New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson sets up additional shots to find ‘flow’ after loss

NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson was unhappy with his performance in Wednesday’s 128-124 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Williamson had 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists and again shot over 50% from the field. He even attempted a season-high 16 free throws. The problem, however, was that he made just eight – and missed two crucial ones down the home stretch.

So instead of going through his normal post-game routine, Williamson returned to the floor at Smoothie King Center and took some extra shots.

He started his shooting routine under the goal and returned to the free throw line. He had to do at least 10 stitches in a row before moving to seven different places around the 3-point line. When all was said and done, and at least 100 moves or so later, Williamson spent 40 minutes working on his technique before speaking to reporters.

When asked why he had returned, his answer was simple.

“You all saw the game, man,” Williamson said.

He explained that it was not something new to him, although he had never done it on the arena floor before. He likes to find another gym, he says, and he will get hits after losses or even after wins sometimes.

But Wednesday’s game was different.

“I really felt like I let my team down, man,” said Williamson. “It’s like I’m telling all of you, I never want to let them down. All these free throws, it can’t be like this. I have to be better in these situations. If I want to be one of them. these great players, I have to take a lot of responsibility and be ready for these moments. Right after the game, I just felt like I had to get back on the pitch and find my rhythm. “

Improving his free throws was a key goal for Williamson as he entered the season after shooting 64 percent from the line a year ago. After having had a rough start, shooting 53.1% in his first four games, Williamson and Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson started working a bit more on his shooting.

In February, Williamson’s free-throw percentage was 74.6% and 70.7% before Wednesday’s game.

But after Williamson missed his first two free throws against the Bulls, he felt like something was wrong.

“I feel like I was thinking about it too much,” Williamson said. “I feel like when I missed the first two, I started to think maybe I’m doing a lot of things. I’m probably talking to Fred. [Vinson], and Fred would probably say, “Oh, you didn’t charge properly” or “You didn’t follow properly.” It’s Fred. I think I gave it too much thought when it was probably just a small thing and probably would have gone in. “

Williamson ended up missing his first four free throws but hit seven of his next eight. But he went 1 of 4 off the line in the fourth quarter, including missing two with 1 minute and 23 seconds left, which could have reduced Chicago’s lead to two as the Pelicans tried to erase a deficit. 19 points.

The Pelicans have fallen behind due to their leaky defense, which has been a concern all season for New Orleans.

Getting this fixed – more than any individual or team offensive problem – is what the Pelicans need to focus on if they are to continue fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“For us right now our offense is good,” said Williamson. “But we just have to, we have to play great defense for four quarters. We have our moments where we play really well for 3½ games or we will play very well for four, but tonight we started the game slow.

“That was really the tone that set the tone. I know we hear it a lot with our defense, but we have to do it. I always feel like we’re close. It’s the NBA. Winning is not easy. But I trust my teammates and my coaches, and we will find it and we will find out. “