The Pelicans turned Zion Williamson into a point guard, and now they're the best offense in the NBA
When Zion Williamson dominated the college basketball world as a freshman at Duke in 2018-19, a debate raged around the NBA universe: what position would he play in the pros?
Was he too burly and too poor of a shooter to be a wing? Was he too short to battle NBA big men as a power forward or center?
As it turns out, the answer has been using him as a Point Zion.
Since January 29, the New Orleans Pelicans have the NBA's best offense, and it coincides with Williamson handling the ball more and more like a guard.
Over their last 18 games, the Pelicans are scoring a blistering 121 points per 100 possessions. That number would shatter the record for offensive rating of 115.9, set by the Dallas Mavericks last season.
It's difficult to pinpoint the exact moment the Pelicans handed the keys to the offense to Williamson, but a peek at his game log shows a jump in assists on January 29. In the 15 games prior, Williamson averaged 1.9 assists per game. Suddenly, in a win over the Bucks on January 29, Williamson recorded 7 assists. Since then, he is averaging 4.7 assists per game.
Of course, Williamson's turn as a point guard is about more than just assists — but that January 29 game gives us the best look at when things may have started to turn.
Pelicans president David Griffin told The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor that the adjustment was easy to make because Williamson grew up with the ball in his hands.
"Zion is so physically overwhelming in the paint that people just think he's a freak of nature power forward, and that's all he is," Griffin said. "But he played point guard basically his entire life before he got to Duke. His stepfather raised him with the ball in his hand to make decisions like a point guard. He measures himself by his ability to make people better."
However, even the Pelicans coaching staff has been a bit caught off-guard by Williamson adapting to the role.
"I was a little bit surprised, to be quite honest with you," Pelicans assistant coach Bob Beyer told Insider, noting that the adjustment took time to unfold. Beyer added: "I really didn't know that he was going to be as effective as he is handling the ball and scoring as a ball-handler."
Williamson is touching the ball a lot more and making defenses pay
The NBA's tracking data gives a few signs of how Williamson's role has evolved.
In January, Williamson averaged 1.66 dribbles per touch and just 2.1 seconds per touch — signs of a "finisher" on offense.
In February, he averaged 2.86 dribbles per touch and 3.3 seconds per touch. Those numbers essentially doubled in one month, and while they may not jump off the page, they are a sign of a player handling the ball more often and changing roles.
From December 23 to January 28, Williamson averaged 8.7 drives per game and passed on 22.3% of his drives, per NBA tracking data. Since January 29, Williamson has averaged 12.9 drives per game and passed on 31.8% of those drives.
Lastly, while the NBA's stats site doesn't allow users to filter "play type" data by month, Williamson is averaging 2.1 possessions per game as a pick-and-roll ball-handler this season — up from zero recorded possessions last season.
ESPN's Zach Lowe wrote on February 12 that Williamson's usage as a pick-and-roll ball-handler had quadrupled over his previous eight games — an increase that dated back to January 29.
But the stats alone almost underscore the change. Watch Williamson of late, and you'll find a 6-foot-7, 284-lb wrecking ball measuring the floor, then bursting by opponents with his quickness.
The Pelicans have frequently used JJ Redick as a screener for Williamson, leveraging Redick's shooting to put defenses in a bind.
Beyer said he doesn't think anyone on the Pelicans coaching staff could have predicted the team would run such an inverse play — a traditional "small" screening for a "big" — so often coming into the season.
And when Williamson attacks the basket, he draws so much defensive attention that passing windows automatically open up.
"It's not like he's looking to shoot the ball every single time," Beyer said. "Zion's a very unselfish player. So, teams try to load up to him with the double team, they actually bring a third defender, he's a very willing passer and will make the next play to the weak side of the floor."
To call Williamson one of the NBA's most unstoppable forces right now is not an exaggeration. He's averaging 27.9 points per game on 65% shooting over his last 15 games. Kevin McHale is the only player in NBA history to average over 25 points per game on over 60% shooting over a season, as Williamson is this year.
In their last 15 games, the Pelicans have gone 8-7 and are scoring 125 points per 100 possessions with Williamson on the floor.
"As we just continued to build our offense this year, it just became more and more apparent that Zion is very difficult to guard when handling the ball," Beyer said. "And a lot of times being defended by centers, where they're not used to defending someone in that exact situation."
The Utah Jazz, the NBA's No. 1 team, witnessed the ferocity of Point Zion on Monday. Not only did the Pelicans beat the Jazz, 129-124, but they also scored 74 points in the paint, with Williamson scoring 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go with 5 assists.
Few players make Rudy Gobert, the best defensive center in the NBA, look so helpless.
Williamson's turn as a point-something raises all sorts of questions about what his ceiling could be and how the Pelicans can build around him. Is putting four shooters around Williamson the blueprint to an unstoppable offense? Will Williamson become the NBA's next point-center? Or can Williamson function as a sort of nameless position, screening for ball-handlers and running pick-and-rolls in equal measures?
"You've got to give Zion a lot of credit," Beyer said. "Because his daily approach is, 'Okay, how am I going to get better today?' And he's embraced it. He comes to work every day looking to become a better player."
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