New Orleans Pelicans: 5 reasons the Pels will make the playoffs
By Eliot Clough
5. Zion is in shape
Responding to a fan’s question on Twitter, Andrew Lopez, ESPN’s NBA reporter in charge of covering the Pels had this to say:
He’s ready. He’s stayed ready the whole time. https://t.co/thcv3JsNJh
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) June 8, 2020
We all know Zion Williamson is a threat. That’s been well-established through the 19 games he’s played in which he’s put up un-godly numbers for a rookie — 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, all the while shooting 58.9 percent from the field. Oh, and that was in an average of 29.7 minutes per contest.
Pair that with the fact that Zion was clearly not in his top physical shape to start that 19-game stretch and opposing defenders may be wetting themselves a bit.
Over the hiatus the league has endured, Zion and Kenrich Williams have both been undergoing rehab and training (all of this with the league’s permission, of course) while many others have sat on their couches and not even touched a basketball, much less been in decent physical shape.
Zion will be ready, and maybe more ready than he was to start in January.