After two games, New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson has yet to record his first win as an NBA player, as the Pels dropped a 106-113 match at home to the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry was once again conservative with Williamson's minutes, as he elected to sit out the promising freshman at crunch time. Shortly after the match, Williamson, who was picked number one overall in last year's draft, fielded questions about his coach's decision to not have him finish the game. Per ESPN's Ben Golliver:
“Honestly, I don’t know how to answer that question. It hasn’t really been up to me. I’m just playing whatever they need me.”
Zion Williamson only spent 21 minutes on the floor on Friday, but did come up with 15 points, six boards, one steal, and one block. He made seven of his nine total field goal attempts and the Pels were actually +16 when he was on the court. The 6-foot-7 athletic wonder even fired up the fans inside the Smoothie King Arena with a couple of highlight-worthy plays.
Williamson started the game by throwing down an alley-oop hammer from Jrue Holiday, and showed his defensive chops by sending Malik Beasley's shot to the bleachers in the third period.
The 20-year-old former Blue Devil had an impressive debut against the San Antonio Spurs last Thursday, recording 22 points, seven rebounds in 21 minutes. He went ballistic in the fourth quarter, going 4-for-4 from three-point territory.
New Orleans, meanwhile, has now lost two in a row and is currently out of the playoff picture with a 17-29 slate.
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