Pelicans star Zion Williamson has all the makings of a future Hall-of-Famer. Offensively, when he’s attacking the rim, Zion is impossible to stop, making him one of the most exciting young stars in the league.
But Williamson also has a massive flaw to his game that continues to hold him and the Pelicans back from their true potential: defense. On that end of the floor, Zion is often caught sleeping on the play or just straight up getting beat as his teammates are left to pick up the slack.
Zion Williamson’s Defense Becoming An Increasing Area Of Concern Among Experts
After the Pels’ 106-95 loss to Portland on Thursday, Williamson’s defensive woes became a topic of conversation across the league, with The Athletic’s William Guillory highlighting how much of a liability Zion has become on that end of the floor.
Zion Williamson’s defense is a problem. And it’s not just because he’s getting caught out of position or messing up communication on certain coverages (which has also been a struggle). He hasn’t gotten it done nearly enough when called upon to man up and prevent dribble penetration.
There are some minor fixes New Orleans can make on both ends of the court to deal with the woes that have resulted in the team’s underwhelming 6-6 start. But this franchise’s big-picture goals hinge on their stars’ willingness to make the necessary sacrifices to win. No one will be called upon to embody that mindset more than Williamson on defense.
It wasn’t the first time Zion got called out for his defense, and it probably won’t be the last, especially given the high expectations of this team.
After the game, Pelicans coach Willie Green acknowledged some of the areas of improvement for his team and called out his guys for not stepping up and making better decisions defensively.
“Collectively, we all have to make a decision that we’re going to guard, no matter who’s on the floor,” Willie Green said. “We can mix up some of our coverages … (but) we didn’t guard the ball. They got into paint. They got to the basket. Those are the things that we need to do better.”
Needless to say, Zion remains one of the biggest talents this game has to offer. But if he doesn’t improve on the defensive end, he’s only going to get so far.
For the Pelicans to really succeed at the level they want to, Williamson (and everybody else) are going to have to buy in and commit to cleaning up that end of the floor.
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