CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers begin a two-game road trip on Wednesday when they pay a visit to the New Orleans Pelicans and their star forward Zion Williamson.
Williamson is one of the bright young stars in the league. He’s averaging 23.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists. He’s shooting 54.8% from the floor, and when he puts his head down and gets downhill with some steam, he’s nearly unstoppable due to his size and strength.
As the Sixers prepare to take on Williamson, they’re preaching to each other that they should not be afraid of standing in front of him. They want to stay in front of him.
“It takes a team, explained De’Anthony Melton. “It takes loading up, getting in his pathway and not being scared of him. I think that’s the biggest thing and also eliminating his second-chance tip-ins and getting his rebounding back.”
The Sixers had to face a similar explosive player when they took on Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Saturday. Coach Nick Nurse compares prepping SGA to prepping for Williamson.
“A couple of things is that like when he (Williamson) decides to go, it’s so explosive and fast, right?” Nurse explained. “I mentioned this a little bit like OKC like, once Shai makes his move, you better you better have already started to make your move to help or maybe even anticipate that that’s coming or the ball is gonna be in the basket.”
Williamson begins to make his moves closer to the basket. That makes it tougher for opposing defenses and is something the Sixers have to prepare for. The Sixers have to have the toughness to stay in front of him and be willing to take a hit here and there.
“It’s the same — maybe even different with Zion because he starts a little closer a lot of times and he makes his move and he’s already at the rim,” Nurse added. “So the anticipation of help is one thing. The willingness to stand in there physically against Zion is a big challenge. That’s another thing. So, yeah, those two things are where my mind’s at right now.”
The Sixers and the Pelicans tip off at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday.
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