It wasnt just from the play-in.. WebZion Williamson Stats and news - NBA stats and news on New Orleans Pelicans Forward Zion Williamson Their average margin of defeat in their 16 losses is 6.3. Hes taken 82% of his shots in the restricted area, the third highest rate among 251 players with at least 200 field goal attempts and down just a tick from last season (85%). Getting Randle back would be a good start. The lack of success is especially strange considering the same lineup with non-shooting big Jaxson Hayes in Murphys place posted a plus-7.1 net rating last season while averaging a sizzling 123.5 points per 100 possessions. Williamson took DeRozan into the paint and Ball lofted a lob pass over the helpless defender. Your default site has been set for 7 days, Stat Just Happened: Zion Williamson is dominating the paint in a way we haven't seen since Shaquille O'Neal, Shaquille O'Neal-type force of nature with a point guard skill set. And all of Williamsons minutes at the five were at the start of the second and fourth quarters, when Ingram was on the bench. Its the playoffs, number one. John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. According to Second Spectrum tracking, he ranks sixth in the league with 2.2 pass-ahead passes per game. Davis still ranks fifth in the league with 13.2 points in the paint per game. Terry Roziers 12-for-23 (52%) is the best mark among 16 players with at least 20 attempts. They couldve used his shooting on a day they went 7 for 34 behind the arc, missing a chance to break open the game early and then hindering any chances of coming back. Domantas Sabonis led the Kings with 22 points, but he was outplayed by Kevon Looney in Game 7, particularly in the second half Looney had more offensive rebounds (10) than Sabonis had total rebounds (eight). He is in the MVP conversation early this season (although his defense could hold him back in that race). Some people (including me) said they had one of the deepest rosters in the NBA. Four of those 19 came in his rookie debut. Since 2000, the only player who has scoredin the paint at a higher clip than what we're seeing from Williamsonthis season is Shaquille O'Neal. So, because he had space he was able to attack and be really aggressive.. * The 54% is if you call the 6-8 Julius Randle the center in last seasons Davis-Randle frontline. He's slightly undersized to play power forward or centre at 6-foot-6, but he has the size to power his way through bigger defenders when he gets intothe paint. The problem? Ben Simmons and the 76ers have improved on defense since the break, despite the absence of Joel Embiid. The Charlotte Hornets (12-13) and Cleveland Cavaliers (9-10) have been better than that in clutch games. Pelicans executive David Griffin said Friday that Williamson (hamstring) was never cleared for 5-on-5 or even full-court 3-on-3 work before the Pelicans' Play-In Matchup against the Thunder, Andrew Lopez of ESPN.com reports. Its great playing with a guy like that, Williamson told reporters on Friday, referencing Ball. Follow William on Twitter @WillGuillory. Jokic is averaging a triple-double this season: 25.1 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 10 assists a game, with a ridiculously efficient 65.8 true shooting percentage. See where all 30 teams rank after a busy week of player movement across the league. The biggest number is the one turnover. He did what he was supposed to do. We need to appreciate Zion Williamsons commitment to efficiency. One reason is their performance in close games. In total, the Pelicans outscored the Spurs, 29-21 in 8:28 with Williamson at the five. But its been a more balanced diet and the continued development of his off-the-dribble game will be critical going forward. In his first 17 games this season, Williamson was making 66.7 percent of his shots from the foul line. He has been among the best players in the league so far this season. Which is pretty insane when you think about all the other times he has left our jaws on the floor. Those two plays are a microcosm of Zion Williamsons NBA career. In what looks on paper to be an even series. Over the last 10 years, Kawhi Leonard (four times, including this season) and Tyus Jones (three times, including this season) are the only players whove had more steals than personal fouls (with a minimum of 500 minutes played) more than twice. After the ball goes out of bounds, New Orleans immediately gives the ball back to Zion and he adjusts. Zion Williamson is shooting 71 percent from the field during the preseason. Outside of his sometimes inconsistent outside shot, Luka's offensive game is near-perfect. This alone demonstrates that Zion is already more than the limited player hes often painted to be. Shooting just 41.9 percent from the field entering the game against New Orleans, Mitchell has began to turn the corner when it comes to his scoring efficiency early in the 2021 season. The longer the game went on, the more isolation there was. John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. This season, there are seven players (whove played at least 500 minutes) in the Jimmy Butler Club: There are also two players with more blocks than personal fouls: Rudy Gobert (138, 112) and Jarrett Allen (74, 70). Hes had his shot blocked 94 times, 31 more than any other player in the league. But among 163 players with at least 100 shots both inside and outside, only Jabari Parker has a bigger differential between his field goal percentage in the paint and his effective field goal percentage from outside the paint. As his responsibility has grown without Williamson, those mistakes have stood out more. Following him: Nikola Jokic (14.5), Andre Drummond (13.9), Clint Capela (13.0) and Domantas Sabonis (12.8). Zion Williamson did something last season that we haven't seen in a very, very long time. Second, it's the most paint pointsanyone has averaged in a single season in almost two decades. Check out the podcast, where Allen also discusses social justice, his mindset as a player, and much more. (To boot, many of his "unassisted baskets" were putbacks). Just ask two-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, who had the task of guarding Williams for large chunks of Utahs win over New Orleans Tuesday. He has a good enough handle to blow by defenders who press up on him. I know hes going to see me and try to find me I think it definitely opens up the game for me a lot with a player like him.. When McCollum does get off the ball, he often gets caught with a different type of tunnel vision, telegraphing drop-off passes to bigs or kick-outs to the corner that defenses easily read. (They were outscored, 26-21, with Williamson at the four.) That was in a win against a very good Philadelphia 76ers team. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, Friday's notebook: Russell Westbrook's outside shooting woes, Friday's notebook: Heat picking up quality wins, 10 Numbers to Know from the 2019-20 season thus far, Friday's notebook: Kawhi Leonard struggling to finish at basket, Series preview: What to expect in Warriors-Lakers, 5 takeaways from Warriors' Game 7 victory, 5 takeaways from Heat's Game 1 win over Knicks, Curry sets Game 7 record with 50 points vs. Kings, Brooks fined $25K for violating interview rules, all of his minutes at the five on Wednesday, alongside DeMarcus Cousins and Emeka Okafor, fifth in the league with 13.2 points in the paint per game, the best mark among 36 players with at least 200 restricted-area attempts, ranks 43rd among 47 players with at least 100 mid-range attempts, games that were within five points in the last five minutes, No team has played more clutch games than the Oklahoma City Thunder. And the Pelicans are nowhere close to great. Hes missed the last 32 games and is a week away from being re-evaluated for a possible return this season. His 20.3 points in the paint per game were the most in a season since Shaquille ONeals 1999-00 MVP season. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports. Were trying to get him to up that to four or five. He didnt sound close to playing. NBA players and a few celebrities were blown away and went to Twitter to react. The Pelicans have won four of the five to climb within a game in the loss column of the ninth-place Warriors, with all three head-to-head matchups still to come. Not only can he play through contact, but he can also absorbcontact and adjust while he's midair. Before the next rankings drop on Monday, here are some of the storylines hes keeping an eye on this weekend. Very uncharacteristic by me and this ones on me. That may be just a result of a few different circumstances. De'Aaron Fox was 5-of-19. Al Horford was out for the night for Oklahoma City, which meant they threw their long-and-athletic but young and inexperienced big men such as Isaiah Roby out to defend Nikola Jokic. Back-to-back bad closeouts from Zion leads to five quick points for Utah. According to NBA.com , that's how many points per game Zion Williamson is averaging in the paint this season. The most significant change for New Orleans at the start of the year was obvious: the Pelicans lost Williamson to a right hamstring strain in a Jan. 2 loss to Philadelphia. Since then, the Pelicans are 26th in offensive rating, 14th in points in the paint and have been held under 100 points more times (six) than theyve reached 120 (five). Their win in Boston on Monday began a stretch where the Pels are playing 12 of 14 games against the Eastern Conference. That latter number comes with a small sample size (48 attempts) and will probably improve with time. With Jimmy Butler hobbled late by an ankle injury, Miami gets big performances from Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love to take the series opener in New York. Instead, those opportunities have been few and far between, and the results havent been nearly as successful when they occur. And he once again lived up to the billing. That is by far the worst figure of any five-man lineup with at least 300 possessions this season. He's too big and strong for most guards and too quick and athletic for mostbigs. In what looks on paper to be an even series, this is an advantage the Heat might regret squandering. Back then, they had one of the best records in the Western Conference, with Zion Williamson playing at an All-NBA level. Whenever you're rubbing shoulders with a first-ballot Hall of Famer, you know you're doing something right. Pels VP Griffin: Zion wasn't cleared for 5-on-5, Pels' Williamson: Will return 'when I feel like Zion', Zion won't return in time for play-in, Griffin says, Zion's return from hamstring injury still up in air, Artist shows off behind-the-scenes look at Zion Williamson's 'Mount Zion' tattoo, Zion cleared for activity, to miss 2 more weeks, Pelicans say Zion to miss at least 2 more weeks, Pels say injured Zion progressing, set for imaging, Three big questions facing the Pelicans with Zion Williamson still out, NBA teams are tossing millions at postseason spots that might not be there. Andrew Wiggins is going to get the LeBron assignment and generally has done well defending him, but the Warriors need Wiggins to have a series like he did in the Finals last year. In a season full of comically awful numbers, this one has jumped out the most: The Pelicans normal starting lineup without Zion (McCollum, Jones, Ingram, Murphy and Valaninas) is getting outscored by a whopping 26.3 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. According to NBA.com , 76.2 percent of the field goals he made as a rookie were assisted. How does that work? If you were amazed by Curry's record-setting performance on Sunday, let's just say you weren't the only one. Try a week on us. No wonder everything on offense looks difficult for them. He's too big and strong for most guards and too quick and athletic for mostbigs. Our guys know how to do it, theyve got to go out there and put it together, Green said. And one may wonder how much that affects their approach to trade talks with the deadline now less than two weeks away. Any time youre down, especially an All-Star like him, youre going to miss him and we did tonight, Barrett said. They gradually narrowed the deficit before halftime, blew by the Knicks with a 21-5 run in the third quarter and pulled away to a double-digit lead in the fourth. PPP = Points per possession. Theres no question the front office will be proactive in finding a solution in the offseason. But theres more to the story of this teams shocking demise. Recently, Giannis Antetokounmpos Finals MVP has done great work for the Anti-Bag Twitter campaign. 3-point shooting: A. Williams, who made 25.5% of his college 3-point shots in two years, made just one of his first eight deep shots as a pro. The Pelicans have teased with wins over good teams before and still have a lot of work to do to secure a Play-In spot in the West. Latest on New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson including news, stats, videos, highlights and more on ESPN The answer is partially because his rotating head coaches are still learning how to use him. To tie a bow on it, Williamson is a good passer. More capable teams from the perimeter have run the Pelicans out of the gym on multiple occasions. Last season, Zion averaged 12.9 drives per game, around the same as LaMelo Ball and Kawhi Leonard. Of the 668 games the league has played through Thursday, 344 (51%) have been within five points in the last five minutes. Williamson plays with so much force and controls it so well that it makes backing off of him tricky. In Tuesdays loss to the Lakers, he had three turnovers in the first quarter that drained the energy from the building. However, thats not necessarily McCollums game. On Wednesday, one of Williamsons buckets was a direct result of Lonzo Ball pushing the ball after a Spurs score. Good luck making up those 45 points and getting a win. With Jimmy Butler hobbled late by an ankle injury, Miami gets big performances from Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love to take the series opener in New York. WebWilliamson finished his rookie season averaging 22.5 points on 58.3 percent shooting from the floor, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. The goal for the Pelicans offense in regard to the 20-year-old is the same as it was last season: Get him into the paint with enough runway for him to launch himself toward the rim, where he combines a deft touch with an uncanny ability to slice his wide body through however many defenders might be there (or just bounce off them). His 3-point shot would be the one nit-picking outlier of his offensive arsenal. Davis has an effective field goal percentage of 39.4% on shots from outside the paint, a mark that ranks 117th among 122 players who have taken at least 200 shots They host the Nuggets on Friday (8 ET, League Pass) and the Celtics on Sunday (6 ET, ESPN). Quentin Grimes is also a game-time decision for the Knicks. But sometimes he tries to force the issue, throwing the entire offense out of whack. 3-point shooting: A. Williams, who made 25.5% of his college 3-point shots in two years, made just one of his first eight deep shots as a pro. But he hasnt been as consistent as last season in showing up for his teammates every night or keeping the offense flowing with sound decision-making. Theyre getting destroyed. NBA Play-In - West - 9th Place vs 10th Place, Stephen A.: Zion might've cost Pelicans an NBA Finals appearance. Gabe Vincent scored 20 points for the Heat, who became the sixth No. He hasnt played 20 consecutive games at any point this season. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Flipboard (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Durant, Lillard, NBA Twitter react to Curry dropping 50 in Game 7, NBA playoffs first round results, schedule, times and where to watch, There will be a Game 7 Monk, Fox run Kings past Warriors for win, Knicks Julius Randle out for Game 1 vs. Miami Heat, Three things to watch: Miami Heat renew rivalry with New York Knicks, Butler leads Heat to Game 1 win on road against shorthanded Knicks, step-back three in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA finals. That starts with shooting Zion made a jump hook in the third quarter of this game that was his first made basket outside the paint this season, reports Andrew Since 2000, the only player who has scoredin the paint at a higher clip than what we're seeing from Williamsonthis season is Shaquille O'Neal. In the East, the Detroit Pistons would be in playoff position if we only counted games that were within five points in the last five minutes. All nine of their clutch shots were 3-point attempts and they made just two of the nine. Ja Morant is probably going to be a top-three pick in the 2019 NBA Draft because of his star potential. They did hold off a Wizards comeback on Tuesday, with Rozier getting a couple of key 2-point buckets late. That stretch continues with a back-to-back at home, where the Pels are hosting the Orlando on Thursday (8 ET, League Pass) and Atlanta on Friday (9 ET, League Pass). For example, look at where two-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobertis before he leaves his feet to challengeWilliamson's shot on this possession: It looks like Gobert believes Williamson should've been whistled for an offensive foul he doesappear to extend his arm ever-so-slightly but Williamson almost knocking Gobertoff of his feet goes to show how powerful he is when he gains any sort of momentum. percentage and second in true shooting percentage, a barren wasteland between the paint and 3-point line. Williamson has recorded eight 30+ point performances without a basket outside the paint. Time will tell if Davis continues to play almost twice as much at the four as he does at the five, though the percentage of his shots that have come in the paint hasnt been much higher when hes played center (59%) than it has when hes played next to McGee or Howard (57%).