The NBA bubble’s opening night was just as exciting as we all thought it’d be. The matchups were excellent.
Part of the fanfare around the night was seeing Zion Williamson for the first time since March. He was tearing the league to shreds the last time we saw him. When the NBA went into its hiatus, he was looking like a bonafide NBA superstar.
From February 1 to March 8, Williamson averaged 26.4 points per game along with 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting a whopping 60% from the floor. That’s high level stuff for a player who is still only a rookie. He’s totally worth all of the hype. Of course NBA fans want to see that back on the floor again.
But that’s exactly why Thursday night’s Pelicans game against the Jazz was a bit disappointing. Williamson didn’t play much at all.
He only played 15 minutes in the Pelicans 106-104 loss to the Utah Jazz. He made the most of his time, scoring 13 points on 6-8 shooting from the field. He was super exciting in that short time.
He caught an amazing lob from Lonzo Ball.
ZO TO ZION IS BACK BABY pic.twitter.com/LPjeaE6hW1
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) July 30, 2020
And then returned the favor with a sweet behind the back pass at the rim.
ASSIST of the Night: July 30th
👉 Zion Williamson of the @PelicansNBA#WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/Mp1wEAUqRO
— NBA Canada (@NBACanada) July 31, 2020
But you can’t help but think he could’ve done more. NBA fans were totally disappointed they didn’t see more of the Pelicans’ young star. They had so many questions.
Man, how is there still a possibility of Zion Williamson being on a minutes restriction?? He’s been resting and more in shape now. I do not get the Pelicans at all
— Super Bowl Champion, GOOD Luck Chuck (@cpenn4thewin) July 30, 2020
Zion Williamson legit can only play 15 minutes after having three months off?
— Rmp80 (@rmpoboy) July 31, 2020
I don't understand why we have Zion Williamson if he's going to play 15 minutes a game.
— Trey Hebert (@treyyhebert) July 31, 2020
All of those questions seem fair. Everyone in the NBA has been off for five months, basically. One would think that, after all of this time, Williamson should be in good game shape.
Williamson has an answer for those questions, though.
Pelicans’ Zion Williamson, kept to 15 minutes in bubble opener, said he hasn’t suffered any medical setbacks & added that sitting during crunch time isn’t solely due to conditioning. “It’s just getting my flow to the game back… I don’t want to hurt my team more than I helped.” pic.twitter.com/uK7FROHrW7
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 31, 2020
“No, I mean, it’s not even just conditioning. It’s just getting my flow to the game back. This is the NBA. These are the best players in the world. And you want to feel comfortable. I don’t want to hurt my team more than I help them, in a sense.”
This makes perfect sense. We have to remember, Williamson left the team on July 16 for a personal matter. He came back, had to go through a four day quarantine and just practiced for the first time since then earlier this week.
It’s reasonable for him not to be totally comfortable just yet. This is what going from 0 to 100 looks like. And that can be daunting — especially for a rookie.
Williamson is looking on the bright side. At least they haven’t shut him down for the season.
Zion Williamson was asked multiple times about a minutes limit tonight. Says he's had no setbacks since returning to bubble, and it's less abt conditioning than working "back into my flow."
Zion adds it's not frustrating for him b/c they could've shut him down entirely #Pelicans pic.twitter.com/xF2yEOX0zO
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) July 31, 2020
The Pelicans should always handle Williamson as carefully as possible. It’s clear that he’s a special player. And it’s best to allow him to be as comfortable as possible out there. If he’s not? Help him get there. That’s what this does.
Sure, they may have lost the game. And they absolutely need all of the ground they can get if they’re going to pass the Trail Blazers and catch the Grizzlies.
But right now for the Pelicans, things aren’t as much about them making the players as they are in preparing Williamson for a long, healthy career. If the playoffs have to be sacrificed this season for that to happen? So be it. They’ll be better in the long run for it.
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