Zion Williamson made his first regular-season appearance for the New Orleans Pelicans since May of 2021 when the former No. 1 pick took to the court against the Brooklyn Nets to open the 2022-23 campaign Wednesday night.
This represented Williamson’s first meaningful game with both Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum as teammates. Could a big three be forming in Nola?
On the other side, the Nets took to the court at home following a summer filled with drama. Kevin Durant requested a trade early in the offseason, only to rescind it when it became apparent a deal couldn’t be worked out. Kyrie Irving was the subject of trade rumors before picking up the option on his 2022-23 contract. Meanwhile, Ben Simmons was making his Nets regular-season debut after sitting out the entire 2021-22 campaign.
These were the backstories at Barclays as the two teams opened their regular season Wednesday evening. When all was said and done, it was New Orleans that came away with a dominating victory — humiliating Brooklyn in the process.
Out of the gate, Williamson showed us that he had not lost the talent that made him a generational prospect leading up to the 2019 NBA Draft.
It continued into the fourth quarter with Zion Williamson helping put this thing away.
Williamson was brilliant in every possible way, leading to a 22-point Pelicans win. We’re not kidding. Just look at the kid’s stat line.
- Zion Williamson stats (against the Nets): 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 11-of-22 shooting
Williamson finished plus-13 in 30 minutes of action. But he wasn’t the only member of the Pelicans to show his stuff against a Nets team many believe will be in the championship conversation.
Zion Williamson leads Brooklyn Nets’ big three
Fresh off a brilliant 2021-22 campaign in which he led New Orleans to a surprise postseason performance and played like a true star in the playoffs, Ingram was back up to his old tricks.
Going up against Kevin Durant pretty much throughout the game, Ingram dropped a team-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He added seven rebounds and five assists while finishing plus-24 in 31 minutes of action and holding his own.
Playing his first game as Zion Williamson’s teammate, McCollum added 21 points while dishing out six assists and stealing the ball three times. Despite a questionable performance from beyond the arc, McCollum was able to connect on 7-of-16 from the field. He finished plus-23 in 31 minutes of action.
When all was said and done Tuesday night in Brooklyn, this trio combined or 57% of the Pelicans’ points, proving itself to be the real big three of the Tuesday night matchup.
Brooklyn Nets come up small behind Kevin Durant
KD talked about this during the summer. Roster construction in Brooklyn. Not having the right mix on the court. Remember, he had given the Nets’ brass an option to either fire head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks or trade him before pulling said request.
Nothing we saw from the Nets’ two other “stars” on Tuesday has to give fans in Brooklyn hope that things will change in 2022-23. Irving shot 6-of-19 from the field while missing on all six of his shots from beyond the arc.
Ben Simmons looked very much like the Ben Simmons that defined the latter part of his Philadelphia 76ers tenure. That is to say, a lack of actual aggression on offense. He attempted all of three shots in 23 minutes of action, finishing minus-26 in the process, before fouling out. Simmons also committed three of the Nets’ 16 turnovers. It wasn’t pretty.
All of this came within the confines of a game in which Durant scored 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field. The lack of help. Struggles from Brooklyn’s other “stars.” A lack of aggression from Simmons. Reserve Patty Mills finishing as the team’s second-leading scorer.
It’s just one game. But what we saw from these Nets at home as Zion Williamson and Co. manhandled them was disgusting. There’s no other way to go about it.
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