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New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson went bananas once again, scoring 38 points on 65% shooting in a 112-103 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
It was the ninth game in a row that Zion has gone for 20+ plus while shooting at least 50% from the field. Even more staggering has been the move by the Pelicans to utilize Zion at the point guard position, making him a matchup nightmare for just about every team in the NBA.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle tried coming up with a player comparison for Williamson after Saturday's game in New Orleans and it's an interesting one.
Williamson when told that Rick Carlisle described him as "a Shaquille O'Neal-like force of nature with a point guard skillset":
"No. It's an honor to hear my name in those categories, but I am who I am: Zion. I'm trying to be the first and only Zion. That's all there is to it."
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) March 28, 2021
It's not the craziest comparison ever, but Zion still doesn't care. Who would've thought there would be a day where a player would have a Shaq like force down in the paint but also posses a point guard skillset. The move to shift Zion to a point-forward of sorts has paid of wonderfully for New Orleans. The former No. 1 overall pick from 2019 has looked like a natural and his assist numbers have definitely gone up more than a tick.
Tip of the cap goes to Stan Van Gundy, the head coach for the Pelicans. He switched up the operation in a move that carried some risk by putting Williamson at more of a point guard role. The entire offense now runs through him and it has Pelicans fans salivating. It has created a situation where if you put a big on Zion, he's often too quick for them. If you put a smaller defender on him, he'll bully his way inside with his strength.
In Saturday's affair, the Mavericks started the 4th quarter when Zion was at point with Boban Marjanovic guarding him. It went how you would expect, with Zion blowing by Marjanovic one drive after another until Carlisle pulled the plug on that idea.
Save all your player comparisons, because Zion just isn't interested. Being a point-forward dominating night in and night out, that's his focus for New Orleans for years to come.
