It Really Is A New Era

[P_B_&_G]

He's on compound V.

Never trust a soop

[JJackisangry]

The biggest thing for me is I want to see the minutes spread around. We have depth and we need to keep players healthy. It’s also the perfect time to evaluate the talent we have. We can showcase Frank and Jah a bit for the trading block. We should be able to run our system all day if we keep fresh legs on the court. There really isn’t an excuse to endanger players when we have this many rookies and younguns in the rotation.

I’m all for making a run at the playoffs. Do it the right way. Don’t to it the Tom Thibodeau way. We aren’t in any rush.

[Pelicanidae]

"The Best There Is
The Best There Was
The Best There Ever Will Be,"
- B̵r̵e̵t̵ ̵H̵a̵r̵t̵
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker pic.twitter.com/3EbwLGM4U3

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) September 25, 2019

Nickeil ''The Hitman'' Walker

[luckyman]

Look its Brandon Ingram. I thought he was dead.

https://www.nba.com/pelicans/gallery...erment-project

[Pelicanidae]

Look its Brandon Ingram. I thought he was dead.

https://www.nba.com/pelicans/gallery...erment-project

He looks happy, which is good to see. Also looks like a stiff wind would snap him in half, but still.

[Pelicanidae]

Zion Williamson and other NBA rookies predict their first-year stats and share their goals for the 2019-20 season: pic.twitter.com/R26ZUcyULu

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) September 26, 2019

Zion sets his personal expectations for his rookie season at 20/10/3.

I would not complain at that.

[bahmamamba]

Zion Williamson and other NBA rookies predict their first-year stats and share their goals for the 2019-20 season: pic.twitter.com/R26ZUcyULu

— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) September 26, 2019

Zion sets his personal expectations for his rookie season at 20/10/3.

I would not complain at that.

ha, that's around what you and I predicted that's cool lol

Sent from my SM-S903VL using Tapatalk

[Pelicanidae]

ha, that's around what you and I predicted that's cool lol

Sent from my SM-S903VL using Tapatalk

Yeah, I think I went with something like 18/9/3, so pretty close. I genuinely think that's within grasp.

[JJackisangry]

He has as NBA ready a body as anyone will have, so that isn’t unrealistic at all. I do think it will be a decent bit less, but that may be related to the amount of depth and talent we have in the side rather than him underperforming. There is no pressure on anyone here so they can grow at their own pace.

[Pelicanidae]

He has as NBA ready a body as anyone will have, so that isn’t unrealistic at all. I do think it will be a decent bit less, but that may be related to the amount of depth and talent we have in the side rather than him underperforming. There is no pressure on anyone here so they can grow at their own pace.

I feel like the first 10 points per game he gets should be basically just pencilled in before each game. I have no doubt in my mind that he can pick up 10 points a night on just putbacks, transition plays, and lobs, which means that he really only needs 8 points from actual play-calls to get up to 18 points a night. And given the possibility of free throws, that's like what, 3 possessions a night? Should be easily do-able.

What's most interesting to me is that although we have a bunch of guys like Lonzo and Jrue who are good rebounders for their position, we don't actually have anyone on our roster who has been a monster glass cleaner throughout their career. Favors is the best rebounder in our starting lineup, and his career high in RPG is 8.7, and that was 5 years ago when he was 22. Obviously playing without Rudy and with more pace will give him the opportunity to up his rebounds again, but I wouldn't be surprised if Zion was our best rebounder in his rookie year. His nose for the ball is just absurd, and his second jump is quicker and more explosive than most people's first.

I'm not guaranteeing it, obviously that's impossible. And who knows, maybe Zion takes until Christmas to really get into the swing of things. That's perfectly possible. But I just feel extremely optimistic for him.


That said, we do need to make sure we aren't placing unreal expectations on him.

Giannis in his rookie season put up 7/4/2 on 41% from the floor.
Gobert in his rookie year put up 2/3.5/0.2 on 48% from the floor.
Draymond Green put up 3/3/1 in his rookie year. 32% from the field.


Now obviously Zion is coming in at a much higher level than those guys, so we expect him to be more in line with the other instant-stars, like Luka Doncic, Ben Simmons, etc. But if he does put up stats more in line with, idk, 14/6.5/2 on 50% from the floor, then that's totally fine as long as he's showing the effort, the growth, etc, that we expect from him.

[JJackisangry]

I feel like the first 10 points per game he gets should be basically just pencilled in before each game. I have no doubt in my mind that he can pick up 10 points a night on just putbacks, transition plays, and lobs, which means that he really only needs 8 points from actual play-calls to get up to 18 points a night. And given the possibility of free throws, that's like what, 3 possessions a night? Should be easily do-able.

What's most interesting to me is that although we have a bunch of guys like Lonzo and Jrue who are good rebounders for their position, we don't actually have anyone on our roster who has been a monster glass cleaner throughout their career. Favors is the best rebounder in our starting lineup, and his career high in RPG is 8.7, and that was 5 years ago when he was 22. Obviously playing without Rudy and with more pace will give him the opportunity to up his rebounds again, but I wouldn't be surprised if Zion was our best rebounder in his rookie year. His nose for the ball is just absurd, and his second jump is quicker and more explosive than most people's first.

I'm not guaranteeing it, obviously that's impossible. And who knows, maybe Zion takes until Christmas to really get into the swing of things. That's perfectly possible. But I just feel extremely optimistic for him.


That said, we do need to make sure we aren't placing unreal expectations on him.

Giannis in his rookie season put up 7/4/2 on 41% from the floor.
Gobert in his rookie year put up 2/3.5/0.2 on 48% from the floor.
Draymond Green put up 3/3/1 in his rookie year. 32% from the field.


Now obviously Zion is coming in at a much higher level than those guys, so we expect him to be more in line with the other instant-stars, like Luka Doncic, Ben Simmons, etc. But if he does put up stats more in line with, idk, 14/6.5/2 on 50% from the floor, then that's totally fine as long as he's showing the effort, the growth, etc, that we expect from him.

Exactly. He doesn’t need to blow up this year. We have plenty of talented players that can put up numbers, so it won’t be as if he is the only option like some of these rookies coming into the league. Some of those inflated numbers come from being the only option in the side. I’d be perfectly happy with the stat line you posted.

[Pelicanidae]

Exactly. He doesn’t need to blow up this year. We have plenty of talented players that can put up numbers, so it won’t be as if he is the only option like some of these rookies coming into the league. Some of those inflated numbers come from being the only option in the side. I’d be perfectly happy with the stat line you posted.

I mean, Ben Simmons put 16/8/8 up alongside Joel Embiid who was averaging 23/11/3, Redick who was averaging 17ppg, and with another 2 guys averaging at least 13.5ppg, so his numbers did come alongside lots of other players putting up numbers. In one case, with Redick, literally the same talented player that Zion will be sharing the court with at times.

But yeah, the point is that while Zion is (in my mind) very capable of putting up a huge rookie season, he doesn't need to break the record books to have a good year. I think he WILL have a statistically impressive rookie year, in line with 18/9/3 or so, but if he doesn't, it's not the end of the world.

[JJackisangry]

I mean, Ben Simmons put 16/8/8 up alongside Joel Embiid who was averaging 23/11/3, Redick who was averaging 17ppg, and with another 2 guys averaging at least 13.5ppg, so his numbers did come alongside lots of other players putting up numbers. In one case, with Redick, literally the same talented player that Zion will be sharing the court with at times.

But yeah, the point is that while Zion is (in my mind) very capable of putting up a huge rookie season, he doesn't need to break the record books to have a good year. I think he WILL have a statistically impressive rookie year, in line with 18/9/3 or so, but if he doesn't, it's not the end of the world.

Way I see it, the sky is the limit and the floor is pretty high. It depends how well he compliments the side, and as you said, a lot of his points should come from transition, rebounding and cleaning up. He should be the perfect complimentary piece while learning his trade on the other aspects. I’m more curious as to how this defense performs.

[Pelicanidae]

Way I see it, the sky is the limit and the floor is pretty high. It depends how well he compliments the side, and as you said, a lot of his points should come from transition, rebounding and cleaning up. He should be the perfect complimentary piece while learning his trade on the other aspects. I’m more curious as to how this defense performs.

I'm going out on a limb here, but my prediction is that while it may take him until January or so to really get everything down, he will be playing defense at an All-Defense level by the end of the year. He won't get the award, because of the slow start, but his final 25 or 30 games are going to be top tier switching D.

[luckyman]

https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans...1bbf01eba.html

Have to say I really hope he can be another Lebron and live up to the hype. These days, he is definitely wise beyond his years.

“It’s just basketball, man,” Williamson told The Times Picayune | New Orleans Advocate on Saturday. “I think people try to make it something it’s not, sometimes. You do have to put a lot of hard work in, but basketball is what got us this far and we use that as a tool to impact the community.

“So, it’s really not pressure at all. Especially when I know the position these kids in New Orleans have been in, because I’ve been there. So, I want to do as much as I can to help the community.”

“It’s exactly what I thought it was going to be,” Williamson said. “My parents prepped me for this and they always told me it’s not just basketball. There’s a lifestyle part to it as well. So, this part wasn’t really a curveball. It was to be expected.”

“I just want to do what I can to help bring that culture out. There was a girl here today that could already be on a shoe creative design team right now. She is incredible. And there are kids on the streets in New Orleans who are playing music on buckets and random objects they’re making the most beautiful sounds, and that stuff goes unnoticed.

[13 - 3]

If @Zionwilliamson played @NFL football, he says he'd 'definitely' play tight end.

Any other messages for @Saints and @PelicansNBA fans?

"I love New Orleans!" #FNIA pic.twitter.com/0Bhgbxv58t

— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 29, 2019

[Pelicanidae]

Zion's just taking all the right steps.

Does any of this guarantee that he'll be the transcendent player that he has the talent for? No.
Does any of it guarantee that he'll stay for his whole career (or at least the bulk of it)? No.

But this is the kind of ''embrace the city'' attitude that you beg rookies to have, and it increases the chances of them staying a lot if they actually care about the city, the people, the fans, etc, on a level beyond just sports. This is what you love to see.

And I don't think I have to tell any of you guys that we never really saw this level of ingratiation from AD.

[Silver Nail]

Zion's just taking all the right steps.

Does any of this guarantee that he'll be the transcendent player that he has the talent for? No.
Does any of it guarantee that he'll stay for his whole career (or at least the bulk of it)? No.

But this is the kind of ''embrace the city'' attitude that you beg rookies to have, and it increases the chances of them staying a lot if they actually care about the city, the people, the fans, etc, on a level beyond just sports. This is what you love to see.

And I don't think I have to tell any of you guys that we never really saw this level of ingratiation from AD.

Nor from CP3

[AUSSIE_PELICAN]

Zion's just taking all the right steps.

Does any of this guarantee that he'll be the transcendent player that he has the talent for? No.
Does any of it guarantee that he'll stay for his whole career (or at least the bulk of it)? No.

But this is the kind of ''embrace the city'' attitude that you beg rookies to have, and it increases the chances of them staying a lot if they actually care about the city, the people, the fans, etc, on a level beyond just sports. This is what you love to see.

And I don't think I have to tell any of you guys that we never really saw this level of ingratiation from AD.

That's because AD in the beginning was too scared to open his mouth. If I had rocks for teeth I'd be scared too.

[Wecandothis]

New here I'm excited for this team I truly think they can make the playoffs.

[Pelicanidae]

New here I'm excited for this team I truly think they can make the playoffs.

Welcome to the board! I don't think the playoffs are a guarantee but I agree with you, I feel like we have enough that it's possible.