Earlier last month after the Pelicans slumped to their fifth-straight loss, Zion Williamson made a worrying admission that may have had alarm bells ringing in the New Orleans front office.
“It’s tough right now but I’m taking a little back seat right now and I’m trusting the process,” he said, speaking after a 136-124 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks.
“I’m trying my best to buy in right now.”
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Williamson may not have realised it at the time but as the face of the franchise, it was hardly a ringing endorsement New Orleans would have been hoping for in the midst of a testing period for the team.
So, an hour-long team meeting was called the next day.
The result? A statement 131-110 victory over Dallas that sparked a sudden resurgence for the Pelicans, who went on to win five of their next six games.
More important than anything else was the fact Williamson was starting to look like himself again, getting to the rim more often and finishing at a higher rate.
Williamson played in all five of those wins, averaging 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists while shooting 60.3 per cent from the field.
Things were on the way up. The team’s two biggest outside shooting threats — Trey Murphy III and CJ McCollum — would soon be returning.
It was also easy to forget that Williamson himself had been sidelined from early January to the end of last season with a hamstring injury and was in the process of getting back into a rhythm...
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