What is the main challenge for Williamson this season?
Star power forward Zion Williamson is set to return for the upcoming season with the New Orleans Pelicans after missing the 2021-22 tournament with a broken foot.
Williamson agreed in the offseason to a five-year, $193 million rookie extension, which could rise to $231 million.
Without the power forward, the Pelicans reached the postseason after beating the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs. In the playoffs, they were eliminated in six games by the Phoenix Suns.
With the return of Zion, are the Pelicans contenders in the Western Conference? What level will Williamson show?
Our experts answer those questions and more.
- What is the main challenge for Zion this season?
Staying healthy to play as many games as possible, leading the Pelicans into Playoff contention and responding to the trust management placed in him from the time of his selection as the No. 1 overall pick two years ago.
Perhaps the former Duke is one of the most pressured players for the upcoming season because of how little he has been seen on the court and how much Pelicans fans and the NBA in general have come to expect from him.
His quality is not on trial, because in the short time he has been on the court it was clear that he is a different player, perhaps not at the level of ‘heir’ to LeBron James, as he has been labeled.
To achieve that goal, Zion will be able to rely on the experience of a roster with McCollum, with whom he has not played, plus an old acquaintance in Brandon Ingram, without forgetting the center Jonas Valanciunas, with whom Williamson could establish a powerful alliance in the paint.
Another area of improvement for the third-year power forward will be his playmaking deck. No longer should he just focus on taking a dribble and going over the rim to nail it. That was fine in his freshman year, but now as a mature player, he needs to exploit his potential to the fullest and not just leave one or two plays as his main feature. (Rolando Del Bosque)
- A key number or statistic for Williamson this season.
60.3. That’s Williamson’s shooting percentage from the field in his two seasons, a number that illustrates the kind of spectacular player we’ve missed. When healthy and in top form, Williamson is one of the most explosive players in the league, particularly in the art of nailing the ball.
Zion has posted several videos like the one below since late last season showing that he is indeed recovered from the foot injury that sidelined him last season. If he regains his form, we should again see that combination of strength, explosiveness and creativity that generates that high fielding percentage (Hiram Martinez).
- Real or not: Pelicans are contenders in the West with the return of Zion.
Fiction. Although the arrival of CJ McCollum was a significant injection of talent, as well as the evolution of Brandon Ingram made it possible to make a leap in quality and win the play-in to return to the playoffs, reaching contender status is too pretentious a challenge that not even the return of Williamson can guarantee to be achieved.
The West is loaded, with several teams that apply as contenders. Perhaps the dismantling of Utah will give the Pelicans a chance to move up and try to occupy the place that the Jazz have had for years: being a playoff team.
But to think that New Orleans can be at the same level as the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns or Memphis Grizzlies, or even be at the same level as the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets (with the return of Jamal Murray), the reinforced Minnesota Timberwolves, LA Clippers (with the return of Kawhi Leonard) and even the Lakers, who still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, is not something that can be guaranteed.
Williamson has played only 85 games out of 246 over the past three seasons. That’s just 34% of the games. And although in that short period he showed signs of his quality and had a great impact on the team, the question mark over whether he will be able to stay healthy throughout the season is much bigger than the certainties generated by his presence on the court.
