Everybody and their baby’s momma was in New Orleans for Zion Williamson’s NBA debut and it was all of that and a bag of Funyuns with the red pop. On normal January night the Pelicans issue about 20 credentials. On Wednesday they issued 165 media passes. That’s NUTS!!
Ole boy finished the night with 22 points on 8 of 11 shooting as he made all four 3-point attempts, grabbing 7 rebounds and throwing three dimes.
It was frustrating for the fans and Zion because he was on restrictions. He was playing in like three minutes intervals because he’s got to get back into game shape. So the medical staff was in control of the situation.
Ole boy got hot in the fourth quarter and for all of three minutes and eight seconds the crowd was at Disney World. He dropped 17 straight points on San Antonio.
He knocked down a wide-open three. Then caught a lob for the easy layup. He hit another three, a put-back layup and two more threes that gave the Pelicans a 107-106 lead at the time.
Then the fun was over because the medical staff told Alvin Gentry to cut the street lights off and call Zion in. At the 5:23 mark ole boy had to sit down. The fans were hot and so was Zion. They loss the game 121-117.
He had this to say afterwards, “It’s very hard. I’m 19. Honestly, in that moment, I’m not thinking about longevity. I’m thinking about winning the game. So it was very tough.”
You already know he that he wanted to keep playing because he’s not thinking about the long term effects of over-doing it on Day 1. This thing is a marathon not a sprint. Zion’s an investment and a long term investment at that. At 19 there’s a lot of mileage left on him.
The Pelicans aren’t crazy. I tell you what, it sure is going to be fun to watch him play. If nothing else, New Orleans is going to sell a lot of tickets. Stop me when I start lyin’!
