The New Orleans Pelicans have seen their offense improve drastically of late, beginning with changes they've made to who runs the offense. With Zion Williamson making the All-Star team as a reserve, the reason for his breakout season was revealed, via The Athletic's William Guillory.

To begin the season, Stan Van Gundy was figuring out who the offense should run through. Guys like Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram would dominate the team's usage on the offensive end early in the season.

While Ball and Ingram are gifted at creating for others and themselves, the offense of the Pelicans has seen drastic improvements due to Williamson getting more opportunities to create on offense. In response to his increased usage recently, Williamson shared how he's always been accustomed to being the go-to guy on the court.

“That’s how I grew up playing the game,” Williamson said. “(With the ball in my hands), I feel like it’s a little tougher to guard me. I can play-make from that spot a lot easier. I can see the floor better from there.”

After showing flashes of brilliance in his rookie season, where he was limited to 24 games, Williamson has recorded career-highs in points (25.1), rebounds (6.8), and assists (3.1) per game in his first 29 games of the 2020-21 season.

Zion Williamson has always been effective attacking the basket, where he's remarkably scored on 74.8 percent of his drives, which is second in the NBA behind Bradley Beal. Even though New Orleans is still figuring out other aspects of its roster, having Williamson operate the offense more has worked wonders for the Pelicans thus far.