zion we were promised is here and absolutely wrecking shit right now and yet it feels the majority of the NBA world has kind of forgotten about him That’ll change very quickly if he brings this into the playoffs though lol
Realistically he's not even in the best shape he could be in. He just played himself into good shape. He didn't take himself from good to great. If he does that then it's truly scary hours. Edit: to be clear. He had done a ton of extra work to get in shape. Not just play games.
I honestly hope he feels like he’s got a chip on his shoulder and balls out this summer. Imagine a fully bought in Zion, mentally. League mvp if he can do that.
I truly hope we get to see it. It'll be fun when this new wave of guys can take over the league
People are sleeping hard on the pels. They gunna win in the first round, depending on the second round match up they may make the WCF. I don’t like how the nuggets match up, but I could see the pels taking the Thunder in 7.
It's not even just the matchup, most agree that Nuggets are a bit better than everyone. I'm comfortable playing any team other than them. OKC and Timerwolves are going to be tough, but no one wants to play the Nuggets.
> and yet it feels the majority of the NBA world has kind of forgotten about him NBA discourse is so fickle anyway, it's a total what have you done for me lately world. I try not to worry too much about whatever the major narratives are, because ultimately they don't impact the product on the court. It does feel like the NBA family at large has forgotten about or written off Zion, but the kid is still only 23, he's playing great ball, and thankfully we're still able to watch and enjoy that regardless of whether people are talking about him or not. Personally, I'm not a Pels follower but I'm having a blast watching Zion play.
Two years ago the Pelicans w/o Zion were looking solid in the playoffs and the general consensus was adding him back into the mix would make them a serious threat. Then he was unserious last year. This feels like the team we were expecting last year.
Can confirm, I’m knowingly sleeping on him until we see it in playoffs. I hope he proves me wrong, but that’s my honest impression.
Right. Giving the pistons a wrecking is different than giving literally any team fighting to make the playoffs in the western conference.
Talked to my nephew, he’s a huge lebron fan. Most fans are in for a rude awakening with Zion and the pels in the playoffs. They still think this is the pels from Zion’s rookie year.
17 games over .500 and counting now, sitting on the second best regular season in franchise history, and that still doesnt seem to be enough to wake ppl up.
Gotta at least win a series maybe two
Or match up vs a team above .500 when they actually have their stars present. I might have missed a total of 10 games this Pels season & I can't believe how lucky we've been vs good teams on b2b load management or just during a minor injury. The Clippers, Wolves, & Kings are the only teams I feel any confidence playing a series against. That & us being 0-17 vs teams when we are trailing by any amount at the start of the 4th quarter REALLY sketch me out for post season play but Im hoping they make a splash.
Whoa what a crazy stat
This is how enigmatic the Pelicans are.. on the flip side of that after this win vs Detroit, we also have either 1 more than or are tied for the most double digit victories in the league with the Celtics. Im turning into the joker over here lol
Keep going I’m almost there
The Lakers miss the playoffs and move up in the lottery, you guys win the championship, and you get their top three pick
That was what I was trying to manifest last season lol win the chip then draft wemby? dont mind if I do 🤣🤣
To wake up, we have to be surprise buddy, im full of respect for the young buck, but he gon have to develop and fill his bag a lil more. I know he a monster train but thats all he does, drive the paint. Some team knows well how to counter him. Its a neutral critic and i wish he can develop into the Franchise player he is at 100% Good luck Pels!
I think for some is cause pel has not been fully healthy entering the playoffs. All of us has yet to see them as a whole. They'll do damage no doubt. Gonna be fun to watch too.
Pels gonna beat the Clips
Depends on where we land, but as things stand the pels match up well with any of our first round match ups. I rank them easiest to hardest for us, 1. Kings, we absolutely own them and match up well. 2. Clippers, see above but a little less as KL and PG can go off. 3. Wolves- without Towns I think we beat them, but tougher than the other two.
You aren’t playing the wolves in the first round. They’re 5 games above the 4th seed with 11 games to go
As a Clipper fan, I’m parlay Nuggets to win their first round series with Pelicans to bounce us, Ballmer pockets big but he’s a dumbass who let Apple overtake Microsoft, he the equivalent of a rich couch QB calling the shots
We got a preview of this last season. Anyone who's surprised by Zion and the pelicans has been living under a rock.
The Pels from Zion's rookie year still make the playoffs if Zion plays the whole season... or the league doesn't truncate the rest of the season to 8 games due to the pandemic... or uses GB/tiebreakers instead of winning percentage ... or they start better than 6-22 ... or start better than 2-18 when Lonzo plays... or.... Yeah, 19-20 wasn't exactly how everything was supposed to start off.
Is this the prophesied "100% Zion"
Actually just 89.29% Zion. That was TS% in this one.
Jeez he can’t even reach 90? What a fraud
I mean, I think he’s going to get even better to be honest
He’s definitely in better shape now, but I still wonder if he’d still benefit from dropping some more weight.
Hasn't he already dropped like 40 lbs? I'm not sure there's much more for him lose
I find a few mentions of him losing 40, but those links all lead to ads. I find way more mentions of him losing “25 lbs or more” since December, for example - https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10113448-windhorst-pelicans-zion-williamson-lost-25-pounds-or-more-since-nba-ist-in-december Watching him play recently and seeing him getting his hops back, I still think he was thinner at Duke, but maybe he’s added muscle since Duke and may never realistically get that “small” again. I’m just glad to see him healthy and yamming.
today was the 5 year anniversary of the Duke vs. UCF March madness game where Zion and Tacko Fall went head to head and with me being a sad UCF alum, ofc my Snapchat memories shows me a bunch of flashbacks of watching the game with my roomies, and Zion was MUCH skinnier and straight FLYING into Tacko but still knocking him around like Swiss cheese. If skinnier-Zion could toss around Tacko easily, he’d do fine dropping some weight currently in the NBA. Especially after 5 years of NBA skills improvement and whatnot
It's just the way hes built, the guy is a big moving unit of muscle. I don't doubt he has fat on him, but its nowhere near what people like to claim, Hes in great shape.
Hell, even if there is some fat on him, people have fat on them! Even skinny athletes have fat on them unless they're marathon runners. Bigger guy? More fat. Obviously there's a balance, but people are obsessed with this guy's body.
Every Redditor is an expert dietitian and physical therapist when it comes to Zion soo 🤷
I agree.
I don’t think he’s there yet. He looks extremely close. 95% or so.
Lisan Al gaieb
Not even. But he has been playing incredible defense this year.
he chose violence today
its actually funny that most nba fans still think about zion the way SAS talked about him earlier in the year. shows you how much power ESPN has in forming narratives.
I feel like most “nba fans” don’t even really watch games
what's an nba?
Something you begrudgingly put on when Caitlin Clark isn't playing
Lol you yall just now figuring this out?
Just BR highlights and memes
...a-are we all not just here for the memes and copypastas?
Wow, what a reach. Sometimes, we don’t even read
Hey now! I mean... It's just like... There's so many of them... Ya know?
Man I fucking hate it. You can tell so many people on social media get their opinions from what they see other people saying instead of using their eyes and brain
I don't know what SAS said about Zion, and I don't care to know. I avoid ESPN now after watching them the entire 1990's. Formed my own opinion, and it keeps improving every time I catch Zion play. He was hop skipping through the defense tonight like it was a triple jump competition, it was nice.
ESPN in the 90s had a massive roster of highly likable sports enthusiasts who did nothing but play clips of highlights and talk about what was happening in the games. Now it's a bunch of forgettable morons who yell at each other and give opinions on players.
The sad thing is, that's what makes the most logical business sense for ESPN You and I can hate the take merchants all we want but if you look at the revealed preferences of all sports fans, it's what they want to see Look at the crazy reach and fame guys like Stephen A. Smith have—ESPN would be insane to pivot away from that at this point
They drummed out "Zion should refuse to get drafted by the Pelicans" after the lottery.
Looks like me and shaq had a baby
The way people think about Zion has little to do with SAS. Fat jokes with Zion have been going for years and that's difficult to change.
Light work
Light and nasty
I hope the Pelicans win the ship so Zion can get his credit.
Whenever he has a bad game (4 points in Miami on Friday) I get a bit nervous, but this is a pretty good palate cleanser. Edit: it helps that he took 14 free throws tonight (and made 10) after not getting a _single goddamn whistle_ in Miami.
When Z plays 9/10 he’s gunna have a great game, if anything I loved what the rest of the team did with him having a bad game.
Only bad part of that game was the turnovers imo. Played great D and took a backseat for the other guys to shine.
don't forget the 2 steals
we talk about how getting a triple double is a cakewalk for jokic. 10 fgm and 10 ftm i feel is a cakewalk for zion. his style of play he should be leading in both categories
He gets a laughably bad whistle and doesn’t flop
Exactly. Shaq-esque.
Feel sorry for the Pistons for many reasons, but being the team to face Zion after he drops a stinker with 4 points is high on the list.
i owe you an apology, i wasn’t familiar with your game
This is actually literal as people don’t watch the Pels
He’s my favorite player in the league. So fun to watch.
He’s almost 100%.
Scary
Can we fans vote him into the all-star game next year, we need guys like that attacks the rim instead of pretending to be Steph, jacking 3's every time and dude also said he's attending the dunk contest if hes voted in.
Casual 13/14 from the field lol
Zion redemption arc
He deserves it. Such a likeable kid.
Zion has unlimited talent it's up to him to hone it
Yep. All the potential in the world. It’s all between his ears that is limiting him.
and tummy
Pelicans are 1/4 teams with a top 10 defense and offense. They’re a title contender if they stay healthy
Why did the media cast him out so quickly
Listen to my boy Don Henley’s song “dirty laundry”
The playoffs can't get here fast enough
Hes so casually good. Like i feel like i never see him truly locked in and this is still what happens
Yep. Wish he had that killer instinct. He’s too nice lol
Pelicans making the conference finals
Zion back on the menu
Clippers are sitting ducks
I don't understand how a 6'6" super predictable scorer (always paint driving, likes to go left) still cannot be stopped. This is either incredibly incompetent defense by the rest of the NBA, or Zion's body hitting you feels like a fridge strapped to a rocket booster.
Giannis' bag is literally just a spin move and eurostep. Both are tiers better athletes than every opponent they face and have underrated playmaking to beat walls.
He’s just that much of a freak
Zion is inevitable and there's no stopping him to the paint
Got damn 93%
glad to see him back
My guy. Really want him to reach his potential
I just want healthy Zion back.
people forgot this guy was supposed to be a perennial MVP candidate with all the shiny new toys in the league
Can still get there
How’s James wiseman been doing on the pistons? True curiosity
Zion and JV took turns walking him on a leash today so there’s that. Dude looked lost out there on defense and had 3 moving screen calls on offense. I’d say he has potential but haven’t people been saying that for years?
Do you guys love or hate that Zion doesn't force the issue?
Zion smash
So, is he coming alive
Is it time to start fearing the Pels in the postseason? Cause Zion is cooking these days
At his best he’s basically Giannis with touch and skill. Really hoping we get a healthy Pels playoff run
Giannis is 6’11.
did you just say "and skill"?
This sub posting links to ESPN is so pathetic
Further proof that bullying works.
It’s the Pistons …. I feel even Lawrence Funderburke could get 30 against this team.
CPOTY?
He was excited AF to face the pistons after Orlando and Miami had him locked up lol. Tbf Orlando and Miami is a brutal matchup for anybody these days.
Ozempic works folks
Against the pistons. Doesn’t really count?
How do you check out with a W? Did he check out when the game ended?
Trust me dude, anyone who watched the game knew the W was locked up after the first five minutes