Whatever happened to the Zion is just Julius Randle with hops crew

[Regular_P]

I've probably posted this about 20 times by now:

"73% of Zion's shots were at the rim last season
He only took 80 jumpshots in total (71 from behind the arc, and only 9 inside the arc)
Only 18% of his total shots were jumpshots - at a completion rate well below average D1 standard
He only took 38 NBA-standard 3s in total, most of which were uncontested, which he completed at 31%.

/

Only 18% of his total shots in college were jumpshots - the efficiency of those made-jumpshots were below D1-average (a large amount of them were uncontested)
He's only hit one jumpshot in his four games against NBA competition - out of nearly 50 total shot attempts."

Just to put that into perspective, 40+% of rookie Blake's total shots were jumpshots.

Blake was 21 his rookie season; Zion is 19. Blake also shot terrible outside the paint as a rookie.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Blake was 21 his rookie season; Zion is 19. Blake also shot terrible outside the paint as a rookie.

My mans, are you just going to keep deflecting to ignore the point?

 

[Regular_P]

My mans, are you just going to keep deflecting to ignore the point?

So I should be concerned about a 19 year old who has physical superiority over everybody in the league who has shown a willingness to take jumpers? This isn't a Ben Simmons situation.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

So I should be concerned about a 19 year old who has physical superiority over everybody in the league who has shown a willingness to take jumpers? This isn't a Ben Simmons situation.

Except he hasn't really shown a willingness to take jumpers - 18% of your total shots is not a willingness - it's a last resort. Not to mention, the mechanics on his shot need serious work.

And here's the thing, a handful of preseason games doesn't mean shyt; that "physical superiority over everybody" isn't going to remain at a constant, especially at his height, in a regular season setting, when teams take away the option of scoring in the paint, and most especially now that something will have to give with his latest injury. It'll be a case of him of dropping weight, which will affect his physical effectiveness, and/or switching up his game so he's not constantly playing in high-risk mode in the paint.

There are far too many factors going against him to just live in the paint like some of y'all thought he was going to do at NBA-level.

 

[Regular_P]

Except he hasn't really shown a willingness to take jumpers - 18% of your total shots is not a willingness - it's a last resort. Not to mention, the mechanics on his shot need serious work.

And here's the thing, a handful of preseason games doesn't mean shyt; that "physical superiority over everybody" isn't going to remain at a constant, especially at his height, in a regular season setting, when teams take away the option of scoring in the paint, and most especially now that something will have to give with his latest injury. It'll be a case of him of dropping weight, which will affect his physical effectiveness, and/or switching up his game so he's not constantly playing in high-risk mode in the paint.

There are far too many factors going against him to just live in the paint like some of y'all thought he was going to do at NBA-level.

I'd say 18% is pretty high considering he shot 68% in college. Why would he take more?

Charles Barkley dominated at 6'4" in a game with less spacing. Saying there's no way Zion will dominate in the paint is very premature.

Of course teams will adjust and he'll have struggles at some point like every player but he's still physically superior at this point in time. If that diminishes, of course he won't be the same player but he's 19.

Ben Simmons averaged 17/9/8 last season with zero willingness to shoot and he's nowhere near the physical presence Zion is.

 

[ReturnOfJudah]

His fat ass is worse

 

[DetroitEWarren]

His fat ass is worse

If he never played another game again, he'd retire as the most efficient scorer in NBA history. Randke is nowhere near bro as a player and it's disrespectful to make a comparison like that.

We are talking about their play on the court. If a nikka is a top 5 player when on the court but stays hurt, it's disrespectful to compare that player to a nikka that's not in the top 30 but plays more. shyt makes absolutely no sense at all.

 

[DetroitEWarren]

Except he hasn't really shown a willingness to take jumpers - 18% of your total shots is not a willingness - it's a last resort. Not to mention, the mechanics on his shot need serious work.

And here's the thing, a handful of preseason games doesn't mean shyt; that "physical superiority over everybody" isn't going to remain at a constant, especially at his height, in a regular season setting, when teams take away the option of scoring in the paint, and most especially now that something will have to give with his latest injury. It'll be a case of him of dropping weight, which will affect his physical effectiveness, and/or switching up his game so he's not constantly playing in high-risk mode in the paint.

There are far too many factors going against him to just live in the paint like some of y'all thought he was going to do at NBA-level.

@Gil Scott-Heroin bu bu bu but "I WAS ONLY TALKING ABOUT INJURIES. I NEVER SPOKE ON HIS SKILL LEVEL".

fukk outta here lying ass nikka