Skip Bayless takes to Twitter gawk over Zion Williamson and his 37 points over the Minnesota Timberwolves last night in and OT win.
Zion Williamson is having perhaps the most, ‘under-the-radar’ sophomore season for a star who was the talk of town in his rookie season. From the get-go, it was clear that the Pelicans had themselves a superstar as Zion burst onto the scene as a dominant force down-low, bullying established players in the paint, in merely his first year as a pro.
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The 20 year old has taken a massive leap in his offensive game this season as he’s averaging 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting an insanely efficient 61.6% from the field. He also leads the NBA in scoring in the paint while also being able to create quite efficiently for himself. He scores 1.2 points per shot on the near 600 unasssisted field goal attempts he’s had this season.
With Zion Williamson at the helm, and guys like Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball surrounding him; it would be a shock to anyone if they were told that they have little to no chance of making the play-in tournament, let alone the Playoffs.
Skip Bayless is impressed with Zion Williamson and his 37 points in the win over Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves.
Zion Williamson has made a statline like 37 points on 14-17 shooting from the field seem normal nowadays, when in reality, those shooting numbers are nothing short of absurd. Skip Bayless gives his flowers to Zion for the performance but ultimately calls out the underlying issue that’s contributed to the Pelicans’ lackluster season.
Stan Van Gundy was hired by the Pelicans front office to give the young stars on the roster a leader in the locker room and voice that would be respected. Coupled with this was the promise of a defense that would fare well against the top offenses in the league, as Van Gundy was the mastermind behind the Dwight Howard-Orlando Magic from the late 2000s.
However, the Pelicans received none of this as reports from NBA analysts on several reputable podcasts have claimed that the Pelicans do not respond well to Stan whatsoever. He has nearly lost control of his players at this point in the season and will most likely be let go at the end of it.
Zion Williamson and the Pelicans have a slight chance of making the play-in tournament but for this to take place, they would have to rack up wins quick. Perhaps their two most crucial games of the season, are taking place back-to-back as they face off against the 10th seeded Warriors. Two wins over them would bring them closer to sneaking into the play-in.
