{"id":676130,"date":"2026-03-24T09:27:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T09:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/676130\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T09:27:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T09:27:34","slug":"freak-of-nature-zion-williamsons-resurgence-could-pose-a-knicks-problem-versus-motivated-pelicans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/676130\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Freak of nature: Zion Williamson\u2019s resurgence could pose a Knicks problem versus motivated Pelicans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows Zion Williamson (1) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) and guard James Harden (1) in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in New Orleans<\/p>\n

Zion Williamson is slimmer and healthier for his trip to MSG.<\/p>\n

The \u201cfreak of nature,\u201d as Josh Hart called Williamson, appeared in 45 of the past 46 games before Tuesday night\u2019s showdown against the Knicks. It\u2019s a noteworthy accomplishment for a player whose path toward superstardom was derailed by injuries and DNPs.<\/p>\n

\u201cExtremely talented,\u201d Hart, who was teammates with Williamson for 1 \u00bd seasons in New Orleans, told The Post. \u201cWhen he\u2019s locked in and he\u2019s focused, he\u2019s one of probably 15 or 20 top players in the league, if not better.\u201d<\/p>\n

After years of being hyped by the NBA and scheduled for national broadcasts, Williamson, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, has largely been away from the spotlight this season.<\/p>\n

\"Zion<\/p>\n

Zion Williamson (1) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) and guard James Harden (1) in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in New Orleans. AP<\/p>\n

He was also on a minutes restriction earlier this season and his per game averages \u2014 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 59.8 percent shooting, 29.7 minutes \u2014 won\u2019t garner any postseason awards.<\/p>\n

But Williamson\u2019s still a show and a problem the Knicks will have to deal with.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a freak of nature. I say that with all due respect,\u201d Hart said. \u201cHe\u2019s obviously extremely explosive, the way he\u2019s able to maneuver and contort his body, and he has a great touch around the rim. That\u2019s going to be a challenge for us. We got to make sure we\u2019re just solid. Don\u2019t swipe down. Don\u2019t smack down. And try to make him finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pelicans (25-47) are disappointing this season but are surging lately with 12 wins in their past 19 games. Unlike the Knicks\u2019 past three opponents \u2014 the Pacers, Nets and Wizards \u2014 the Pelicans aren\u2019t tanking. They have no incentive to lose after trading their 2026 first-round pick to the Hawks.<\/p>\n

\"Zion<\/p>\n

Zion Williamson looks to go to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in New Orleans. AP<\/p>\n

So the Knicks are facing a motivated team and a motivated athletic bulldozer in Williamson, who has only twice previously played at MSG as a pro \u2014 a win in 2024 and a loss in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s really impressive is that first burst but also his second jump,\u201d Hart said. \u201cWhen I first saw him, the way he shoots the ball around the rim, you\u2019d think he has no touch. But he has an amazing touch. And the ones where he doesn\u2019t, he has a quick enough second jump where he\u2019s able to get the rebound and sometimes before guys even get off the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landry Shamet was ruled out for a second straight game and there\u2019s now an official injury designation.<\/p>\n

According to the Knicks, Shamet, who banged his knee in Friday\u2019s victory over the Nets, has a tibial plateau contusion. The good news is the injury is nothing major, a league source said, and the guard is not expected to miss much time.<\/p>\n

Shamet watched Sunday\u2019s win over the Wizards in street clothes, when his injury designation was right knee soreness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows Zion Williamson (1) drives to the basket against Cleveland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3796],"tags":[7,193,5759,576,86103,677,560,327,304,4988,6,66742,671,478,470,4073,4072,114,675,4439,683,814],"class_list":["post-676130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-basketball","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-dean-wade","tag-evan-mobley","tag-freak-of-nature","tag-hawks","tag-james-harden","tag-josh-hart","tag-knicks","tag-landry-shamet","tag-nba","tag-nba-basketball-game","tag-nets","tag-new-orleans","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-neworleans","tag-neworleanspelicans","tag-pacers","tag-pelicans","tag-the-pelicans","tag-wizards","tag-zion-williamson"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116283447220076613","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}