The New Orleans Pelicans have done a terrific job of providing fans a fresh look at past games during the lockdown with their Pelicans Playback series. The team has brought on coaches, commentators and players to break down plays, discuss the team and offer a fresher look at the team.
The most recent Pelicans Playback saw Zion Williamson break down plays from the team’s early March game against the Miami Heat. New Orleans won the game 110-104, the team’s penultimate game prior to the lockdown.
Williamson broke down a handful of plays from the game. During one of the plays, he took a moment to talk about Lonzo Ball’s high basketball IQ as he read the Heat defense on the fly.
“Now this shows the IQ of Lonzo Ball right here. In this situation, he saw that the defender was playing ahead of the play. So, he just made the early pass which allowed me to go baseline for the good finish.”
Given the way the Pelicans offense runs typically, on-the-fly reads on offense are a near requirement. In many aspects, that is what makes Ball and Williamson so effective both in the Pelicans system and together. Both players have high basketball IQs and can make similar reads that lead to the jaw-dropping plays.
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