Who Is It
New Orleans Pelicans player Zion Williamson went off in his season opener. Williamson has not played an official NBA game of basketball in eighteen months. He recorded twenty-five points, four steals, and nine rebounds. This beast of a player made the Brooklyn Nets look like they don’t even have Kevin Durant on their team. Forget about the Nets having their title-contending year, this is the Pelicans’ territory now. The hype is very real. Forget Ben Simmons playing after his crybaby season with the Philadelphia 76ers. Come on, how can you talk all this smack about your old team and not even perform in your first game back? The Nets are almost as fake as the Los Angeles Lakers.
What The Pelicans Have
Pelicans are looking very promising with their rising star Williamson and one of their best ball stealers on the team Jose Alvarado. The Pelicans for a time last year were playing like their life was on the line. That’s exactly what the game is all about. Putting your all into every play even though you know skills-wise you’re not the better team. Brandon Ingram (Pelicans small forward) played very well as well scoring 28 points. If he can keep high points per game the sky is the limit for this team as a whole.
Larry Nancy Jr. is still doing his high-flying dunks but you can see he has improved his jump shot since his Cleveland days. Now, not having Steven Adams on their team anymore will hurt their rebounds per game as a whole team. Think about it though, Williamson is a tank himself. At 6’6 he still can jump higher than many centers in the NBA. In addition, his strength is unmatched. All NBA fans have seen the clip where Williamson misses a layup, then Giannis Antetokounmpo grabs the rebound. Williamson did not take this very kindly, so he aggressively takes the ball away from Antetokounmpo and scored a three-pointer.
Where The Star Came From
Williamson has always been an athlete. He played football and basketball for his high school. He stood a lot taller and had a wider frame than everybody on the court and off the team. The hype was real when you would watch his high school clips of him doing his high-flying dunks on the fast break. Williamson was offered many scholarships from division one football colleges and division one basketball colleges. Therefore all these offers forced Williamson to pick which sport he wants to go professional in.
He ended up picking division one basketball. Not only did he pick division one basketball, but Williamson also picked one of the best division one basketball colleges of all time. The college he choose was Duke University. Williamson made a statement in his first season at Duke being the best player on the team as soon as he arrived. His with RJ Barrett was a recipe for an amazing season. After a season with Duke, Williamson declared for the NBA draft going number one. The New Orleans picked him without any hesitation.
Pelicans Season
The Pelicans’ ceiling for this season as of right now is the second round of the playoffs. This is not a low blow to the pelicans as an organization, because I believe this team is a title contender in two years. Although this is the case if Williamson can keep his body healthy. The Pelicans do not need a repeat of what has been happening to him in the last two years. Ingram and Williamson will have their massive breakout season either this year or next year. It is inevitable if they both can stay healthy.
Written by Vincent Sauseda Jr.
Featured and Top image courtesy of Erik Drost Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset image courtesy of Erik Drost Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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