The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs. first episode of NBCs new Beyond the Fairway podcast. With better luck in close games, the Mavs might be in second place in the West instead of sixth. Even if his game is simple strength, power, quickness it works to a historic degree. 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). Zion Williamson Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. We all remember Allen for his step-back three in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA finals, forcing overtime against the Spurs and changing that series. RJ Barrett scored 26 points and Jalen Brunson had 25 for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who are in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2013. And he's getting better at reading defences. His crossovermakes him a tough cover in space because of how quickly he takes advantage of the smallest of openings. He put those guys on his back and said, Im going to make sure were not losing tonight. So why dont we see these tools more frequently? 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. Following him: Nikola Jokic (14.5), Andre Drummond (13.9), Clint Capela (13.0) and Domantas Sabonis (12.8). John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. And the Pelicans are nowhere close to great. Back then, they had one of the best records in the Western Conference, with Zion Williamson playing at an All-NBA level. The last five games have been the highest-scoring stretch (32.4 ppg) of Williamsons career. Minimum 100 FGA in the paint & 100 FGA outside the paint. Last season, Butler (103 steals, 81 personal fouls) and Jones (59, 44) were the only two players that did it. If a few shots arent falling, then mix it up: get to the paint, get to the free throw line, throw the ball down to (Valaninas). When he was actually healthy this season, he Zion Williamson In his first 17 games this season, Williamson was making 66.7 percent of his shots from the foul line. Many of his per-minute statistics look the same as last season. He's slightly undersized to play power forward or centre at 6-foot-6, but he has the size to power his way through bigger defenders when he gets intothe paint. They averaged 124 points in that series behind Butlers 37.6 per game, but they pulled this one out with old-fashioned defense and rebounding that has always worked so well before for them at this time of year. At 33-36, they sit in 12th place in the West, a half game out of the final Play-In position. Instead, those opportunities have been few and far between, and the results havent been nearly as successful when they occur. While the Mavericks have the leagues 10th best record, they have its third best point differential (+7.1 per game), that of a team thats 32-12. Donovan Mitchell had 28 and some fantastic kick-out assists back to the top of the key, Gobert added 13 points and 18 rebounds, while Jordan Clarkson (18 points) and Joe Ingles (15) provided a spark off the bench. No motive offered after shooting killed Bremerton man - Kitsap Sun I know hes going to see me and try to find me I think it definitely opens up the game for me a lot with a player like him.. The Warriors now move on to a TNT/Disney television executives dream Curry vs. LeBron James. Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images Back in the spring, after he averaged 26 points per Before the next rankings drop on Monday, here are some of the storylines hes keeping an eye on this weekend. He has a good enough handle to blow by defenders who press up on him. Winning in the postseason with Sabonis is something the Kings need to figure out his lack of floor spacing and defense (although he was better on that end this series) hinder Sacramento in the playoffs. He shoots the mid-range jumper with a beautiful touch, even if he only attempted 16 of them all season long. Their average margin of defeat in their 16 losses is 6.3. Explore all New Orleans Pelicans NBA player stats - including scoring, rebounding, shooting, assists & more! How deep into his offensive bag will Zion Williamson go this It was an all-time performance from an all-time great. Zion Williamson is shooting 71 percent from the field during the preseason. NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) April 30, 2023. Malik Monk was 4-of-14. 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. 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 Lopez of ESPN. Dyson is really good with the ball in his hands making decisions. The Pelicans rank fifth in both pace (103.3 possessions per 48 minutes) and fast break points per game (16.4). Williamsons 18.9 ppg in the restricted area are the most in the last 25 years, but his 67.4% shooting in the restricted area ranks just 17th among 47 players with at least 200 restricted-area attempts. All of this is to say:Williamson a walking mismatch. But even then, they were still in the bottom five in the league in 3-point attempts, a constant gripe of head coach Willie Green. Since 2000, the only player who has scoredin the paint at a higher clip than what we're seeing from Williamsonthis season is Shaquille O'Neal. Before joining The Athletic, he was a writer at The Times-Picayune/NOLA Media Group, and he's been on the Pelicans beat since 2016. 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. all are 27 or younger. Its his field goal percentage. Williamson's body control is incredible. While hes doing that, hes a developing shooter from the perimeter, from the standpoint finding more opportunities to get clean looks.. Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News. Zion Williamson's long-term career Davis could improve his effective field goal percentage on jumpers by turning some mid-range shots into 3-point attempts. Back-to-back bad closeouts from Zion leads to five quick points for Utah. Latest on New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson including complete game-by-game stats on ESPN. Last season, Zion averaged 12.9 drives per game, around the same as LaMelo Ball and Kawhi Leonard. It was a pretty forgivable fairway, so I couldnt really hit it in the desert, it was just a matter of how close I was going to get it to the pin, Allen said. https://twitter.com/ballysportsno/status/1380707921609252865?s=21. Williamson has recorded eight 30+ point performances without a basket outside the paint. Warriors vs. Lakers is a fascinating series. With Williamson rarely looking to score outside of the paint he's taken a grand total of eight shots from midrange and 24 shots from 3-point range this season Dropping a 7-foot-4 centre with a 7-foot-10 wingspan to the paint should work but Marjanovic probably wasn't expecting Williamson to take off around the dotted line and jump so high that he could softly lay the ball in. When the Pelicans play their five best players outside of Williamson this season, they arent just getting beat. Four of those 19 came in his rookie debut. 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. First, it's the highest mark in the league. That stretch continues with a back-to-back at home, where the Pels are hosting the Orlando on Thursday (8 ET, League Pass) and Atlanta on Friday (9 ET, League Pass). And this is set to be the seventh time in his career that Butler has had more steals (63) than personal fouls (47). Here are the five teams that have seen the biggest drops in points allowed per 100 possessions since the break: Biggest post-break drop, points allowed per 100 possessions. I also think his approach to these games is hes gonna go down swinging. Three things to know: Zion Williamson, Pelicans making strides, OU football: Brent Venables says hard times necessary for Sooners Williamson plays with so much force and controls it so well that it makes backing off of him tricky. Spacing has been a constant issue for this team, even when its two best shooters CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy are on the floor together. The experience and execution of Chris Paul (who has shot 54% on 69 clutch shots) has been huge, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is also 24-for-36 (67%) with the score within five in the last five. 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 | However, thats not necessarily McCollums game. 1 when they toppled Milwaukee in the first round. Zion Williamson He is a New Orleans native. Zion Williamson | Duke | PF | 6-7 but his offense outside the paint is where he can most improve as a prospect. Imagining Victor Wembanyama on Every 2023 NBA Lottery Team This alone demonstrates that Zion is already more than the limited player hes often painted to be.