"We kinda look at each other, one of us catches it" - Zion Williamson opens up on playing with Brandon Ingram
Zion Williamson "loves playing with" Brandon Ingram. The New Orleans Pelicans power forward made this admission after he and Ingram both tallied double-doubles in a 129-110 victory against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. Speaking in the postgame media interaction, Zion Williamson said:
"I love playing with B.I. He's a special player. There will be moments sometimes where coach will, like, draw up a play – whether it's late in the game or in one of those tough moments – we kinda look at each other, one of us catches it.
"The other just kind of knows to direct everybody on the outside, 'Just get the hell out of the way."' We always do it at the right time. I really have like this unspoken lingo on the court and you'll see it. We just click."
Zion Williamson had a season-high 32 points and 11 rebounds against the Spurs while Ingram finished with 17 points and 10 assists. Williamson also had his second-best shooting game of the season as he shot a super efficient 77.8% (14-of-18) from the floor. Ingram, meanwhile, tallied his first double-digit assist game of the season.
However, when Williamson was asked about the team's dominant display on the offensive end, he credited the Pelicans' defense as the reason for their success. He remarked:
"Our defense has really been clicking and our defense has carried over to our offense. "
"I love playing with B.I.,"
- Zion https://t.co/11OYzOSRoJ
Can Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram power New Orleans Pelicans to greater playoff succes?
The New Orleans Pelicans have made only one playoff appearance since they lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 Western Conference semifinals. The Pelicans put up a spirited fight against the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, but ended up losing in six games to their opponents.
Zion Williamson did not play in the series versus Phoenix. The Pelicans forward suffered a foot injury last offseason and was expected to make a return at some point in the 2021-22 regular season. However, Williamson wasn't able to recover as expected and failed to take the court for the Pelicans even in the postseason.
In an interview to GQ magazine in the 2022 offseason, Williamson spoke about the trauma he had to deal with because of the injury. He said:
"It’s been a lot. I can sit here and explain it, but nobody will really be able to feel it the way I did. My foot was broken and I couldn’t magically heal it.
"It hurt because I love the game of basketball. But because of it, I was experiencing hate and pain from people I don’t know every day, and it started to wear on me.”
Now that Williamson is fit and playing well for the Pelicans, expectations are sky-high in New Orleans. With Brandon Ingram by his side, the two former All-Stars can be expected to power the Pelicans to a long run in the 2023 postseason.
Williamson, as good as he is, is yet to experience the NBA playoffs. Perhaps this will be the season where he makes up for that one glaring shortcoming in his list of career achievements.