Among the countless reasons Zion Williamson is so valuable to the New Orleans Pelicans is what his presence as a lob threat-slash-immovable force of nature means for point guard Lonzo Ball.
When the league shut down in March, Ball was playing some of his best basketball, averaging 20.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. He even knocked down seven triples in back-to-back games on March 3 and March 4.
If the 22-year-old can tap into that same momentum in Orlando, it will make a potentially scary Pels team even scarier. Ball isn’t the only player that was thriving in March, however, team leader Jrue Holiday had raised his across the board production.
In contrast, forward Brandon Ingram’s star turn had slowed down a bit in March. Ingram put up just 18.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the games before the break, a slight regression from the 24.8, 6.3, 4.3 line he had averaged previously.
SLAM’s Heat Check series compares each individual player’s personal production in the month of March with their production prior. The goal is to get a sense of the direction in which players were trending when the league stood still. For a more in-depth description, check out our Heat Check (Hiatus Edition) introduction.
Heat Check New Orleans Pelicans
| Lonzo Ball | 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 |
| Jrue Holiday | 🔥🔥🔥🔥 |
| Nicolo Melli | 🔥🔥 |
| Zion Williamson | – |
| Frank Jackson | – |
| Derrick Favors | ❄ |
| Josh Hart | ❄ |
| E’Twaun Moore | ❄❄❄ |
| Brandon Ingram | ❄❄❄❄ |
| Jaxson Hayes | ❄❄❄❄❄ |
