The New Orleans Pelicans have reignited their fans’ hopes with a decent start to the 2023-24 campaign as they march on to the semifinals of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. The New Orleans side defeated the Sacramento Kings 127-117 on the road yesterday night. However, NBA analyst Charles Barkley wasn’t impressed with Zion Williamson‘s 10-point performance at Golden 1 Center as he once again highlighted the Pelicans star’s fitness during his post-game commentary on TNT.
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Williamson had a slow start to the season, trying to gain momentum gradually after his prolonged hiatus. The 23-year-old star soon showed signs of returning to his past form, displaying glimpses of brilliance in some games. However, after observing him closely throughout the course of yesterday’s game, Barkley declared that Zion still needs to go a long way to be in proper shape. He also prescribed that the Pelicans forward needs a veteran in the locker room to hold him accountable, like Moses Malone did by calling a young Barkley ‘fat and lazy’.
“He’s [Zion] not in shape. He doesn’t run. He plays the game strictly on talent. He never runs on the fastbreak, he’s kind of like jogging,” Barkley said on NBA on TNT. “Somebody is got to get a hold of him…I don’t know if he has a Moses Malone who told me I was ‘fat and lazy’…He needs to get in shape.”
The Chuckster pointed out that he was in a similar position as Zion during his early days with the Philadelphia 76ers. However, fortunately for him, the 76ers’ locker room had a veteran like Moses Malone who had the authority to hold a rising talent like Barkley accountable. However, Chuck believes that Zion Williamson has so much influence within the Pelicans organization that nobody dares to stand up to him.
Charles Barkley predicts a bright future for New Orleans if Zion Williamson gets in shape
Barkley and the TNT crew calling out Zion for being out of shape is nothing new. Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal have been pleading the talented youngster to get in shape since he was drafted in 2019.
During his monologue on Zion’s fitness after yesterday’s matchup, Barkley stressed just how much dominance the Pelicans are capable of if Williamson decides to get into ‘game-shape’. The TNT analyst pointed out that the Pelicans have a good core of players surrounding Zion. Therefore, the team has the potential to cause real problems in a stacked Western Conference.
In yesterday’s game against the Kings, Zion’s underwhelming 10-point showing didn’t affect the Pelicans’ chances. Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones combined for a total of 53 points. Jonas Valančiūnas and CJ McCollum also showed up with 18 pts and 17 pts respectively.
The Pelicans are currently 8th in the West with a record of 12-10. If Zion decides to take Barkley’s advice into consideration, New Orleans can really emerge as a dark horse in the West with their deep roster. They are also strong contenders for the inaugural NBA Cup.
