LAS VEGAS — Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram had a front-row seat for a master class on Thursday night.
Advancing to the semifinals of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas was supposed to be a prime opportunity for the New Orleans Pelicans and their two stars to show the basketball world exactly who they could be under the bright lights. This was supposed to be a grand arrival for Ingram and Williamson.
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Instead, this exposure only left them exposed.
The true star of the night was the man who’s shined brightest on the biggest stage countless times over the two decades: LeBron James.
James was sensational in every way as he ran circles around the Pelicans in a 133-89 beatdown by the Los Angeles Lakers at T-Mobile Arena. It was only two points shy of being the most lopsided regular-season loss in Pelicans franchise history.
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As he’s done so many times before, James was the master of the moment, finishing with 30 points, five rebounds and eight assists in just 23 minutes. On the other hand, Ingram and Williamson were lethargic and out of sorts as they combined for 22 points and 10 assists before being forced to watch from the sidelines the entire fourth quarter.
It turned out to be the ugliest defeat Ingram and Williamson have ever faced in a game when they both suited up, and it stung even more than the 44-point margin suggested.
“It was a lack of competitive spirit from our group. That’s not indicative of who we’ve been and who we are. But tonight, we took a step in the wrong direction,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “I thought the first quarter was solid. After that, they took it up another level and we didn’t match that at all. … Tonight was a total letdown.”
Despite all the youth and depth on the Pelicans roster, the most energetic and physical player on the court Thursday night was the 38-year-old in a Lakers jersey.
While Ingram’s uninspiring nine-point outing against the Lakers was hard to believe after his stellar performance against Sacramento on Monday, Williamson’s failure to make an impact stands out much more on this type of stage.
Ingram has proven himself in a playoff environment after averaging 27 points per game in a first-round series against Phoenix in 2022. For Williamson, this was the biggest stage he’s ever played on in his five-year NBA career.
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Anytime two stars as prominent as Zion and LeBron share the court, it’s going to be a big deal. But having them play under the bright lights in Vegas with a trip to the In-Season Tournament final gave this matchup a different level of magnitude. Many NBA fans were anticipating Williamson’s response to being front and center for this historic moment, and there’s no other way to describe his play than utterly disappointing.
It wasn’t just a regular lousy night when his shots weren’t falling or he was out of rhythm because of foul trouble. There’s a difference between not impactful and uninvolved. He was a non-factor the entire time he was on the court.
He finished with 13 points and two rebounds in 26 minutes. He had the same number of assists (three) as turnovers and went 1 of 6 at the free-throw line.
While the atmosphere and the pressure seemed to make LeBron stronger, they seemed to weigh on Zion with every trip up the floor.
What made this even more disturbing is that this letdown came just a few nights after a similarly lifeless performance against the Kings on Monday, when he finished with 10 points and six assists in 28 minutes.
This marked just the second time in Williamson’s career he’s had consecutive games with fewer than 15 points. The last time was when he was on a strict minutes restriction at the start of the NBA bubble.
“I’ve got to be better. I’ve got to be more aggressive finding my shot. I’ve got to do more things to get my team going,” Williamson said. “I think I was too laid back tonight. I can’t do that. Defensively, I’ve got to be better.”
It was fitting that Williamson mentioned defense in this answer because that end of the floor has easily been the most frustrating aspect of his game all season. While these last two low-scoring outings have been baffling to watch, it’s only a matter of time before he’s back to dominating the paint like we’ve seen him do his entire career.
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However, his reluctance to make the physical and mental commitment to being a good defender is what truly separates him from the other superstars around the NBA. And to know how important it is to have your best players buy in on the defensive end, he must look no further than the team on the other side of the court Thursday night.
From the opening tip, James enthusiastically took on the assignment of guarding Williamson. He gave the Pels star a massive cushion every time he had the ball as if he was saying, “I dare you to shoot the ball.”
LeBron James giving Zion Williamson a large cushion on defense. (Screenshot via TNT)With all that space in front of him, Williamson played like he was unsure how to respond, and too often, he was timid instead of going downhill like he usually does. James’ defensive strategy was in his head. When Williamson tried to go through him, the 38-year-old planted his feet and took two charges under the basket.
Williamson only attempted four shots in the first half while the game was still up for grabs, and one of those shots came on a putback layup after a missed three by Herb Jones. Instead of responding more aggressively in the third quarter, Williamson went 2 of 4 from the floor while the Lakers outscored the Pelicans 43-17 and turned the game into a blowout.
But it wasn’t just James. His co-star, Anthony Davis, also made his impact felt on the defensive end. Davis outrebounded Pelicans center Jonas Valančiūnas 15 to three and threw in two blocks and two steals.
This game is an excellent example of what Williamson and Ingram should strive to do as stars if they want to bring their games to the next level. To be great, you have to be selfless enough to do whatever it takes to win big games whether that’s scoring 30 points, grabbing 15 rebounds or taking two charges with a 285-pound bowling ball coming in your direction.
Too often, Williamson and Ingram allow their confidence and impact on a game to be dictated by what they’re doing on the offensive end. The true definition of a superstar is being selfless enough to volunteer whatever the team needs on any given night to win a big game. It’s not always going to be perfect, but the effort alone is enough to galvanize a team — or to crumble everyone else’s confidence when they see their star’s unwillingness to fulfill that role.
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“We’ve got to continue to trust pretty much. When the game gets hard, when teams pick up their physicality, you have to execute at an even higher level,” Green said. “We started to go away from that on both ends of the floor, and that becomes deflating when we try to do it by ourselves.”
Williamson added: “With situations like that, I’ve got to be more aggressive. It’s just as simple as that. I’ve just got to be more aggressive.”
In one particular play, that was glaring because of the way it illustrated some of Williamson’s deficiencies came after he made a short jumper that cut the Lakers lead to 64-54 with 1 minute, 18 seconds left in the second quarter.
As Williamson made his way back on defense, he failed to match up with the player he was supposed to be defending, Lakers forward Taurean Prince, who was spotting up in the corner. While his teammates frantically tried to get Williamson back to his correct assignment, the Lakers wisely pushed the ball up and found Prince behind the 3-point line. Williamson tried to recover and contest the shot, but Prince calmly allowed Zion to fly by after a pump fake and nailed a 3 that pushed the Lakers’ lead back up to 13.
Those blunders can severely damage a team’s psyche, especially when the team’s star is committing them.
“I’ve got to be smarter on defense,” Williamson admitted. “I think a lot of times I’m overthinking it and I shouldn’t be doing that out there.”
As much as this loss will hurt the Pelicans, they will have three days to recover before hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are the No. 1-seeded team in the Western Conference, on Monday. There’s still plenty of season left and many opportunities to put this ugly night behind them.
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It may be easy to forget after seeing how well they played on Thursday, but this same Lakers team that steamrolled the Pels had a 44-point loss of their own to Philadelphia 11 days ago. And they followed it up with a 23-point loss to Oklahoma City three days later.
Sometimes, we measure great players and great teams by how high they can rise in moments of triumph, but it’s just as important to show how far you’ll allow yourself to fall in moments of adversity.
Now, it’s the Pelicans’ turn to show how they will respond.
“We haven’t had the experiences that the Lakers have. They know what it takes to win games like that. They know what it takes to be on the big stage and have big moments,” Green said. “The level went up tonight and we didn’t match their intensity.”
(Photo of Rui Hachimura and Zion Williamson: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
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