Pelicans’ Zion Williamson Enters NBA Record Books After Efficient Display Against Jazz

The New Orleans continued their terrible form as they suffered a loss against the Utah Jazz. It was a poor effort by the team except for sophomore star Zion Williamson, who tried his best.

In an incredibly efficient performance, Williamson had 32 points, while shooting 14-19 from the field. This is his second game in a row with FG over 70% which makes him the youngest player in NBA history to do so.

Despite this remarkable effort on offense, the Pelicans lost, since they only had one other player scoring in double digits. Brandon Ingram had 17 points, but was inefficient, going 8-18, and the rest of the team struggled to get going. As a team, they shot 45% from the field but just 23% from three.

They had just 26 attempts from three, which prompted Ingram to mention the need for more attempts in the upcoming games. “We have to shoot more 3s,” he said.

Is Zion Williamson doing enough for the Pelicans to win?

In the limited time he’s had on the court, Zion has shown he is a monster on offense. He may struggle with shooting threes and free throws, but otherwise, he can be lethal with his drives, alley-oops, and putbacks. This has been a huge help for the Pelicans on the offensive end.

But when it comes to defense, he falls short badly.

Zion has the potential to be a solid paint defender, but often he is just waiting for a transition bucket so he doesn’t get involved. He has the physique to box out almost anyone in the league but barely does so. Williamson is active on the glass, but only when it comes to offensive rebounds. Against the Jazz, the Pelicans got out-rebounded badly, but Zion barely helped. He just had four rebounds throughout the game.

The 20-year-old was also struggling to deal with Jazz forward Georges Niang, who also had a highlight play after he blew past Williamson.

These are instances that point to the fact that the Pelicans need his defensive help as much as they need it on the offensive end. If he can’t step up defensively, he risks missing the playoffs for the second year in a row.

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