-
Andrew LopezESPN
NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Pelicans striker Zion Williamson was unhappy with his performance in Wednesday’s 128-124 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Williamson scored 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists and threw back more than 50% of the field of play. He even attempted 16 maximum free throws of the season. The problem, however, was that he only made eight, and lost two crucial ones.
So instead of exercising his normal post-game routine, Williamson returned to the floor at the Smoothie King Center and made additional shots.
He started his shooting routine under the goal and returned to the free throw line. I needed to do at least 10 in a row before moving on to shooting at seven different points around the 3 point line. When it was all over and at least 100 shots more or less later, Williamson spent 40 minutes working on his technique before talking to reporters.
When asked why he came out again, his answer was simple.
“You saw the game, man,” Williamson said.
He explained that this is nothing new to him, even though he had never done it on the ground in the arena. He says he likes to find another gym and, after losing or even after winning, he will get shots.
But Wednesday’s game felt different.
“I felt like I was dropping my team, man,” Williamson said. “It’s like I’m telling you, I never want to let them down. All these free throws can’t go down like that. I have to be better in these situations. If I want to be one of those great players, I have to take a lot of responsibility and be prepared for those moments. Right after the game, I just felt like I had to get back on track and find my flow. “
Improving the free-throw throw was one of Williamson’s key axes to get into the season after shooting 64% of the line a year ago. After starting strong, shooting 53.1% in his first four games, Williamson and Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson began work on his shot.
In February, Williamson’s free-kick percentage was up to 74.6%, and 70.7% toward Wednesday’s game.
But after Williamson missed his first two free throws against the Bulls, he felt something was out.
“I feel like I think about it too much,” Williamson said. “I feel like when I lost the first two, I started thinking that maybe I’m doing a lot of things wrong. I’m probably talking to Fred [Vinson], and Fred would probably say, “Oh, you didn’t upload correctly” or “You didn’t follow properly.” This is Fred. I think I rethought it when it was probably just a small thing and I probably would have come in. “
Williamson ended up losing his first four free throws, but hit seven of his next eight. But he came out 1 of 4 from the line in the fourth quarter, including two with one minute and 23 seconds to go, which could have reduced Chicago’s lead to two as the Pelicans tried to clear a deficit of 19 points.
The Pelicans were left behind due to their leaking defense, which has been a cause for concern throughout the season for New Orleans.
Fixing it, more than any individual or team offensive issue, is what the Pelicans need to focus on if they want to continue fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“For us right now, our offense is fine,” Williamson said. “But we only have to play a great defense for four quarters. We have our moments when we play very well for 3½ games or we will play very well for four, but tonight we started the game slow.
“It was really the tone marker. I know we’re very sorry with our defense, but we have to do it. I still feel like we’re close. It’s the NBA. Winning is not easy. But I trust my teammates. team and my coaches, and we’ll find it and find out. ”