Despite playing just five games into his rookie season, Zion Williamson has made an instant impact defensively on the court. Unlike most rookies, Williamson has not had to adjust on the defensive end as a big man. Instead, he’s excelled on that end of the court and has impressed Lonzo Ball, who spoke about his impact on both ends of the court after the team’s blowout win over Memphis.
“With Zion on the court, we’re a great basketball team, honestly He does so many things for us on both ends of the ball. We’re just happy to have him back.
“We can switch pretty much one through four with him. And then he can also guard bigs, rebound with bigs and block shots. We like having him on the court.”
Williamson’s defensive rating of 101.1, albeit through just five games, is the best mark for the Pelicans by over seven full points. That mark would rank first in the league by 2.4 points, meaning New Orleans has a league-best defense with Williamson on the floor.
In that five-game span, only Derrick Favors has a better defensive rating on the team at 100.4. Most impressively, with Favors and Williamson on the court together, the Pelicans have a 92.7 defensive rating in 64 minutes in the last five games.
The Pelicans have had an above average offense for much of the year, though they do rank third in the league in offensive rating with Williamson. But with Williamson, they now have a defense that can potentially make them a playoff contender.
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