** The Low Man Help Podcast would not be possible without our outstanding producer,
- Check out his work here!
I’ve attached my notes from the New Orleans and Zion podcast, along with a timestamped guide to the episode and a few edits that may or may not be included. Enjoy!
The Pelicans' Injury Woes: 1:26 - 4:50
Should The Pels Build Around Zion? 4:51 - 8:27
The B.I./Zion Fit: 8:28 - 14:41
Zion Williamson's Drives and Game of Pain: 14:42 - 30:00
Shoutout Retro Pels! 30:01 - 32:05
Injury Bug:
Games lost to injury so far this season - 52 TOTAL GAMES (14 games played)
Everything starts and ends with Zion. Since entering the league as the #1 Pick in 2019, Zion has been the main culpirt.
445 Total Games - Zion has played in 190 (42%)
101-89 w/ Zion - 53% win percentage
113-142 w/o Zion - 44% win percentage
$ per game if played every game - 190k
$ per game played - 444k
Optimization of roster around Zion (or lack thereof):
Who fits together in this puzzle. What grouping of players best amplifies each others skill sets. All lineup numbers below per CLG.
23/24: Zion, CJ, Herbert and Bi:
1308 POSS -> -4.1 per 100 (34th)
23/24 Zion, CJ, Herbert, and Trey (Bi OFF):
665 POSS -> +10.2 Per 100 (93rd)
23/24 Zion, Herbert, and Trey:
885 POSS -> +6.6 Per 100 (84th)
24/25 Zion and Bi:
222 POSS -> -0.7 per 100
Shooting… New Orleans as a team has struggled to put consistent shooting around a player in Zion who NEEDS shooting around him at all times.
Threes Made Per Game:
22/23 - 10.9 (24th)
23/24 - 12.2 (21st)
24/25 - 11.1 (28th)
Zion Shooting - 91 Threes Attempted for Career (11 attempts in first 10 games).
He has NEVER finished a season attempting more ONE THREE A GAME
Zion is unwilling to shoot the ball. His unwillingness results in drives into a compressed defensive shell, leading to charges and bad process plays.
DRIVES - FILTERED FOR THE TOP 100 PLAYERS
4th - 26.2 DRIVES PER 100 (Doing it a lot).
37th - 1.071 PPD (Meh at scoring, not bad but not great).
48th - 0.078 TOV Per Direct Drive (Giving the ball away quite a bit).
87th - 0.083 AST Per Direct Drive (Not playmaking for anyone).
Optimization of Zion’s Two-Man Game:
Ball Handler vs. Screener
23/24 Season:
SCREENER: 307 Direct Screens (79th) - 10.5 Per 100 (63rd) - 1.086 PPD (75th).
BALL HANDLER: 612 Direct Picks (86th) - 19 Per 100 (77th) - 1.076 (76th).
^^ Point Per 100 Chances - 14.5 (26th) FILTERED FOR 500 Picks (104 players).
The two warts: Unders are par for the course when it comes to Zion PnR Ball Handler actions. There is no reason to do anything else. 1. Frustration passes out. 2. Drives into traffic.
Who is the ideal PnR Partner for Zion (if he’s willing to get off the ball)??
A player who can force the secondary defender in the action to be up at the LEVEL. This would release Zion in advantage 4v3 or 3v2 situations (where he thrives).
Is that guy on their roster… Trey Murphy III???
^^ PPD 1.444 (TINY SAMPLE SIZE)
Trey has the ability to force a defender up tot he level of the screen. He needs more reps in the action and must prove he is capable to great process decision making over a large sample size.
Low Man Help is free. But if you enjoyed this post, you can support Low Man Help by buying a coffee. This money will be reinvested into LMH to create better content for you!
Intelligentsia House Blend fuels LMH. Marzie and I can’t get enough of it!
Share this post