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Tag: Zion Williamson

  • Without Aaron Gordon, Nuggets escape New Orleans with win in Zion Williamson’s return

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    NEW ORLEANS — Life was detected in the most cavernous building in the NBA for a few minutes on Wednesday, as the Pelicans flew to an early 13-point lead over their lethargic visitors.

    Life was briefly detected again toward the end of the proceedings, when the Pelicans sliced a 19-point deficit to six after Nikola Jokic fouled out. There might have even been noise from the uninhabited upper deck.

    But the Nuggets escaped Smoothie King Center in the end with a 125-118 win, buoyed by a mostly solid night of defense and Peyton Watson’s career-high 32 points.

    In his second game starting for Christian Braun, Watson finished with a 13-for-19 double-double. Jokic added 28 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists on another night with two starters missing.

    And Denver (11-3) finished the game with a frontcourt of Zeke Nnaji and Jonas Valanciunas after Jokic’s disqualification. Valanciunas knocked down a pair of clutch 15-footers to fend off a late comeback from the Pelicans (2-13).

    From the start, this was a game layered with more intrigue than the records indicated. Zion Williamson, the Pelicans’ explosive but aloof star forward, was cleared to play after missing the last eight games. Denver’s Aaron Gordon was a last-minute scratch from the lineup for hamstring injury management, which sidelined him for one other game earlier this season.

    These developments were related. Gordon has been described by Nuggets coach David Adelman as one of “only a few human beings walking around that can deal with Zion Williamson.” Adelman mirrored their minutes when the Pelicans visited Denver three weeks ago, determined to force Williamson to play against that matchup.

    Without Gordon, Nnaji was enlisted as the starting power forward. He had been out of the rotation entirely to start the season.

    The idea had a sound precedent, though. Gordon was out when the Nuggets hosted New Orleans in February, and former coach Michael Malone also started Nnaji for the occasion. Williamson scored an inefficient 14 points on 13 shots that day, as Trey Murphy III had to shoulder more of the Pelicans’ offensive burden. As a team, they went 4 for 11 on shots defended by Nnaji.

    This time, even with two rim protectors on the floor in Nnaji and Watson, the Pelicans scored 18 points in the paint (and 23 total) in the first eight minutes. It didn’t help that Jokic committed four turnovers before he made a shot, surrendering easy transition opportunities to a struggling team that has played faster since firing coach Willie Green last week.

    Out of an early Adelman timeout, the Nuggets gave up two consecutive fast breaks that ended with New Orleans missing the initial layup only to score on a second chance.

    “They had a coaching change,” Adelman said pregame. “New energy. … So this is a totally different challenge.”

    Jokic finally kick-started the Nuggets with five straight points after they fell behind 23-10. He was on his way to a triple-double by the end of the third quarter — those are the norm when he faces New Orleans — but the upstart Pels showed him multiple defenders and made him work all night. On offense, he finished with nine turnovers. On defense, rookie Derik Queen wasn’t afraid to attack him off the dribble.

    Drafted 13th overall after a controversial trade in June, Queen is the latest new-gen prospect whose play style is clearly in Jokic’s lineage. He was responsible for Colorado State’s heartbreaking NCAA Tournament loss at the buzzer last March. Now, a franchise desperate for future answers wants to develop him into a hub of half-court offense. He paced the Pels on Wednesday with 30 points, nine boards and four assists.

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    Bennett Durando

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  • Keegan Murray on Play-In matchup with Pelicans, Kings looking to snap 0-5 record vs. New Orleans

    Keegan Murray on Play-In matchup with Pelicans, Kings looking to snap 0-5 record vs. New Orleans

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    SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – Following Thursday’s practice in Sacramento, Keegan Murray reflects on the Kings win over the Warriors on Tuesday night, the hope of carrying that momentum into New Orleans on Friday night for the final Play-In Game, the pressure that comes with playing in an elimination game, the Pelicans 5-0 dominance over his squad this season and the sense of accomplishment to advance in the Play-In Tournament.

    The Kings and Pelicans will tip-off on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. PT in New Orleans.

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    Sean Cunningham

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  • Nuggets to rematch Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James in first-round playoff series

    Nuggets to rematch Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James in first-round playoff series

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    If the Nuggets really want the title of “Lakers’ Daddy,” they’ll have the chance to earn it with an earlier-than-expected rematch.

    Less than a year after their Western Conference Finals sweep, the Nuggets will face the Lakers in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, tipping off Saturday at Ball Arena with Game 1. Denver (57-25) enters the series having won eight consecutive head-to-head matchups against Los Angeles.

    The Lakers (47-35) finished the regular season in eighth place and defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 in the Play-In Tournament on Tuesday to earn the matchup. Pelicans star Zion Williamson scored 40 points but mysteriously disappeared to the locker room with an apparent injury after scoring a game-tying floater with 3:19 remaining.

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    Bennett Durando

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  • NBA Star Is Releasing A Naruto-Themed Pair Of Jordans

    NBA Star Is Releasing A Naruto-Themed Pair Of Jordans

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    Photo: Nike

    While we’ve known for a while that New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson loved anime, things are about to get a little more serious with the release of an upcoming pair of sneakers.

    Nike have announced that Williamson, who has his own signature shoe with the company (the Zion 1), will soon be lending his name as part of a collaboration to an anime-themed pair of sneakers from a different line, with a pair of Air Jordan 37s to be released in a “Rasengan” colourway.

    A rasengan is the name of the “spinning ball of chakra formed and held in the palm of the user’s hand” in Naruto, a series Williamson loves so much he spoke about it in depth during an interview with GQ last year, calling it his “north star”:

    Williamson talks about Naruto with the same reverence with which other NBA players talk about the Bible—it brings comfort and clarity in equal parts. Over the course of this past year—an unusually tumultuous one in his otherwise starry career—Naruto was his north star.

    The shoe is full of little nods to the series, as Sneaker Freaker point out:

    Featuring spiky yellow on the tongues (an allusion to Naruto’s signature hairstyle), the Air Jordan 37 includes monochromatic serene blue uppers. Claw marks strike the ankle pads, while the tongues are emblazoned with metallic silver – inspired by Naruto’s forehead armour. Naruto’s catchphrase だってばよ! (‘believe it!’) is inscribed on both tongues, and the Rasengan chakra orbs adorn the insoles.

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    The Rasengan Zion x Naruto x Jordan 37s will be releasing on February 20, and being a general release model of Jordan might actually be fairly easy to get your hands on. I’d expect Zion will also be wearing them on the court around the same time as well.

    Image for article titled NBA Star Is Releasing A Naruto-Themed Pair Of Jordans

    Photo: Nike

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    Luke Plunkett

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  • McCollum makes 11 3s, scores 42, Pelicans beat 76ers 127-116

    McCollum makes 11 3s, scores 42, Pelicans beat 76ers 127-116

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    NEW ORLEANS — CJ McCollum scored 42 points, making a franchise-record and career-high 11 3-pointers, and Zion Williamson added 36 to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a 127-116 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

    McCollum nailed 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions in a 42-second span of the second quarter, giving the Pelicans a 56-40 lead. McCollum finished the half 7 of 11 from long range and 11 of 16 for the game.

    McCollum surpassed Peja Stojakovic’s franchise record of 10 3s in a game, set against the Lakers in 2007.

    “It’s just a credit to working hard and believing in yourself and really, really taking the game seriously,” McCollum said. “Peja is obviously a legend who shot the ball extremely well. These types of nights come with preparation.”

    The Pelicans were 10 of 17 from distance in taking a 67-60 halftime lead and finished the game 15 of 31 behind the arc.

    Williamson, who scored 43 on Wednesday, had 12 in the fourth quarter as New Orleans pushed a 99-91 lead to 119-107 with 5:03 left.

    “I love to see it,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “What makes Z special is that physically he can take all the bumps and all the hits and he keeps coming at you. I wouldn’t want to guard him.”

    McCollum’s 11th 3-pointer with 2:26 left gave New Orleans a 124-110 lead and broke Stojakovic’s franchise mark.

    “When he plays with that type of force and that pace — his slow-to-fast was just really good, and he just got it going,” Green said. “The basket got bigger as the game progressed. That’s how he has to play. He may not have 40 every game, but he’ll have a major impact.

    Joel Embiid finished with 37 points on 14-for-22 shooting. He scored 15 of Philadelphia’s first 24 points and had 20 first-half points on 8-of-9 shooting.

    James Harden added 20 points.

    76ers coach Doc Rivers said his team surrendering 30 points off 19 turnovers was key to the loss, but he acknowledged McCollum’s marksmanship.

    “McCollum was great tonight,” Rivers said. “He got a lot of those in transition. (But) I really thought that with the turnovers, we never could get a rhythm. It would be great if it was just one stretch, but it just never stopped.”

    The Pelicans forced 13 turnovers in the first half and turned those into 25 points.

    TIP-INS

    76ers: G Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers’ second-leading scorer (22.9), returned after missing 18 games with a left foot fracture, scoring nine points in 19 minutes. “I always think ball-handling is the toughest part of coming back,” Rivers said. “You just can’t practice the speed that you play with. We just want him to be aggressive and just not overthink the game.” … Philadelphia has lost two straight after winning eight consecutive games. … The Sixers entered the game second in the NBA in scoring defense (108.0).

    Pelicans: F Brandon Ingram (averaging 20.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15 games) missed his 16th consecutive game with a left toe injury. He said Thursday his recovery has been up and down. “Whenever I feel 100%, I’ll give it a go,” Ingram said. “But it’s hard to say right now.” … F Larry Nance sat out with neck spasms. … The Pelicans have gone 12-4 in the last month, sandwiching a four-game losing streak with separate winning streaks of seven and five games. … New Orleans has lost just twice at home in the last 48 days.

    UP NEXT

    76ers: Close a four-game road trip on Saturday at Oklahoma City.

    Pelicans: At Memphis on Saturday.

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  • Why The Los Angeles Lakers Need To Go All-In As Soon As Possible

    Why The Los Angeles Lakers Need To Go All-In As Soon As Possible

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    Russell Westbrook and two first-round draft picks for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.

    The above deal has been rumored for months, with the Lakers seemingly unwilling to include both their remaining tradeable draft selections in 2027 and 2029, and Indiana refusing to relinquish that caliber of talent, and taking on the contract of Westbrook, for anything less.

    The mexican standoff is likely to spill into the regular season until someone caves. But with the emergence of Victor Wembanyama as arguably the most hyped draft pick over the past two decades, an interesting subplot has entered the narrative.

    The ghost of the Anthony Davis trade

    When the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis in 2019, they gave up the farm. Virtually all their draft capital went to the New Orleans Pelicans, along with Brandon Ingram who developed into an All-Star in the Big Easy.

    In that package was a 2023 swap option, that gives the Pelicans the right to swap first-round picks. The swap is entirely unprotected, meaning the Lakers could – in theory – win the NBA Draft Lottery, and thus the right to select Wembanyama, only for the Pelicans to exercise that right, swoop in, and pick off the generational talent with the Lakers forced to watch.

    Some might point to the Lakers having a certain player on the roster by the name of LeBron James, and argue that with him around, it’s impossible for the franchise to ever be that bad to be in contention for the first overall pick.

    That logic is, however, highly flawed. The Lakers conveyed their 2022 first-rounder to the Pelicans, which ended up being the eight overall selection, as a result of a 33-win season. Even if they finish at the same spot this season, the lottery is still a lottery, meaning they could potentially win it.

    If Davis has another injury-riddled season, and they don’t find a solution to the Westbrook conundrum, it won’t really matter if they have a soon-to-be 38-year-old James.

    The level of control the Lakers do have is pulling the trigger on the Indiana trade, and thus drastically improving their chances of making it to the playoffs. That way, they could avoid forking over a lottery selection to the Pelicans.

    The logic of going all-in

    It’s understandable if the Lakers look at that trade as a lost cause, and wish to not let it dictate future moves. However, that would be dangerous.

    If the Lakers do end up winning the lottery, and thus be forced to send the rights to Wembanyama to the Pelicans, consider for a moment the change in power dynamic in the NBA.

    The Pelicans, with Wembanyama, Zion Williamson, Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy, Dyson Daniels, and whoever they can get for Jonas Valanciunas will likely enter Wembanyama’s rookie season as a legitimate championship candidate, and quickly turn into the championship favorites by the next season, which is a status that could last for a decade.

    Not only would the Lakers themselves, who are still trying to win, have no chance of beating that Pelicans team; they’d have built a powerhouse within their own conference that would have instant dynasty upside.

    (They’d also add a reported $500 million to their franchise value, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.)

    What incentive would James or Davis have to stay in that conference, knowing they stand a better chance of getting back to the Finals by joining a team in the East?

    Granted, this is long-term, worst-case thinking. But given the flattened lottery odds, the worst three teams stand just a 14% chance to win the lottery. The ten worst teams all stand at least a 3% chance of winning the lottery. So this isn’t inconceivable.

    There would be an incredible ripple effect should the above scenario play out, one that would essentially remove the Lakers, and most other Western Conference team, from serious contention for a long time.

    As such, it would actually be in the best interest of the Lakers themselves to be proactive, and not block their future path towards the Finals. That means caving, and forking over the two selections to Indiana.

    Heck, it might even be in the best interest of most Western Conference teams to further help the Lakers avoid the Wembanyama scenario, as to not help them build a generational team in New Orleans that would compete against them for the next decade. That is how absurd a situation this could become.

    As for the Pelicans, they’re just biding their time and hoping the Lakers implode once again. General manager David Griffin would want for nothing more than the Lakers to insist upon their stubbornness, and for this to drag out for as long as possible, solely for the Lakers to dig themselves as deep a hole as they can, before they wake up and realize what they stand to benefit by making that Pacers trader sooner than later.

    Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

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    Morten Jensen, Contributor

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