-
Andrew LopezESPN
NEW ORLEANS – Zion Williamson, forward of the New Orleans Pelicans, was not happy with his performance in the 128-124 defeat against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Williamson had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists and once again shot more than 50% from the field. He even tried a season high for 16 free throws. The problem, however, was that he made only eight of them – and missed two important people.
Instead of going through his normal routine after the game, Williamson steps back to the floor at the Smoothie King Center and takes extra shots.
He starts his shooting routine under the target and works his way back to the free throw line. He had to make at least ten in a row before shooting at seven different spots around the three-point line. When all was said and done and at least 100 shots or so later, Williamson devoted 40 minutes to his technique before speaking to reporters.
When asked why he went out again, his answer was simple.
“You guys saw the game, man,” Williamson said.
He explained that this was not something new for him, although he had never done it on the floor in the arena before. He likes to find another gym, he says, and he will pick up shots after losses or sometimes even after winning.
But Wednesday’s game felt different.
“I really felt like I let my team down, man,” Williamson said. “It’s like I told you, I never want to let them down. All the free throws, it can’t go down like that. I have to be better in situations like this. If I want to be one of the big players, I “I have to take a lot of responsibility and be ready for those moments. I just felt like after the game I had to get back on the field and find my flow.”
Improving his free throw shooting was a key focus for Williamson who entered the season after shooting 64% of the line a year ago. After having a rough start in his first four games and shooting 53.1%, Williamson and Fred Vinson, assistant to the Pelicans, started working on his shot a bit more.
In February, Williamson’s release rate was up 74.6%, up from 70.7% on Wednesday’s game.
But after Williamson missed his first two free throws against the Bulls, he felt like something was off.
“I feel like I’m thinking about it,” Williamson said. “I feel like, when I missed the first two, I started to think I was doing a lot of things wrong. I’m probably talking to Fred [Vinson], and Fred would probably say, ‘Oh, you did not load properly,’ or ‘you did not perform properly.’ This is Fred. I think I thought about it when it was probably just one little thing and it probably would have gone in. ‘
Williamson eventually missed his first four free throws, but hit seven of his next eight. But he took 1-of-4 from the line in the fourth quarter, including two with 1 minute, 23 seconds to miss, which could reduce Chicago’s lead to two, while the Pelicans wanted to erase a 19-point deficit.
The Pelicans fell behind due to their leaky defense, which has been a concern for New Orleans all season.
To rectify this – more than any individual or offensive issue – is the focus of the Pelicans if they want to continue fighting for a playoff spot in the West Conference.
“For us, our offense is good at the moment,” Williamson said. “But we only have to play a good defense for four quarters. We have our moments where we play great for 3½ games, or we will play for four well, but tonight we started the game slowly.
“It really was the tone setter. I know we hear it a lot with our defense, but we have to do it. I still feel we’re close to it. It’s the NBA. Winning is not easy. But I trust my teammates and my coaches, and we’ll find it and we’ll find out. ‘