The Best Version Of The Pelicans Needs Zion On The Ball

A healthy Pelicans team will score. An optimized Pelicans team will score more.

After the Pelicans lost their second preseason game to the Rockets in Birmingham, Willie Green had a rather shocking quote.

“I haven’t put in any sort of half court sets for him yet”.

Him of course refers to Zion Williamson who ended the half with only one field goal attempt. Over and over, the team attempted to utilize different ball handlers playing off Zion’s gravity, only to turn the ball over 18 times in one half. Let’s set aside the on court play for a moment.

On the surface, admitting that they have not designed any half court sets for their best player is a WILD statement. The NBA, perhaps more than any other professional sports league, is run by it’s stars. In a game featuring roughly 100 offensive possessions, one player can dictate the outcome of over 40% of the available scoring opportunities. Basketball is a game of decisions and assigning the lion’s share of decisions to the best players is a guaranteed way to raise the floor, the ceiling, and everything in between.

To be fair, there are diminishing returns to heliocentrism - or the complete dependence on a single entity. Offenses become predictable and fallible in later rounds of the playoffs as viewers have seen with James Harden for years in Houston. The Bucks needed additional creation in the form of Jrue Holiday to tip them towards the title and even still, have suffered early defeats at the hands more versatile teams. It’s with this concern that Willie Green wants to try a different approach this season.

”We want to develop a style offensively that we can play regardless of who is on the floor. We did a great job of that defensively last year, I don't feel like I did a great job of that offensively".

While Green didn’t expand on what this was in reference to specifically, it almost assuredly is about how the Pelicans performed offensively when Zion out. The 8th best offense in the league plummeted to 25th after Zion suffered his hamstring injury. The Pelicans were routinely left searching for an offensive identity with lack of advantage creation.

Green wants to untangle their dependence on Zion, and therefore untangle their dependence on his availability. I can’t fault the head coach for wanting to build in consistency where there simply hasn’t been during his tenure here. Zion has played 29 games under Willie Green. If you know what he can give you, why not spend some additional time building up a structure for the rest of the team? A frequent complaint last year was how difficult things seemed for Ingram, CJ, and the rest of the crew. An upgraded foundation for the cast will make things easier for everyone.

Through that lens, I can understand how there has not yet been plays designed for Zion. Preseason is the only opportunity they will have to flesh out dynamic offense that gets all their different pieces moving.

Most of you do not care one bit about ultimate frisbee, but I coach the Tulane Men’s team. During our preseason, when I am putting the offense in and teaching it to some new players, I am not designing specific plays for our best guys. It’s much more important to me that our players understand the entire structure of the offense first and how to flow independently. It’s only after that collective understanding is reached do I start optimizing our sets for the best guys. I understand Willie Green, I truly do.

There is one distinct difference though - my job isn’t on the line if this season fails. I think there is an argument to be made that the Pelicans should be spending all of their effort in designing a system around Zion and optimizing it fully. Every preseason game that passes without pursuing this goal is wasted opportunity. It’s impossible to predict how long the team is going to stay healthy, so it cannot be taken for granted that there will be time later to fit Zion in.

The best version of the Pelicans during the entire Zion era has featured a Zion who drives to the basket over 21 times per game. To put this in perspective, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the league last season at 23.9 drives per game, and Ja Morant was second at 20.3. A fully healthy team probably doesn’t require Zion to bear this magnitude of play creation, however the offense should be built with a maximal dose of this in mind. He is the one piece that makes all the others find their place in the hierarchy.

Equal opportunity offense is great in theory, but even the egalitarian Warriors suffer mightily when Steph misses time. The league is built on stars and the Pelicans need to take full advantage of Zion’s unique talents rather than trying to turn him into just another piece.