“Pelicans without Zion Williamson still beat the Lakers!”: Jay Williams invites extra flak for his latest hot take about LeBron James and co

Jay Williams believes that injury to his fellow Duke alumnus Zion Williamson will not weigh heavy on the Pelicans in a play-in game vs the Lakers.

The New Orleans Pelicans have been riding heavy on the momentum they’ve gained since the All-Star break. Much of that can be attributed to the excellent play of CJ McCollum, their newly-acquired point guard.

CJ McCollum has been instrumental in unlocking the scoring potential of Brandon Ingram even more. Ingram seems to be playing at the best clip of his career at the current moment himself.

One stat that stands out in the case of the former Laker is his field-goal percentage from 10-16 feet. The 24-year-old is making those looks at a whopping 51.6%.

Also Read – Klay Thompson hasn’t fallen off, he’s just taking the toughest shots of his NBA career! Statistic shows why the Warriors’ sharpshooter is shooting a career-low 3-point percentage.

These facts, coupled with how well Jonas Valanciunas, Josh Hart and the rest of their supporting cast is playing, project the Pelicans to be a strong threat to make the playoffs via the play-in tournament.

Jay Williams jumps at the chance to malign the Lakers; says Pelicans will sweep the floor with them

ESPN is a sports media brand that makes its living by running a narrative universe for basketball fans in particular. Without this added drama, a ton of sports fans would never tune in to watch the game. Mostly, they don’t even observe what they’re watching anyway.

Playing to this dumbed-down audience is an art that the media giants have mastered. And Jay Williams is among their willing soldiers who play to their tune perfectly. The former no. 2 NBA Draft pick took it upon himself to play the piper on this morning’s show.

Williams stated the following obnoxiously false things:

“I still think the Pelicans, in a play-in scenario, could beat the Los Angeles Lakers without Zion. We’re all of a sudden expecting the Lakers just to turn it on down the stretch? I know LeBron James can turn it on. I don’t know if everybody else can turn it on around him to beat the Pelicans.”

Jay Williams: “I still think the Pelicans, in a play-in scenario, could beat the Los Angeles Lakers without Zion.” https://t.co/9aiZFvtv1z

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 24, 2022

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For one thing, Jay fails to acknowledge just how good LeBron James is, when it comes to single-game elimination. The man will also be paired up – probably – with a rejuvenated Anthony Davis. Both of these players are too dominant on both ends for New Orleans to be considered such heavy favorites.

As expected, however, Jay Williams played the perfect courtier in the ESPN court.