“Z, You Going Back In?”: Zion Williamson Explains How Brandon Ingram’s ‘Hot Night’ Helped Him Limit Minutes

With the help of Brandon Ingram’s historic outing, the New Orleans Pelicans blew out the Toronto Raptors 138-100. Ingram carried the offensive load on his shoulders and delivered perfectly. He played less than 30 minutes and finished the night with an impressive 41-point outing, drilling 8 three-pointers in the process. Due to Ingram’s brilliance, Zion Williamson wasn’t required to suit up for more than 21 minutes.

Brandon Ingram’s third-quarter outburst got the Louisiana side a commanding 36-point lead. As a result, Willie Green didn’t need to put in Zion in the final period of the contest and the southpaw finished the night with a relatively quiet performance – 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Not only Zion, but the other starters also played for fewer minutes than usual – CJ McCollum and Herb Jones played for 22 minutes, while Jonas Valanciunas played for 20 minutes. During the postgame conference, Zion explained just how balanced the team’s offense was with the starters being benched for the majority of the game. Lauding Ingram for his stellar production, Williamson also shed light on the importance of an overall team performance in the grand scheme of events.

“I was on the bench and the coaches were like ‘Z, you goin back in?’ I looked up, i saw what he was doin, ‘Nah 14 got it’… We just have a balanced attack. You appreciate nights like this in the grand scheme in waiting for playoffs,” Zion said.

Ingram hasn’t been having the best season of his career, stats-wise. Despite averaging his lowest points per game since the 2019-2020 season, Williamson continues to have faith in the 2020 Most Improved Player. While speaking to the reporters, Zanos revealed how he always believes in Ingram to do the right thing with the rock in his hands.

“You just gotta give 14 the ball,  just let him go to work because he’s gonna make the right play,” Williamson revealed.

It is right that his scoring has taken a hit, but Brandon Ingram has improved several aspects of his game. Playmaking is one of them. In this campaign, there have been numerous moments when the 6ft 8” forward assumed the role of a floor general. Leading the team with 5.6 assists per game, it is evident that Ingram often finds wide-open teammates, finding numerous ways to contribute to the team.

Neither Brandon Ingram nor Zion Williamson are selected for the 2024 All-Star Game

The New Orleans Pelicans are having quite an impressive campaign. 50 games into the regular season, Willie Green’s boys are tied with the #6 Phoenix Suns. Holding on to a 29-21 record, the Pelicans have a real chance at rising in the standings as they are only 0.5 games behind the 5^th seed. Because the Louisiana side is the only one of two top 9 teams in the Western Conference with no All-Stars, their performance has been exceptional.

Naturally, fans would assume that the likes of Brandon Ingram or Zion Williamson have been snubbed off the honor. However, their not being selected to play for the prestigious exhibition game is justified. While Brandon Ingram is only averaging 21.8 points, 5 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game, Williamson is lodging 22.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.

Neither of the starters (Zion, BI, CJ, Valanciunas, Jones) might be All-Stars this season, but together, they are putting up some terrific numbers on both sides of the floor – 118.3 offensive rating & 119.6 defensive rating. While they might not be the favorites to win the title, the Pelicans are capable of defeating the powerhouses in the league.