re: Honest Zion talk for Emotional Intelligent Folks

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Here is what I gathered from reading it:

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You have poor reading comprehension.

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You knew Zion was 6'6" and thought he was a "generational talent" but now that he actually plays in the NBA you realize he is actually playing against taller guys.

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Zion is and was undersized, but the prevailing wisdom was that he was capable of passing the ball more than he did at duke, could potentially shoot from outside, while being a tasmanian devil on defense, able to body bigs enough to body them, and chase people up to the 3 point line on run outs, with the lateral quickness to pressure the ball 1 on 1 on the perimeter.

He has not done anything of these things at the NBA level against NBA competition.

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Oh yeah, and Zion, with his 44 in vertical and 280lb frame is a chair that every 3-5 in the NBA will "shoot over."

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Man, you're just not watching. People are shooting over zion easily. Find me a possession where Zion is really guarding in a way that indicates him being capable of being an elite NBA defender.

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Zion has no potential to improve offensively.

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Of course he does. But those skills involve flashes of thing he has not shown-- a tighter handle. ANY form of shooting beyond the paint. And the ability to guard any players on the perimeter instead of being a turnstyle.

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35 games so far in the NBA so obviously he is maxed out and a finished product.

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PHYSICALLY speaking Zion has matured. He is at peak athletic ability. Unlike KD who was too skinny. Giannis too uncoordinated. AD both.

Show me examples of Zion being able to be a threat from outside to open up his driving lanes. Show me the examples of him handling the ball not looking like a train wreck. Show me the whirling dervish derailing and blowing up plays on defense, and I'll say, "i'm wrong. this guy can be the best player in the nba. All the players I've mentioned were absolutely wrecking shop and showing flashes of an even higher ceiling in their 2nd years.

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And let's not forget the crown jewel, Tyler Herro will be a better NBA basketball player than Zion Williamson.

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Again you can't read. I said it's possible. In a league that is dominated by 3 point shooting and Steph Curry and James Harden win multiple MVPs, it is not impossible that the best shooter/scorer in the class can become the best player in the class.

Ja Morant is the player more likely to be better than zion from this class.

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Thank you for demonstrating your wealth of knowledge and educating the rest of us.

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Thanks for demonstrating your complete inability to think logically or read text in front of you.

I have already said that I think that Zion will be a multi-time all star. But that the ceiling of him being a generational player --- lebron, KD, AD, Giannis, Luka...

Is either gone... or soon to be gone.

The NBA has had lots of players who have been great, but not transcendent. You need to read the subjects of the posts before you post. You obviously can't handle the idea that Zion might've been slightly overrated coming in.

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No I can’t handle uneducated basketball fans. Zion is exactly what he showed at Duke thus far. He is a guy learning to play at this level. He has played 1/3 of a regular season.

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you're too much. You're not talking to an uneducated fan. You're talking to a fan who knows basketball history, and has seen tons of "generational" talents fall short of their mythic potentials.

Lebron literally averaged 20-5-5. Larry Bird averaged 21 and 10 his rookie year. Iverson did 23-7.5 assists. Duncan did 21-11. fricking Blake Griffin did 22 and 12.5. Durant did 20 and 4... and by the end of his second year, (which Zion is in btw) he was already at 25 ppgs.

Literally Larry Johnson, another player who people don't often mention as a physical bulky fast moving freak of nature was 19 and 11, and then 22 and 10 his first two seasons.

Zion is doing just fine. But to be the best player in the league, you need to see the path for growth in his skillsets.

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He is scoring at historic levels for a guy in the amount of games he has played.

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No one is arguing with you about what he's doing. It's what more can he do.

Others in this thread have laid out similar problems to his game.

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I think he has shown himself to be an elite prospect and I have confidence in the fact that he will continue to improve.

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You mean improve into being... A MULTI TIME ALL STAR like I keep saying I think he'll be? jesus christ man. What does elite mean to you?

This is simply about expectations. Zion averaged 2 assists at Duke. He averaged just under 9 rebounds. He showed FLASHES of being a ball handler and passer. I feel he has done the same thus far in the NBA.

Defensively, he was always just the best athlete on the floor. It allowed him to play passing lanes and he could recover quicker in the tighter spaced college court. I am in no way saying he has been good on the defensive end but I am saying it is crazy to write him off already on that end. He has to learn to be a good defender in the NBA.

Zion.
Is.
All.
Ready.
To
Be.
A.
Knick.

This is what’s wrong with the NBA. You rent stars for 2 contracts but they’re already sizing up the big markets. You’re just paying them to go on tour so they can find out where their real home base will be.

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just for some photographic evidence, does anyone think we ever see THIS Zion in a Pels uniform?

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You are seeing THIS Zion.

He’s just on an NBA floor now...

Trying to close out much larger NBA players and not smaller college guys...

And he’s has to cover more distance to close out/block a three in the NBA, since obviously not only are the players smaller but also the college 3 point line is closer.

Get it yet?

And what Bronc is saying is correct. Zion IS on a historic scoring pace.

LINK /

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Zion Williamson played in his 32nd career NBA game earlier this week, and he crammed a whole lot of point production into those games. With an average of over 22 points per game, Williamson scored 711 total points in his first 32 games. That point total is the fifth-most by any player over the past 40 years, and it's the highest total since Shaquille O'Neal in 1993. Not a bad start to a career for Williamson, who entered the league last season as one of the most highly-hyped rookies in recent memory. Williamson's game is still expanding, too.

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LINK /

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You don’t need too many reminders about what makes New Orleans Pelicans sensation Zion Williamson such a special, celebrated young player. Among the 306 players who recorded at least 500 possessions during the 2018-19 season, per Synergy, no player in D1 basketball was more efficient than Williamson. On the offensive side of the floor, outside of a jump shot, there was very little that the former Duke star had to do in order to make the jump to the pros. Since coming into the league last season, he has brought a lot of the same greatness with him to New Orleans. Earlier this month, per Basketball-Reference, Williamson became the first player to reach 750 points in fewer than 35 games since Allen Iverson did so in 1996-97.

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Zion is killing. He’s not even barely 50 games in and he’s averaging 24/8.

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I mean. No. We haven’t seen THAT Zion from that block gif. We have not.

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Dude.

He is not on a college floor against smaller players anymore. And on a smaller court, closing out on a shorter 3 point line anymore.

This is the NBA. The court is big and the three point line is farther away. The shooters are way taller and longer.

And last but not least - thats was a block in a rivalry game against Virginia. Two top teams in college going toe to toe. In a short 30 game season. Why the frick would Zion look like he did in a game like that in college, in a regular season game of an 82 game NBA season? fricking stupid.

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No sense in arguing with the Zion haters P bean. I completely gave up on trying to get the truth through their thick heads.

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Yeah. I especially dont understand. He’s basically at 24/8 50 games into his career. It took AD over 2 full seasons to get those numbers.

Luka etc, were BEHIND Zion’s pace. Basically scoring better than anyone since Shaq and AI in the last 40 years.

And this board complains.

If Zo scores 20pts there’ll be 10 threads though.