Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans had one chance to show their home fans an embarrassing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers was a fluke. The team had just gotten home from a 10-day road trip and would be gone for another week after a visit from the Minnesota Timberwolves. They needed a counterpunch response to the knockdown blows suffered in Las Vegas.
“We definitely want to come out on our home floor with a sense of urgency, play our style, and get back to playing our basketball. The L.A. game was not indicative of who we are, but it will be good to see how we respond tonight,” were head coach Willie Green's thoughts during the pregame media session.
Pelicans, Zion Williamson respond with a get-right game
Well, Williamson and Brandon Ingram did not waste their time in the Smoothie King Center. The blowout loss in the In-Tournament semifinal is now old news. Williamson was downright outstanding in leading the Pelicans in a resounding 121-107 win over the Timberwolves. New Orleans is again two games over .500 and right in the middle of the NBA Play-In picture.
Green said to open the postgame press conference, the team was focused on “‘What can we control?’ We can make a decision as a team that we want to guard. That we can communicate on the floor. That we can rebound the ball…The game started with our ability to guard and defend…it all started with our defense.”
As for Williamson individually, Green replied, “More than anything, I’m sure it was refreshing to him, to get back out on the floor and to respond. To have a great game [and] carry our team. Zion, BI (Brandon Ingram), our starters did a great job of setting the tone early and that’s what we needed. We needed to have a few good days of practice to knock that sort of funk off of us from the L.A. game. We didn’t feel good coming out of that and we know we’re better, and tonight we went out and we showed it.”
Williamson brushed off the negative soundbites coming from the media as background noise that's been around since the two-time All-Star was a teenager.
“It's been like that since I was 16 years old; since I came onto the scene. If I want to be one of the best players in the league, if we don't win in a big moment or if something bad happens, that's to be expected.”
As for Hall-of-Famers Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley's comments, Williamson said, “If it comes from a great place and a place where they want to see me do better, thank you. If it comes from anywhere else, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. Can’t control that.”
Green's starting five get back on track
It was a great bounce-back game for the starting five. Jonas Valanciunas (14 points, 13 rebounds) posted another double-double. Williamson (36 points, 5 rebounds) started strong, going 3-of-5 from the field for nine points in the first quarter and only missing four shots all game (13-17). He had a game-high 15 points at halftime.
CJ McCollum (23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) and Brandon Ingram (20 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds) combined for a 13-28 shooting night.
Herb Jones (7 points, 10 rebounds) was the only starter not to score in double figures but still finished with a +20 performance. The 36 points is Williamson's most of the season. This was the first time since the Opening Night of last season in Brooklyn that Williamson, Ingram, and McCollum all scored 20 or more points.
Williamson's career-high of 44 points also came against the Timberwolves. Minnesota might be in first place currently but New Orleans is not scared of seeing them in a playoff series.
McCollum saw a big night coming from Williamson because “(Zion) was aggressive. He was very assertive. He was locked in.”
Williamson focused on the fans who had his back when sharing the locker room's appreciation for the Smoothie King Center's home cooking.
“Home is where you're loved. If you love this city, which I very much do, it'll love you back… I'm gonna do my best not to let y'all down,” said the Pelicans' longest-tenured player.
As for that semifinal debacle against LeBron James, Williamson shrugged it off as “a bad performance. It don’t take rocket science to see that…We have a lot of potential. But we also have a lot of room for growth.”
Ingram, when asked about Williamson’s response to criticism this week, grabbed a nearby stat sheet and read off, “36 (points), 10 for 12 from the free throw line, I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.”
Minnesota head coach Chris Finch agreed, telling ClutchPoints that the Pelicans are “a really, really good team. This is when fully healthy – I think [they are] one of the most underrated but also explosive teams…They are capable of beating anybody and they now have the full complement of guys whose skill sets complement each other.
“[They have] guys who can get into the paint, guys who can create and make their own shots. They now have guys who knock down shots – three-point shots – and they are really tough on the glass. Physical. Have some depth. So, yeah, we’ve got our hands full for sure.”
So does the rest of the Western Conference if Williamson's Pelicans play up to their standard more consistently. If not, the front office will have some tough decisions to make. McCollum did not pick New Orleans as a trade destination to clown around and this team has too much potential to let the season go to waste.
For a night though, all is well. The Pelicans can take pride in their most recent performance and shrug off the skeptics shouting from outside the building.
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