All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. Davis 34.2% from mid-range ranks 43rd among 47 players with at least 100 mid-range attempts. The things Zion Williamson does he does as well he does VERY well. As a team the Kings shot under 40%, 25.5% from 3, and had an offensive rating of 104.2. Its easy to tell how much pressure Ingram feels to carry the offense. This season, that number has plummeted to 59.8percent. WebZion Williamson is an obvious choice here after playing in only 29 games. Zion Williamson did something last season that we haven't seen in a very, very long time. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter. For comparisons sake: The second-worst is Detroits lineup of Killian Hayes, Jaden Ivey, Bojan Bogdanovi, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, which has a minus-15.4 net rating. In fact, if you counted only games that werent within five points in the last five minutes, the Mavs would have the best record in the West. The only blemish on an otherwise sterling campaign was Williamson's diminished 3-point shooting percentage. 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 Like Antetokounmpo, Williamson has been criticized for not attempting shots outside of the paint at any meaningful volume. And he's getting better at reading defences. They continue to look nothing like a team that was only three games above .500 when they reached April and needed to win a play-in game just to get the final postseason berth in the East. A close look at Williamsons game will show you an array of skills outside of the viral dunks. The Knicks were without All-Star forward Julius Randle because of a sprained left ankle and they surely missed him when the transition points dried up and it became a half-court game. Green has shot 44% from beyond the arc with Davis at the four and just 25% with Davis at the five. Players his size shouldn't be able to move and change directions as quickly as he does. 2, Clippers find their spark with Mann, Rondo, 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, 15.8 points per game in the restricted area, the second highest effective field goal percentage, the No. Their average margin of defeat in their 16 losses is 6.3. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports. A couple of reasons. After getting traded to New Orleans, McCollumembraced the opportunity to show he could be more than just the single-minded scorer he was in Portland. According to NBA.com , the New Orleans Pelicans star averaged 20.3 points per game in the paint. While McCollum is dealing with a nagging finger injury that he has downplayed for weeks, he still needs to be much more consistent for the Pelicans offense to gain some traction. Pelicans Stat Leader Highlights: Zion Williamson scores 26 points vs. Philadelphia 76ers 00:17 Trey Murphy III dunk off the full-court Zion Williamson pass | Try a week on us. Again, it helps when a dominant force is out there demanding attention from the defense. The rookie takes over the top spot as he continues to provide a steady hand to Sacramento's playoff push. I mean, hes that good, Steve Kerr said. Check out the podcast, where Allen also discusses social justice, his mindset as a player, and much more. So the Pelicans will sometimes try to set those screens as low as possible, like at the dotted circle , A low screen can make it tougher for the defender to get under and give Williamson a runway , Switching the ball screen can keep Williamson from being able to get downhill, but it can also put him in a matchup he prefers , Williamson has also shown an ability to read his own defender. Against the Jazz Tuesday, and in other games this season, Zion and the Pelicans fade and get away from what works. We think of Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Ben Simmons as the trio of stars against whom you have to wall up, forcing them to beat you over the top. No team has played more clutch games than the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have been within five in the last five in 31 (69%) of their 48 games. He reinjured his ankle in Game 5 against Cleveland after missing the final five games of the regular season and hadnt done much since the Knicks returned to practice. Theyre getting destroyed. The reports of the death of the Warriors era have been greatly exaggerated. Which is pretty insane when you think about all the other times he has left our jaws on the floor. As he showed Sunday, that can be enough. So why dont we see these tools more frequently? Teams can't simply sell out on his drives and giving him space when he has the ball in his hands makes themvulnerable to handoffs. 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. And he once again lived up to the billing. While the Lakers game was an obvious example, weve seen the Pels react similarly in other games during this stretch. What makes Williamson unique in those situations is well, a number of things. Playing with a poorly built roster, under his second coach (who has since been fired), at just 20 years old, Williamson put up historic numbers averaging 27.0 points on 61 percent shooting. He is in the MVP conversation early this season (although his defense could hold him back in that race). In time, well certainly see some minutes with Williamson at the five and Ingram at the four, what may be the Pelicans most potent configuration. 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. NBA Play-In - West - 9th Place vs 10th Place, Stephen A.: Zion might've cost Pelicans an NBA Finals appearance. Williamson finished 14th in true shooting percentage and fourth in PER last season, largely because he refused to settle for shots he wasnt comfortable taking. Williamson plays with so much force and controls it so well that it makes backing off of him tricky. He hasnt played 20 consecutive games at any point this season. As the game goes on, there is less off-the-ball movement and more isolation. Zion is as strong and explosive as anyone who has ever played the game, and when Gobert would play back daring Zion to shoot from the outside, he would use that on a runway, get rolling downhill, get his body into Gobert and get a bucket. But the No. For the second straight season, the Hornets have been the leagues best 3-point shooting team in the clutch, 32-for-66 (48%) on clutch 3-pointers entering their game in Brooklyn on Thursday. When he was actually healthy this season, he While Ingrams two-month absence due to a toe injury has been the main cause of his rocky season, there have been some issues even when he does take the court. David Griffin and Pelicans management put players such as Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe around Zion this year, which does not create a lot of spacing. And over the last 23 games, its over 11% (and almost even with that of Brandon Ingram). Randle struggled in the first round against the Cavaliers, averaging 14.4 points a game on 33.8% shooting (and a dreadful 45.9 true shooting percentage). Instead of driving into the same fate, Williamson stops and pulls up for a smooth jumper, something thats been in his bag since he first started going viral as a teen. In San Antonio last week, the Hornets drew up a play to get Rozier one of his clutch 3s. Brunson was 0 for 7 from outside and committed five turnovers. Kevon Looney's historically elite rebounding provided separation in a winner-take-all Game 7. 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. 8 seed to beat a No. Very uncharacteristic by me and this ones on me. With a full season officially under New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamsons belt, we got to see the dominance that made him a viral sensation in high school, executed at the NBA level. Those two plays are a microcosm of Zion Williamsons NBA career. That was in a win against a very good Philadelphia 76ers team. They scored at least 120 points in 16 of their 36 games and were held under 100 just once. The Hornets are 16-6 in games that were within five points in the last five minutes and 8-16 otherwise. Rockets guard struggling to hit jumpers as we dig into 5 noteworthy stats, Plus, a look at zone defense and Al Horford's play without Joel Embiid, Clippers star in midst of worst shooting season as we dig into 5 noteworthy stats. Stephen Curry dropped 50 in Game 7 Sunday the most points ever scored in a Game 7 lifting the Warriors into the second round with another epic performance. percentage and second in true shooting percentage, a barren wasteland between the paint and 3-point line. "Stat Just Happened" is our new series where we'll pair an important stat with how it actually unfolded on the floor. It was not near enough against Utah, who were in control most of the game and won 118-102. (No other player has more than four attempts without a make in those situations.). It doesn't help that Williamson is lightning quick. Playing with a poorly built roster, under his second coach (who has since been fired), at just 20 years old, Williamson put up historic numbers averaging 27.0 He added a 3-pointer during it, but his biggest contribution was with his outlet passing. Hard not to be skeptical of the 3-point shooting (though it's great that he shot without hesitation), but what got an audible "Wow!" Maybe Valaninas production would improve if Green trusted him more and made him a bigger part of the offense. Were just playing great basketball, Butler said in a postgame interview on the court with ABC, while still showing a limp after a fourth-quarter ankle sprain. He put those guys on his back and said, Im going to make sure were not losing tonight. New Orleans Pelicans news fromFanSided Daily, 5 bold predictions for Cowboys against Patriots, Bills zoom into AFCs drivers seat, Chiefs reach crisis and more. On Wednesday, one of Williamsons buckets was a direct result of Lonzo Ball pushing the ball after a Spurs score. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs. Draymond Green is going to have to be special (and will get time on LeBron and AD). Part of what works for Zion is Stan Van Gundy putting him in positions to succeed. The 37 games hes missed this season have certainly made it difficult for Ingram to gain a rhythm. For example, Zion as a point forward bringing the ball up, which drags opposing bigs out into space, then Zion blows right by them. Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. The Lakers win in Brooklyn on Thursday was the first game that either JaVale McGee (who was out with an illness) or Dwight Howard has missed this season, and the two centers have combined to average a little more than 37 minutes per game. Of course, close games count. Though hes made just eight 3-pointers, Williamson has the highest true shooting percentage (66.2%) among the 47 players with a usage rate of 25% or higher. Outside of his sometimes inconsistent outside shot, Luka's offensive game is near-perfect. Execution on high-leverage possession matters. 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. And all of Williamsons minutes at the five were at the start of the second and fourth quarters, when Ingram was on the bench. But the ways in which the Pelicans have achieved that goal have changed. 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. Perhaps the wear and tear from everything Valaninas did last year and the first half of this season is catching up with him. He practiced everything. (To boot, many of his "unassisted baskets" were putbacks). Jakob Poeltl picked up Ball and DeRozan was forced to match up with Williamson trailing the play. The result is the Pelicans trade their twos for opponent threes, and that math does not add up. 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 from the outside (not including backcourt shots). His crossovermakes him a tough cover in space because of how quickly he takes advantage of the smallest of openings. pic.twitter.com/D6eYVF3ubi, John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) January 23, 2020. The NBA season is in full swing, and we will be here each weekday with the NBC Sports daily roundup Three Things to Know everything you might have missed in the Association, every key moment from the night before in one place. But his work in the paint, along with the seventh highest free throw rate (52 attempts per 100 shots from the field) among those 251 players, has Williamson ranking eighth in scoring at 26.4 points per game. Nothing worked consistently. @StephenCurry30 went off the man dropped 50 https://t.co/jnbpt4Vpb3 pic.twitter.com/LTd3V0X1Wf, Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) April 30, 2023, Andy Murray (@andy_murray) April 30, 2023. Whenever you're rubbing shoulders with a first-ballot Hall of Famer, you know you're doing something right. Officially, according to Tom Thibodeau, Knicks forward Julius Rankle will be a game-time decision with his sprained ankle. PPP = Points per possession. Breaking down the Golden State-Los Angeles matchup with 3 things to watch, 1 X-factor and a series prediction. (They were outscored, 26-21, with Williamson at the four.) Two, just because the regular season didnt go the way we wanted it to go or other people wanted it to go, doesnt mean we werent developing grit and tough habits and good things. Ingrams passing has gradually improved throughout his four seasons in New Orleans. The Pelicans rank third among teams at 6.2 per game, and the more their guards put defenses on their heels, the more opportunities Williamson will have to do damage on the move. For one, he's built like a tank. Poor Derrick Favors didnt stand a chance. This isnt a huge surprise after Thibodeau said on Saturday that Randle had not gone through a full practice and had done some shooting, lifting, and pool cardio. He's gone from being more ofa finisher to more of aplaymaker, getting more opportunities to create for himself out of isolation and in the pick-and-roll. STEPH IS IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN pic.twitter.com/xUR53sB6yy, Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 30, 2023, Steph was elite, Kings coach Mike Brown said. 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
