re: Zion’s assist numbers and defense

You don't go from high motor to low motor. That's just not how motor typically works. I do think there was a fitness component at play, but IMO the biggest factor was Zion just wasn't comfortable with his role yet. He was thinking instead of reacting that was causing him to be a step slow.

I also believe some behaviors specifically asked for by this defense were easy to mistake as laziness. "Don't foul" can be mistaken as "giving up on a play." Asik did this about 1-2 times per game, he saw he was out of the play so he wasn't going to make it worse by trailing and fouling. Discretion is the better part of valor and 2 < 2 + 1.

I really think it's that simple. Zion's a little more in shape and understands what he's supposed to do more now. That also lets him double his blocks to almost 2 blocks per game instead of not even 1 block per game before. So now you remember the highly visible block "hustle play" which makes it's easier to ignore/dismiss the plays where he "gave up", and those "gave up" plays should be reduced just like the "hustle plays" increased with him being more comfortable in executing his part of the defense.

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I was extremely worried about Zion getting injured. I am much less worried now as I really like his soft finishes around the rim. On one hand he is super strong and uses his strength to get to the rim but then the finishes are really smooth. It might not be as entertaining as power dunks but I really like it :)

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strong first post

You can see when his body language is bad out there. It's more a result of making the incorrect decision on his part or the team defense didn't play out like he thought it was going to play out. You haven't seen that since the trust and chemistry has developed in the past couple of games. There's not a lot of thinking on his part anymore and he's reacting to what he sees while trusting his teammates to cover when needed.

Zion has never really looked bad on ball this season. All of his mishaps were in team defense. People look at his body language and think it's effort or motor but it's a young kid getting discouraged because things didn't go the way it should have. It's your typical ups and downs of a young teams.

I think a lot has to do with how happy he is.

When zion is happy and has good body language,no one can stop him.

Winning helps everything. This stretch is exactly what he needed.

He can still lose some weight.

I was Using him as an example of someone who puts out efforts but doesn’t know what he’s doing.

In the end it’s not better. You gotta know what you’re doing.

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I still personally think Zion is fat.

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