Tag: Zion Williamson

Full injury report for Wednesday’s Pelicans vs. Thunder Game 2 matchup

Full injury report for Wednesday’s Pelicans vs. Thunder Game 2 matchup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder look to go up 2-0 against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs on Wednesday.

The Thunder have a clean bill of health for Game 2. Nobody was on their injury report.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans will be without Zion Williamson (hamstring strain), who will miss most — if not all — of the first-round series.

The Thunder outlasted the Pelicans in Game 1 with a 94-92 win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points, including a pair of crucial buckets in the final two minutes to give OKC the close victory. Chet Holmgren had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.

Tthe Pelicans struggled without Williamson. Brandon Ingram was limited to 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting. C.J. McCollum missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Tipoff from Oklahoma City is set for 8:30 p.m. CT.

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Full injury report for Sunday’s Pelicans vs. Thunder matchup in Game 1

Full injury report for Sunday’s Pelicans vs. Thunder matchup in Game 1.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will begin the 2024 NBA playoffs on Sunday with Game 1 of the first round against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The first-seeded Thunder return to action after a week off. Meanwhile, the Pelicans had to survive the play-in tournament to earn the eighth seed. New Orleans’ win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday secured its playoff berth.

The Thunder have a clean bill of health for Game 1. Nobody was on their injury report. Meanwhile, the Pelicans will be without Zion Williamson (hamstring strain), who will miss most — if not all — of the first-round series.

This will have massive ramifications on how the series plays out. The Pelicans will be without their best player, who has enjoyed a career season after struggling to stay healthy the last two years.

In the season series, OKC won two of the three matchups against New Orleans. OKC’s loss was the result of a blown 22-point lead in the season’s opening weeks.

Tipoff from Oklahoma City is set for 8:30 p.m. CT.

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Mark Daigneault discusses playoff series against Pelicans, Zion Williamson’s absence

Mark Daigneault discusses playoff series against Pelicans, Zion Williamson’s absence.

After nearly a week of waiting, the Oklahoma City Thunder finally learned their first-round opponent will be the New Orleans Pelicans following the play-in tournament.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talked about the matchup following Saturday’s practice. It was the final practice before the start of the playoffs for the first-seeded Thunder.

“They’ve strung together a really good year again. A team we have our respect for,” Daigneault said on the Pelicans. “I’m expecting a huge challenge for this series,”

The short-handed Pelicans will likely play the first round without Zion Williamson. The two-time All-Star suffered a hamstring strain in their play-in tournament loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

It’s a massive blow that can alter the series. After battling health issues the last two years, Williamson has enjoyed a career season. He’ll miss at least two weeks.

Against the Lakers, Williamson scored a season-high 40 points before his leg injury. Without him, the Pelicans will rely on Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum to make up for their best player’s absence.

“It changes them significantly. He’s just such a unique player,” Daigneault said about Wiliamson’s absence.” There’s a really good version of them without him and there’s a really good version with him.

“I think they become a little bit more space-oriented, pick-and-roll oriented on offense. Defensively, they’re more light-sized and they do a lot more switching.”

The Thunder will enter the series fully healthy and rested. Meanwhile, the short-handed Pelicans are fresh off two highly intense postseason matchups.

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Jared McCain ties Zion Williamson’s Duke freshman record for points in an NCAA Tournament game

Jared McCain scored 32 points against the Wolfpack on Sunday, tying Zion Williamson’s freshman record for points in an NCAA Tournament game.

Duke may not have gotten the result Blue Devils fans wanted against NC State in the Elite Eight, but freshman Jared McCain had a game to remember.

The first-year guard scored 32 points, exactly half of Duke’s points against the Wolfpack. He finished 8/20 from the floor, including five 3-pointers, and made all 11 of his free throws.

The performance tied a program record, equaling Zion Williamson’s mark for the most points by a Duke freshman in an NCAA Tournament game. Williamson set the mark against UCF in the second round of the 2019 tournament.

The 32-point performances are also tied for the fourth-most by any Blue Devil in a tournament game. Danny Ferry and Jason Williams both scored 34 points in a tournament game, and Jeff Mullins set a program record with 43 points against Villanova in 1964.

McCain also became the first Duke freshman to put up two 30-point games in a single tournament after he scored 30 points and made eight 3-pointers against James Madison in the second round.

Sixers have to find a way to slow down Zion Williamson to beat Pelicans

The Philadelphia 76ers have to find a way to slow down Zion Williamson in order to have a chance against the New Orleans Pelicans.

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers will get back at it on Friday when they play host to the New Orleans Pelicans, and if they’re going to have a chance to win the game, they have to find a way to slow down Zion Williamson.

With the Sixers missing Joel Embiid to protect the basket, they are going to have a tough time really slowing down Williamson in the paint. In four career games against the Sixers, he’s averaging 33 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists. He had 33 points, eight rebounds, and six assists to lead the Pelicans to a win over the Sixers back in November.

“Just on defense load into the ball,” KJ Martin said of defending Williamson. “Obviously, he’s strong and he likes to shoot gaps so you just have to be in and get out to the 3-point shooters. They’re a good team. He’s a guy that can get downhill and obviously put some shooters around him like Trey Murphy. So you just have to do both. It’s a tough task for sure, but we’re capable for sure.”

To Martin’s point, New Orleans has shooters such as CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, and others to surround Williamson. The challenge for Philadelphia in terms of defending Williamson and keeping him out of the paint is even tougher when considering they have to get out to shooters and close out on them as well.

“I don’t know how much he (Williamson) weighs, but he’s up there for sure and he’s super strong and athletic,” Martin added. “So to game plan, you just kind of have to load up and get the ball out of his hands and get back out and get the shooters, and if he gets it in the post or whatever, you just gotta be physical. So you got to live with him going right and whatever happens, happens.”

Tip off from the Wells Fargo Center is set for 7 p.m. EST.

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Filipowski named Karl Malone Award finalist

After he was named one of the five finalists on Thursday, Kyle Filipowski could join Zion Williamson as the only Blue Devils to win the Malone Award as the nation’s best power forward.

The five national finalists for the Karl Malone Award were announced on Wednesday, and Duke 7-footer Kyle Filipowski is one of the names in contention.

The Malone Award is given to the nation’s best power forward each season, and Filipowski joined Akron’s Enrique Freeman, Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II, San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee, and Utah State’s Great Osobor as the last players remaining for the honor.

Filipowski is averaging 16.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists this season. He’s shooting 50.7% from the floor and 35.2% from the 3-point line, and he’s added 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals on the defensive end.

Through 30 games this season, the Duke big man has eight double-doubles and 10 20-point games, including a 30-point performance against Georgia Tech back in January.’

Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis won the award last year, and Zion Williamson (2019) is the only Blue Devil to win the award in its 10-year history.

The Pelicans savagely roasted Stephen A. Smith with 1 picture after he talked about Zion Williamson’s weight on First Take

The Pelicans clapped back at Stephen A. Smith for Zion

Stephen A. Smith has never been one to hold back whatever criticisms he has about anybody, but that especially seems to be the case for Zion Williamson. Particularly when it comes to his weight.

If you’ve been following the NBA at all over the last few years then you know Williamson’s weight and his conditioning have been a huge talking point in NBA circles. It’s been that way for a while now. Folks both inside and out of the Pelicans organization have critiqued his habits. 

But when Smith does it? Whew, boy. There’s a little extra spiciness that comes with it. Just a few months ago he told everybody that he’d heard Williamson would “eat the table” while he was going on a bizarre rant about the Pelicans star’s weight.

Smith was back at it again on Friday. He completely tears him up here. It’s wild.

“Zion Williamson, it’s not about his game. It’s about how many burgers he’s eating and whether or not he’s going to be in shape or keep eating McDonald’s and have chefs clamoring for him to come to their restaurants. That’s what he has to prove — that the chefs don’t love him anymore.” 

This is so strange, man. Especially because the Pelicans are the 5th seed in the West and Zion is playing pretty well right now. This rant feels totally misplaced and more like an attack.

That’s alright, though. Because the Pelicans have Zion’s back. The team dropped this tweet here and ended everything.

Those are Stephen A. Smith’s numbers at Winston-Salem State University. That’s all it took.

This was so petty. Fans loved it.

Takeaways: In loss to Pelicans, Rockets bullied inside by Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas

Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas combined for 47 points, 17 rebounds, and 13 assists on 64% shooting as New Orleans bullied Houston in Thursday’s blowout loss.

In their first game coming out of the NBA’s 2024 All-Star break, the Rockets (24-31) continued their road misery with Thursday’s 127-105 loss (box score) in New Orleans. Houston is 5-22 away from home this season and has lost six of its last seven, overall, while the Pelicans (34-22) won for the eighth time in nine games.

Houston’s frontcourt of Alperen Sengun, Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr. struggled to offer much resistance against the bruising, physical front line of Jonas Valanciunas and Zion Williamson.

Key statistics for the Pelicans included:

  • Valanciunas: 20 points, 14 rebounds in 27 minutes; 9-of-12 shooting (75%), 2-of-2 on 3-pointers
  • Williamson: 27 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals in 35 minutes; 12-of-21 shooting (57.1%)
  • C.J. McCollum: 28 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists in 31 minutes; 11-of-22 shooting (50%), 4-of-10 on 3-pointers (40%)

Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 20 points and 9 rebounds while shooting 6-of-9 from the field (66.7%). However, many of those statistics were tallied in the second half of a blowout, and his defense against Valanciunas left much to be desired.

On the perimeter, it was another subpar shooting night for Jalen Green, who finished with 10 points in 24 minutes while shooting 3-of-14 from the field (21.4%) and 2-of-8 on 3-pointers (25%).

Rookie guard Amen Thompson was the bright spot for Houston, finishing with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting (69.2%) and 1-of-3 from 3-point range (33.3%). The athletic 6-foot-7 reserve also stuffed the stat sheet with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.

Tari Eason (left lower leg injury management) remained sidelined for the Rockets, who have not seen their versatile second-year forward play since Jan. 1. Houston is 12-10 with Eason this season and 12-21 without him. Brandon Ingram (illness) was out for the Pelicans.

Here’s our look at Thursday’s highlights and postgame interviews, along with reaction by media members and fans. Fortunately for the Rockets, next up is Friday’s game versus Phoenix at Toyota Center, where Houston is 19-9 this season. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. Central.

Andy Katz names Jared McCain his Player of the Week following 35-point outburst against Florida State

Duke freshman Jared McCain was named Andy Katz’ Player of the Week after a 35-point game against FSU and a double-double against Wake Forest.

By now, Jared McCain’s scintillating shooting performance in Tallahassee has introduced him to everyone in college basketball.

The true freshman from Sacramento, California, opened up more eyes this weekend after his 35 points helped carry Duke to a win on the road against an always-tough Florida State team coached by Leonard Hamilton.

Duke needed every single point McCain provided. For his efforts, McCain was named ACC Rookie of the Week, and college basketball reporter Andy Katz called McCain his national Player of the Week.

McCain’s week ended with the win and 35-point explosion over FSU, but earlier that week against Wake Forest, McCain also dropped a 17-point double-double while shooting 3/7 from distance.

He averaged a whopping 26 points per game for the week, and his total field goal percentage for the week’s games was 53%, He shot 61% from the 3-point line.

For good measure, McCain averaged seven rebounds a game, too.

 

We’ve discussed how McCain tied a Duke freshmen record held by a legendary one-and-done player, Zion Williamson. Still, McCain is now flirting with a place within the top 10 all-time 3-point shooting seasons by a Duke freshman. He’s tied currently with Austin Rivers at No. 10 with 58 made threes. One more 3-pointer with eight games left would see him officially pass Rivers and firmly move inside the top 10.

With four more makes from deep, he’d pass his head coach, Jon Scheyer, who had 61 in his freshman season at Duke.

With McCain, Duke has found a dynamic long-range threat that could affect how teams gameplan for Duke the rest of the way—playing off that could benefit Duke greatly as they continue to push toward the NCAA Tournament.

The highest-scoring games by Duke freshmen

Jared McCain tied a Duke freshman record with 35 points in a single game against the Seminoles on Saturday. Here’s a look back at the seven highest-scoring games by first-year Blue Devils.

It’s hard to find a slice of history in a program with five national championships to its name, but Jared McCain managed to do just that on Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee.

The first-year guard scored 35 points against Florida State during Duke’s 76-67 victory, tied for the most by a freshman in a single game in program history. His explosive outing was powered by a near-perfect first half in which he scored 25 points on 9/10 shooting and 7/8 from beyond the arc.

McCain looked unconscious for most of the afternoon, backpedaling behind the 3-point line in transition and firing long balls even with a hand in his face.

With McCain tying a Duke record, here’s a glimpse back at the seven most productive games from first-year Blue Devils.