Pelicans: Zion Williamson’s minute growth helps cement win over Grizzlies

Zion Williamson saw an increase in his minutes during Monday’s game against Memphis. This was one of the factors in the New Orleans Pelicans securing a win.

Monday night saw the New Orleans Pelicans finally get their first win in the NBA’s Orlando bubble. Going into a game with the current eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, it was a game that the Pelicans knew they were going to have to win if they were going to have any realistic chance of making the Western Conference’s play-in game. The Pelicans played an impressive game all around, however, one storyline really stands out from the matchup.

That storyline is, of course, surrounding the Pelicans’ rookie sensation Zion Williamson. There’s been a lot of talk surrounding the young star after he departed, and then returned to the bubble. With his injury troubles earlier in the season and with him only playing a small portion of games this year, Williamson has been put on a minutes restriction as he’s eased back into the swing of things.

After playing only 15 minutes against the Utah Jazz, and 14 minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry increased Williamson’s minutes Monday night, seeing him playing 25 minutes and closing a game for the first time since the restart. It’s fair to say that Zion made the most of his minutes. Zion came out of the gates firing, taking seven field-goal attempts in his first-quarter minutes, connecting on two shots close to the basket.

He definitely wasn’t done there, as he ended the evening with 9-of-21 from the field, and getting to the line for 10 free throw attempts, going 5-for-10. The highlight play of the night came in the second quarter, as Lonzo Ball and Zion connected for a half-court alley-oop play as he looked as explosive as ever.

All the talk in this one will be about Zion Williamson, as well as Brandon Ingram. The two finished with 23 and 24 points, as well as seven rebounds and five assists respectively. However, it was a proper team showing from New Orleans, as Jrue Holiday, along with Lonzo had tremendous nights on the perimeter dealing with the likes Ja Morant, who was shut out from scoring through the first three quarters. Josh Hart is another player who had a great night, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Zion playing an extra 10 minutes just put the icing on the cake for the Pelicans in this one, as they were finally able to have their full strength lineups on the floor during crunch time, and it looked good. The fact that he was able to play enough minutes down the stretch to have a real impact on the ending of the game was important for him and the Pelicans. He made three buckets from inside in the fourth and gave the side stability as they needed that consistent offense to hold off any potential comeback from the Grizzlies, who had Morant beginning to make a big mark on the game.

Williamson’s presence down low was important for the Pelicans, as he grabbed three offensive boards on the night, giving them that post-game that they really needed, helping Ingram get open for his looks in the process. Everyone for the Pelicans ultimately played their role in a very convincing display from this up-and-coming group. The result was very important for the Pelicans, but so too was the performance and it’s one they desperately needed following their two previous results. They now have five very winnable games as they look to end up in the eighth or ninth spots to prolong their season.