The Zion Problem (1 Viewer)

[Loco Hornet Fan]

Shaq is right. Why were they dancing on the ceiling on their social media pages after last night?

Shaquille O'Neal was not impressed with Zion Williamson or his triple-double for the Pelicans

The Hall of Famer also admitted he didn't know who coached the Detroit Pistons on the broadcast.

www.nola.com

Shaq also didn’t know who is currently coaching the Pistons and the Blazers.

He doesn’t actually watch most current basketball games and that should be considered with his opinions.

 

[Snakehead]

Well it continues to look like getting rid of BI has brought the best out of Zion. Let's build the team with TM3, Missi and Zion. What players would be ideal to finish out the roster?

PG:
SG:
SF: Trey Murphy
PF: Zion
C: Missi

Isn't there a way to build the roster to where we can go up tempo if needed, reign 3s or even go bully ball depending on the situation?

 

[Dago]

It doesn't need to be all be 3s. But it should be something that opens lanes for other players to cut. When BI was having his triple double threats, you'd notice his double teams came out to get him near or past the 3 point line. That allowed players like Herb, Trey, Larry, Dyson, and Naji room to cut for easy baskets close to the rim. There is a reason Trey had a higher output with BI on the floor vs Zion. And that was with Trey being more of a catch and shoot/cutter back then. Even that was with BI only attempting 3 or 4 threes per game. But teams still respected it.

With Zion teams can just build a wall and hope the Pelicans are off from 3 pt range. They don't aggressively go to take the ball out of his hands as early. Cutting lanes are clogged. It's more difficult to execute an offense against that. Especially against long athletic teams like the Rockets. Zion literally just shot a combined 44% against them. Zion needs to at least be able to pull up in open space from 10 - 15 and at least attempt 2 - 4 threes a game and be a decent threat.

I agree that he needs to incorporate some midrange shooting if for no other reason than to lower his wear and tear

 

[Infoman]

Giannis only shot 19% on like 3 3-pointers per game when they won the title.

Based on how few 3’s he actually made, I don’t believe that affected the
Suns’ gamelan all that much.

A low percentage at low volume is not better than historically high efficiency at the rim. I don’t think those shot attempts are what makes Giannis “Giannis.”

It's the attempts and how the defense has to respect them... and GA actually attempts shots too.... Not everything he does is a layup or dunk (like Z)... He has some variation in his game, and is worlds better then Zion all-around.

Our coach is always talking about how he wants to attempt 40 threes a game... which is a hilarious notion when your best player takes literally none per game...

We are never going to agree on this because I watch the best teams play basketball everyday... None of them are lead by a guy with no shot to speak of at all, and zero versatility in this game...

Efficiency means squat if you are trading 2s for 3s all night... SGA is crazy efficient too... Know what the difference between him and Zion is? Know why he's going to be a champion and/or MVP very soon?

Look I like Zion... But it's time to call him what he is and stop pretending we can build a contender with him as the centerpiece. It's not happening in the modern era of this NBA.

 

[Infoman]

Well it continues to look like getting rid of BI has brought the best out of Zion. Let's build the team with TM3, Missi and Zion. What players would be ideal to finish out the roster?

PG:
SG:
SF: Trey Murphy
PF: Zion
C: Missi

Isn't there a way to build the roster to where we can go up tempo if needed, reign 3s or even go bully ball depending on the situation?

You can pencil in Dejounte Murray at PG for the next 2 seasons... pretty sure he's under contract at least until then... and they are never not going to start Herb.... CJ probably gets traded next year...

We are stuck in this lineup purgatory until we do something with Zion.

 

[Dago]

You can pencil in Dejounte Murray at PG for the next 2 seasons... pretty sure he's under contract at least until then... and they are never not going to start Herb.... CJ probably gets traded next year...

We are stuck in this lineup purgatory until we do something with Zion.

I wouldn't wipe my arse with this trade proposal

Rockets Could Trade For Pelicans' Zion Williamson

The Houston Rockets are in line to make a big trade this summer. Bleacher Report writer Greg Swartz suggests that comes in the package of New Orleans Pelicans f

www.si.com

 

[Loco Hornet Fan]

It's the attempts and how the defense has to respect them... and GA actually attempts shots too.... Not everything he does is a layup or dunk (like Z)... He has some variation in his game, and is worlds better then Zion all-around.

Our coach is always talking about how he wants to attempt 40 threes a game... which is a hilarious notion when your best player takes literally none per game...

We are never going to agree on this because I watch the best teams play basketball everyday... None of them are lead by a guy with no shot to speak of at all, and zero versatility in this game...

Efficiency means squat if you are trading 2s for 3s all night... SGA is crazy efficient too... Know what the difference between him and Zion is? Know why he's going to be a champion and/or MVP very soon?

Look I like Zion... But it's time to call him what he is and stop pretending we can build a contender with him as the centerpiece. It's not happening in the modern era of this NBA.

My point is that I don’t think teams actually respect those attempts or alter their coverages based on them.

If Zion started attempting a few 3’s per game and only hit 19%, 1) fans would complain/go nuts and 2) opposing teams would sit back and let him take those shots.

I think you’re right though, we will probably just have to agree to disagree here (which is ok).

 

[Dago]

My point is that I don’t think teams actually respect those attempts or alter their coverages based on them.

If Zion started attempting a few 3’s per game and only hit 19%, 1) fans would complain/go nuts and 2) opposing teams would sit back and let him take those shots.

I think you’re right though, we will probably just have to agree to disagree here (which is ok).

That is a good point. Nobody actually defends Giannis at the 3 point line. If you try to, you leave yourself open for him to drive to the basket so they basically just let him chuck one up.

 

[HoustonGold]

Shaq also didn’t know who is currently coaching the Pistons and the Blazers.

He doesn’t actually watch most current basketball games and that should be considered with his opinions.

And Perk don’t watch the Lakers.

I’ll say it again

Because we are stuck on Zion teams like OKC, Memphis, and the Houston Rockets has completely passed us up on rebuilds. Yeah let that sink in. Trajan Langdon saw the writing on the wall and went to the Pistons where he found some nice pieces. Meanwhile we are stuck on Zion.

OKC just flat out dominated Boston in there place last night. Don’t tell me they have not had injuries. That is a team Sam Presti built from a Durant, Westbrook, Paul George blow up.

Chet Holmgren returns for NBA-best Thunder after missing nearly 3 months

Chet Holmgren has returned to the lineup for Oklahoma City after missing nearly three months with a pelvic fracture, a potent addition for the NBA-best Thunder.

apnews.com

Wanna name Houston’s starting 5 now?

 

[Loco Hornet Fan]

That is a good point. Nobody actually defends Giannis at the 3 point line. If you try to, you leave yourself open for him to drive to the basket so they basically just let him chuck one up.

Right. Statistically speaking, Giannis taking a 3 (even the odd one that goes in) is a big win for the defense.

His points per shot attempt on 3s is far lower than other shots, even though the value of a made 3 is (obviously) a lot higher.

 

[HoustonGold]

Shaq also didn’t know who is currently coaching the Pistons and the Blazers.

He doesn’t actually watch most current basketball games and that should be considered with his opinions.

 

[Loco Hornet Fan]

Shaq just went on tv and got the coaches of multiple NBA teams wrong. He makes mistakes like that pretty often because he doesn’t actually watch many games.

My point was that if you want your analysis of players to be taken seriously, you should actually watch them. I’m not sure if he watches the Lakers or not, but I do think Kendrick Perkins is pretty bad, too. Imo, media coverage & analysis is a bit of an issue for the NBA in general.

I don’t know what you mean by wanting me to name the Rockets’ starters.

 

[HoustonGold]

Shaq just went on tv and got the coaches of multiple NBA teams wrong. He makes mistakes like that pretty often because he doesn’t actually watch many games.

My point was that if you want your analysis of players to be taken seriously, you should actually watch them. I’m not sure if he watches the Lakers or not, but I do think Kendrick Perkins is pretty bad, too. Imo, media coverage & analysis is a bit of an issue for the NBA in general.

I don’t know what you mean by wanting me to name the Rockets’ starters.

We could say the same about Willie’s rotations. He don’t know much or someone gives him bad info. He might have to go too.

 

[LAhotsauce]

My point is that I don’t think teams actually respect those attempts or alter their coverages based on them.

If Zion started attempting a few 3’s per game and only hit 19%, 1) fans would complain/go nuts and 2) opposing teams would sit back and let him take those shots.

I think you’re right though, we will probably just have to agree to disagree here (which is ok).

And that is a problem for Milwaukee. They struck gold and won it all 4 years ago, but other than that the Giannis era has been full of 1st and 2nd round exits. Including another 1st round exit to the Heat a couple years ago with Giannis playing. There is a decent chance we see Giannis exit Milwaukee via trade this summer.