April 26, 2023 • 29 mins
On today’s Pelicans Podcast sponsored by Seatgeek, Antonio Daniels of Bally Sports talks with Joe Cardosi and Jim Eichenhofer about the frustrating “What Ifs” of New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson’s 2022-23 NBA season.
They discuss the growth they saw from Zion on the court in the small window fans got to see him, what they hope to see from him in the offseason, and what the potential of the team in a mixed up Western Conference is with a healthy Pelicans squad.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome into the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast presented by Seat Gig,
a podcast dedicated to everything you need to know about
the squad. The New Orleans Pelicans podcast starts right now.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to the Pelicans Podcast presented by Seat Geek. I
am Joe Cardosi, joined by the ever grinding Jim Eichenhoffer.
The man doesn't stop one eye, two eyes, no eyes,
doesn't matter. The dude will just root around like a
mole man finding the information. But he is seeing everything
(00:42):
clearly today and Jim, good to see you, man. And
today we are continuing our series of Player podcast, sort
of wrapping up the season, and we're gonna be talking
about the big Man today, mister Zion Williamson with Antonio Daniels.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Gonna be a fun one.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
And you know, when I think about Zion, I think
sometimes back to twenty nineteen, that fateful day I was in.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Chicago May four years ago.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
The world was very different, back to the Actually there
may have been something that happened in twenty twenty that
changed some things, but yeah, it's it's fun to think
back on those those helcyon days when things were great
and everyone was happy.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
But yeah, I think you were the good luck charm.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
By the way, I know David Griffin talked about that
thing he brought on stage and it was you.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Let's be honest, thanks Joe.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
I would like to think that I had some effect,
even though I probably didn't.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Can David Griffin bring you on stage next time? Let's
just do that. Just come on up with Jim and
let's do it. Because look, it's it's coming up the
the the lottery is going to be upon us soon,
and the Pelicans don't have a great chance. Let's be honest,
we're talking all this about what if we won the
lottery again?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
But it's not great, but it's possible. It is possible.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, I mean, it's funny to think back to twenty nineteen.
They actually had they only had a six percent chance
of the lottery that year and did it.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
It was unlikely, I remember.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Unfortunately, if my math serves me correct, they actually had
a twelve times better chance of winning the lottery that.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Time than they did this time.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
They have a zero point five percent chance of winning
the lottery on May sixteenth. Maybe a little better number more,
maybe a little bit more optimism can come from me
saying that they have a two point four percent chance
of finishing in the top four. Sure, so obviously at
the lottery, the only thing that is determined by the
drawing is spots one, two, three, and four. The Pelicans
(02:38):
have a ninety seven point six percent chance of finishing
fourteenth and keeping in that pre lottery slot. That leaves
two point four for any of the other four spots.
We would be doing backflips. I would I'll speak for
myself here, if they finished even fourth, would they have a.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Zero point seven percent chance of finishing fourth?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
That would be amazing to be able to go from
where the Pelicans are to that spot. I feel like
the rest of the league would be extremely angry if
the Pelicans don't end up in the fourteenth.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Sleep horrific that he would rain down. It'd be hilarious
to be the villain for not our own fault, but
starting you know, speaking of villains, i gotta say, we
were talking about the playoffs going on today and you know,
just watching Draymond Greens, I'm gonna call him the antics,
you know, his hijinks, Yeah, his hyjiinks and antics, let's
(03:28):
just call it that. It's been it's been interesting to
watch the varied media reactions to what's going on, because
I remember flipping on the television and watching him a
trampoline a man, and uh, thinking that seems a bit of.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Gregious, but not a little over the top. Yeah, some
people seem to think like, oh, he just kicks his
legs and flails that way. Yes, I don't know. It
just seems to be only him. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
I mean there was the time too where he used
Billy arning Gomez his shoulder I believe, as like a
lever to get off the floor.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
I guess there was no there was no teammate nearby
to help him off the floor. So he said, Hey,
this Hernan Gomez elbow or arm or shoulder or face
looks like something I could use to get me off
the floor.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
There's also yeah, I was gonna mention that as well.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, I think one of the speaking of media reactions,
I think one of the things that's hilarious is how
many people try to treat every single incident as though
it's in a vacuum.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Is though, like it's the first time that he's ever.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Done anything, Like, you know, I don't know why they
should suspend him for you know, stomping on someibonus.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
I mean it wasn't really that SnO, there's no reason
you don't get the benefit of the doubt anymore.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
But from the right and from the other end of
the spectrum, I think it's funny to think about sometimes,
if you didn't know anything about the NBA and you
never watch basketball, you've never seen any highlights, and you
saw one of the recent clips. I believe it was
either TNT or ESPN had like kind of a low
light reel of him kicking Steven Adams in a sensitive area,
him punching Lebron or using a fist for the undercarriage
(04:59):
of Lebron. Yeah, I mean if.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Dylan Brooks too, picking up the mantle for that continuing
to hit Lebron and the groin.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
But if you.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Yes, if you think about it though, if you didn't know,
how would you react if you didn't know anything about
basketball and you saw that highlight reel of him continually
doing damage to people's groins?
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, what would you say?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I seriously, how is this guy still allowed to play
the sport?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Right? What? Someone hit him with a stick. Maybe someone
should do something about this. At this point, he should
be it's.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Out of control. Yeah, is this even the same sports?
He's just an enforcer right now.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
There's a UFC NBA that has been started that we
didn't even that no one knew about.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yeah, I didn't know you could open up the mosh
pit in the paint, but apparently you can if your
dream on green.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Uh So.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah, that's been interesting to watch, just the the people
enjoying and and not enjoying his antics. I gotta say,
I'm one of the one of the haters, and it's
been interesting to see people still giving him the benefit
of the doubt.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
But look, we we got to talk about our own mess.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
We got our own team to deal with because we
want to be whooping up on those Golden State Warriors
in a year or two.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Uh And a big component of that is gonna be
the big man, the man.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
You were there to see the lottery chips fall where
they might so we could get them. Mister Zion Williamson
must have been weird getting getting confused for him all
night too. It's weird that y'all wore the same thing
for draft.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Yeah, that happens all the time to me. I mean,
I know me and another guy that I have that.
It's really odd if you think about this, in this
this three person dynamic. But Jonas Valentunis I get to
confuse for him all the time.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Too, So yeah, it looks nothing like Zion. Somehow you
look like them both. It's incredible. Yes, you're just you're
just a malleable man. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
It's funny the beyond the people in Chicago in twenty
twenty nineteen getting confused between me and Zion. I think
the really overall overriding reaction at the time is kind
of funny too, when you think about it.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Was actually mostly people. If I was wearing a.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Shirt that had a Pelicans' logo, people were congratulating me
and saying, man, we're so glad I had that. You
guys won the lottery and not the lakers of the Knicks,
So that was that was a bright.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Moment for me.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I was very nick rants at that point in Zion,
I'd blocked it out and Oh just came rushing back.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
So that's what I remember.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
That's one of my most besides the Pelicans actually winning
the lottery and shocking everyone with that was just people
congratulating me, not really necessarily because they were happy for me,
but more that they were happy that it wasn't a
good night for a couple other franchises.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Both, it could be both, you know, we like to
see happy.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Yeah, I was fine with it either way.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
And so yeah, it was a great night and a
foundational cornerstone piece for this franchise. And uh, I think
we we still have to agree. We've yet to see
what it could be with Zion there uh a whole season,
and it's something we're going to talk about with our guest,
Antonio Daniels of bally Sports. Of course you can catch
him doing color commentary with Joel Myers there, but we
(07:52):
want to talk about Zion with him and see what
what he sees in the young man's future, what he
can do going forward, uh, and and what could have
been joining us on the Pelicans podcast. You know him,
you love them from Bally's Sports color commentator with mister
Joel Myers.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
You know him from Sirius XM. You know him from
playing Who.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Mister Antonio Daniels here to talk to us today about
Zion Williamson as we recap the season.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Ad. How you doing, man.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
I'm alltimate, I am awesome. I do wish that I
was still calling games. Yeah, to sit here and watch
these first round games understanding that that you had a
team constructed to actually be there, not just be there,
actually compete. But you know, it is what it is.
So I'm just enjoying watching these playoffs with the family.
(08:46):
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
That's the thing we were talking about, Ada, as Jim
and I were sort of discussing before you came on
here that the Pelicans, you know, you sort of saw
what they could be in twenty twenty two before the
calendar year flipped and everything seemed to go sideways. This
team seemed like they showed people legitimately with a large
body of work that they could be a contender for sure.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
But everything in this league is situational. We talk about
that all the time. Throughout the course of the game.
You know, if you have eight turnovers in the game,
if you look at the statute like that's fantastic, But
if eight of those turnovers came in the fourth quarter,
it's not so good. So everything is situational. And when
this team was this league is about playing and peaking
(09:29):
at the right time of the season. And I think
if you ask any of the thirty coaches or assistant coaches,
or general managers or president of basketball operations. If you
ask any of those titles or any of those people,
if you would like to peak at the end of
(09:49):
December the beginning of January, they will all say no,
all thirty of us, which they know, and we saw
the best of this team in the month of December
and to the end of December. But understand, you still
have all of January, you still have all of February,
you still have all the March, and you still have
(10:11):
a week and a half of April. So this team
peaked too early in the season. But that align obviously
parallels and Mary's with the health of Zion.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yeah, yeah, Ada, It's funny.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
We were talking about this in some of the shows
throughout the season two and even after the season that
I think one of the differences between the Pelicans in
twenty twenty three compared to a few years ago is
I think in the previous decade when they had a
good season, the ceiling was a little bit confusing because
you had Golden State that the juggernaut, Golden State that
(10:45):
had kept durant, and it seems like the West is
a little bit more open now, and I think one
of the things that I'm encouraged by too, is just
the fact that, you know, like you said, you'd much
rather have the stretch that they had at the end
of the season than early in the first half. But
at least they showed that they're capable, whereas I don't
think this team or this franchise necessarily in the previous
iteration with a completely different roster pretty much every single
(11:07):
player was different, had that upside.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
But in terms of you know, what you saw from what.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Makes the more frustrating Jim, Yeah, honestly, yeah, everything you
just said is what makes it more frustrating is the
fact that one, this team showed that they are capable
of beating any team in this conference hole and healthy. Two.
Can you think of a season where the West was
just wide open?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
No, definitely, not an entire time I've been here, yep.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
But there's not a team in a Western conference right
now that is competing from seeds one through eight that
doesn't have a check mark by their names. I mean
a question mark where it's like, man, well they have talent,
but or they had a good season, but they're inexperience,
you know. Kevin Durant and Phoenix Sunsan. Oh guy, they've
only played a total about twelve games together. Right, Sacramento's
(11:56):
inexperience Golden State has been like Jecquelin High from home
to on the road all year long. Miffit. No Steven Adams,
no Brandon Clark. You know how healthy is John Moran.
So you can go down to different teams throughout the
course of the Western Conference and realize and understand that
this easily could have been a year for this team
(12:17):
to accomplish something if holding healthy and honestly, Jim, I know,
for myself and probably for a number of Pales fans,
that's what makes this season so much more frustrating.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Yeah, the fact that they I mean they showed it
and right specifically with Zion, I mean he's had obviously
it's been such a stop and start career for him,
where he played two seasons ago he played sixty one
of seventy two games, then last season doesn't play at all,
and then this season he plays the first half. It's
kind of hard to evaluate the progress of the improvement
(12:51):
that he's made just because it's been so you know,
so much fits and starts. But I mean from the
twenty nine games that he played through the early part
of January. Are there certain things that you saw that
were the most impressive in terms of what he's improved upon?
I mean, do you think it's the playmaking? What elements
when you watch him play? Do you think that you know,
in the first half of the season, when he was
(13:12):
on the floor, he was able to show, Okay, this
is another step that I've made as a player.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
Well, I think first thing we have to understand is
we're talking about a twenty nine games temple size and
not a sixty or seventy games simple size. But in
those twenty nine games, what I saw for me, which
was different than what I have seen in Zion prior
to was the mentality. The mentality was different. There were
many games that Joel and I Jen were blessed the
(13:40):
call that Zion took over, right like completely took over.
So with not really the skill set has always been there.
We know that the ability to handle the ball, the
being cerebra on the floor, seeing played two or three
steps in advance, the facilitating breaking down defenses. But what
(14:00):
I saw this year in those twenty nine games was
the mentality was completely different. His ability to literally take
games over on both sides of the basketball brass, a
block shot, a steal, imposing his will on the game,
and playing with a force that we have not seen
him play with before. So for me and those twenty
(14:21):
nine games, that's really what has That really was for
me what stood out more than anything else outside of
you know, his skill set is concerned, the mentality was different.
He had a SuperStar's mentality in those twenty nine games.
And you know what happens what comes with that mentality,
Jim and Joe, is that mentality is contagious. Right, So
(14:43):
when you have a superstar mentality that is willing and
has the skill set to take over game, that spreads
to the fan base. So when you see Zion do
what he did against Toronto, when you see Zion doit
he did against Minnesota, that spreads to the fan base.
That's where all of that oh my gosh, we are
contending comes from. So then when that is gone and
(15:05):
the team starts to struggle, of course the fan base
is going to have that again. So for me, it's
all about the mentality and his ability and skill set
to take and dominate games.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
You know, it was so impressive to watch him sort
of dictate the pace of games. I think the Pelicans
we've again the thing that Jim and I talked about
is they've been very reactive sometimes and to have that
sort of force, uh, sort of dictate the pace of
the game is so important going forward. And I want
to ask you, you know, it's hard to talk about
the season because it is a season of what if
(15:39):
and what could have been, and you hate to have
to do it again with Zion. But you're looking again
at another off season where you just hope he gets right,
he gets healthy, he gets his body right. But what
else do you want to see from Zion into this offseason?
Obviously there's the stuff. You want to see him get
his hamstring right, you want to see him get his
body right. But what parts of his game do you
think you need to see him work on? You need
(16:01):
to see him get more consistent at or what do
you think he needs to do in this offseason to
help this team?
Speaker 5 (16:07):
And I think the thing I would like to see
him doing this off season is something different And I
don't know what that's something different is, And I think
that's the easiest way to put it. Is the reason
I say something different is because whatever's being done in
the off season up to this point hasn't worked. It
(16:31):
hasn't worked physically, it hasn't worked. And this isn't a
Zion issue. This is a professional athlete issue. It comes
to a point in time where you realize what you
have to do or what you need to do to
have a long, sustain consistent and successful career. So I
don't know what that something is, but something different has
(16:53):
to be done outside of what's been done in the
previous fourth seasons. Right the skin again, I'll be as
to tell you, and I'm not telling you guys something
you don't know. I'm not telling the national media something
they don't know. I'm not telling the Pelicans' fan base
something that they don't know. The skill set it is there,
the skills Thatt is there to help leave this Pelican
team just somewhere where they've never gone before. We all
(17:17):
know that, we all understand that. But for that to happen,
availability has to be primary. That has to be at
the top of the list. So I don't know what
that something is because obviously I'm not training with Dion
in the off season. I'm not there with him in
the off season. No one wants to see this young
man succeed more than I do. I know about all
that he's gone through physically and mentally, and how mentally
(17:41):
draining it is to continue to recover from injury after
injury after injury. What I say is, whatever's been done
in this off season, something has to be done different
to make sure that you come back different physically, which
will lead to coming back different mentally.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
In my opinion, mentioned how you know, when he was
on the floor, the confidence of the team skyrocketed, and
obviously when he was out they went through a ten
game losing streak in January, And this is something that
David Griffin addressed during the exit interviews. You know, maybe
not even specifically just about Zion, but just overall. I
feel like a lot of teams in the NBA are
(18:19):
confronting the situation just on the way the league is trending,
where you have to be prepared for all situations.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
You have to be ready if you know some of
your guys are out.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
I mean, do you feel like that there are things
that the Pelicans can do to be better prepared next
season for situations they're shorthanded and or maybe is it
more just the development of some of the other guys
will put them in a better position regardless, you know,
meaning like the strides that Trey Murphy made, the fact
that some of the other younger guys are getting better,
(18:50):
like Herb had a really good close to the regular season,
and that kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
Well, I think it's hard because I think every team
in this league, jim is built around their stars. And
I've been saying this all year about this Pelican team,
Like we can sit here and say, you know what
you need to prepare for brandon Ingram playing forty five
games or Zion playing twenty nine games. The fact of
(19:15):
the matter is, I'm sorry, there's nothing Chris can do
about that, because your team is built around your stars. Right,
even if you look right now as what's going on
in the playoffs, right, the Clippers are without their top
two guys. They haven't one since those two guys have
been out. You know, you look at Giannis Undertakoupo being
(19:38):
out for the Milwaukee Bucks. You go down the list
of different teams these teams are built around. There's no
more professional sports league that's the stars driven to the
NBA is what I mean by that is, the absence
of one player or two players makes a huge difference.
There's you know, I'm a silber lining guy though, And
(19:59):
what I've said season. The silver lining to Zion only
being there twenty nine games and Bi being there for
forty five or so games is the fact that what
you just said is it speaks to the growth and
develops and gives an opportunity for rent for guys like
Ray Murphy, for guys like Herb Jones. Because what we
(20:22):
saw on Trey Murphy now with some specialty that we
would not have seen otherwise. So yeah, those guys were
out for a significant amount of time, meaning Zion and
b I will I'll tell you what what we saw
in Trey Murphy is the budding of a young star.
What we saw at the end of the season for
Herb Jones is something to build around moving forward. So
(20:42):
now again, what this does is it gives you that
that confidence that is, and I put it in quotation mark,
if Ion can come back healthy and if Bi can
come back healthy, and you surround that with the leadership
of C. J. McCollum and the growth of development of
these young players. What this team is truly capable of I.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Mean, yeah, absolutely, and that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
And and I hate to keep harping on this and
continuing to dangle the carrot in front of Pelicans fans,
but the Pelicans as a team did make growing strides
this season, and you did see the development, like Jim said,
of Herb and of Trey, you know, and maybe he
wouldn't develop that way if he didn't get those starting minutes,
if he wasn't you know, foisted into the lineup.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
It was.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
It was a crazy ascension and you just got to
hope that now with all of these improvements around a
now healthy Zion, maybe just maybe we can actually see
what this team could do next season.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
That was like, let let's let's keep it one hundred man.
There's nothing more important in this league in health. Nothing.
I don't care which team you're talking about, There's nothing
more important in this league than healthy. And when this
team went through that ten game losing streak because they're
still young, because they're still inexperience, because they're too impressionable
(22:02):
for a lengthy amount of time, it almost felt like
that broke the team. So they were at rock bottom
but didn't have the star talent to get them out
of that hole. So to watch the growth the progression
of a guy like Trey Murphy, the growth of progression
of a guy like her. That's my silver lining of
this season because those two guys, in particular Trey Murphy.
(22:26):
I'm telling you, I'm telling you, we saw things from
Trey Murphy this year that I don't think any of
us expected. I'm not even sure if he expected is
to come together this quick. But now that it has
come together, it comes a lot of responsibility. But all
of this aligned and marriage with the fact that this
New Orleans Pelicans team needs to be healthy, no if fans.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Or butts about it, absolutely and we want to see
that centerpiece of Zion anchoring down this team next season. Again,
a disappointing end of the season and we hate to
be looking forward to what will be.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
But thanks for helping us look.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Into the crystal ball and get us through it a
little bit as we're still struggling through at AD. Appreciate
your time today on the Pelicans podcast.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
Man first, sure fellas. Always appreciate anytime you guys need me.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
I'm here.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Always great to have mister Antonio Daniels on the podcast.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
He is always busy.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Doing his show on Sirius x sim always talking basketball
and always knows hoops. And you know what, it sounds
simple what he said about how players just need to
be on the floor. And I wish there was some
really smart thing I could say, but I'm not that.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Smart, and it is that simple.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Sometimes there is nothing holding Zion back from being an
absolute monster in this league. And we saw it other
than just being able to be on the court. When
he was, he was putting up historic numbers. And when
he wasn't, you know, the team had to reconfigure itself
and struggled, and you know, we just got to hope
that next season he's on the floor.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
Definitely, And I think if you look across the league too,
if you look at the teams, this is almost always
the case, season in and season out. The teams that
exceed expectations are the teams that stay healthy the most.
I mean Sacramento and the Knicks are two examples of
the teams that they've consistently had their main guys in
the lineup throughout the entire year.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Remember Sacramento especially, I was a big part of you know,
nobody misses games on that right.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
And if you look at the teams that did under
expectations a lot of times, it is the teams that
have a ton of injuries. On Portland is one example
of a team that you know, started off pretty well
and then faded, I mean similarly to New Orleans, but
at a much steeper level in terms of the way
that they ended the year. So you're right, I mean,
you have to have your main guys. And you know,
another thing too, is when you factor in the salary cap,
(24:48):
your your top guys are making a big chunk of money.
It's not like you can say like, Okay, well this
guy that's making thirty million is out, so let's just
sign somebody else who's making thirty million.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
It's not. It's not gonna happen.
Speaker 4 (24:58):
So I mean, the best, the best that you can
do is try to just continue developing the other guys
and developing some of younger players. I think to the
Pelicans from a positive standpoint that they I think they
are in that mode of they have a lot of
guys that are keep getting better. So hopefully, you know,
God forbid, we don't want to see any more injuries.
(25:18):
We want to see them be as healthy as possible,
but you just if you if you don't have that,
and you just need to avoid stretches where you have
long losing streaks and you know, spans that really are costly.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
You know, it's one of those things where I don't
think any reasonable fan expected to win it all this season,
but it's also not unreasonable to be disappointed in how
and where this season ended. So it's it's I understand
why it's frustrating, but you sort of you sort of
see what may accidentally come from this season. Trey Murphy
getting starter minutes because Zion went out was directly responsible
(25:54):
for us watching his ascendants. And now you bring Zion
back to the fold, and you've got this now hyper
developed Trey Murphy to put alongside him, along with a
healthy Bi, a now healed CJ McCullum, And boy does
this team all of a sudden seem way more dangerous
and you saw long stretches of it. I think that's
the frustrating part is, as you were saying, before, you
(26:16):
saw what this team was when they had Zion, when
everyone was operating as they should, and then at the
end of the season you see a lot herb Jones,
Trey Murphy playing way better than they were even then,
and now you add a healthy Zion to the mix,
and the sky's the limit.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Man.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Yeah, I think the part of the season where guys
were asked to do more than they probably ever were
expected to was definitely a good news bad news thing.
It was bad news because it was like, in some cases,
you're putting guys in roles that they weren't really ready
for at this.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
Stage of their and that showed up sometimes right.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
But on the other hand, they were challenged to do
things that they might not have been able to do,
and as a result of that, they're further ahead in.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Their progress than they would have been.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
I think Herb was an example of that at the
end of the season that he brought out some of
his offensive improvement in some of the strides that he
made there. So overall it was it was frustrating because
you know, you had you know, some cases, you have
a guy who's you think is gonna be your eighth
or ninth man, and now he's your sixth man, and
that's problematic sometimes because you know, you don't want to
(27:18):
have guys playing above what the role that they're suited for.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yeah, but long term.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
You know, hopefully that will pay off down the road
with the guys going into their next going into next season,
going into training camp, there that much further ahead than
they would have been.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Yeah, if you if you know anything about New Orleans,
you know we love a little extra season and on stuff.
And now they just got a little extra season and
for next season. That's what I'm gonna say. And look,
just just good luck to Zion. Want to see him healthy,
want to see him whole on the court again, feeling
like himself and playing like himself, and we just got
to wait and see what this offseason holds. Gonna be
(27:53):
exciting regardless. Jim, thanks as always for helping me along
with this podcast with the infra. I'm just a guy
holding a microphone without Jim. And big thanks to Antonio
Daniels for joining us as always, huge friend of the podcast,
Huge friend to all Pelicans fans who like good info.
Hey continue to tell people, Hey, the Pelicans podcast is
(28:15):
doing a daily podcast.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Now what just for this offseason little stretch.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Here, So we will be back tomorrow, that is Thursday,
with another podcast, focusing this time on mister Jonas valanchunis
so gonna be a fun one. Stay tuned for that
one and we will talk to you then.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
So until there.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Go best thanks for listening to the New Orleans Pelicans
podcast presented by seat Geek. Join us three times per
week on pelicans dot com, the Pelicans mobile app, or
you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. We'll see
you next time right here. I'm a New Orleans Pelicans
podcast presented by seat geek
Welcome into the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast presented by Seat Gig,
a podcast dedicated to everything you need to know about
the squad. The New Orleans Pelicans podcast starts right now.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to the Pelicans Podcast presented by Seat Geek. I
am Joe Cardosi, joined by the ever grinding Jim Eichenhoffer.
The man doesn't stop one eye, two eyes, no eyes,
doesn't matter. The dude will just root around like a
mole man finding the information. But he is seeing everything
(00:42):
clearly today and Jim, good to see you, man. And
today we are continuing our series of Player podcast, sort
of wrapping up the season, and we're gonna be talking
about the big Man today, mister Zion Williamson with Antonio Daniels.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Gonna be a fun one.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
And you know, when I think about Zion, I think
sometimes back to twenty nineteen, that fateful day I was in.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Chicago May four years ago.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
The world was very different, back to the Actually there
may have been something that happened in twenty twenty that
changed some things, but yeah, it's it's fun to think
back on those those helcyon days when things were great
and everyone was happy.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
But yeah, I think you were the good luck charm.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
By the way, I know David Griffin talked about that
thing he brought on stage and it was you.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Let's be honest, thanks Joe.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
I would like to think that I had some effect,
even though I probably didn't.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Can David Griffin bring you on stage next time? Let's
just do that. Just come on up with Jim and
let's do it. Because look, it's it's coming up the
the the lottery is going to be upon us soon,
and the Pelicans don't have a great chance. Let's be honest,
we're talking all this about what if we won the
lottery again?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
But it's not great, but it's possible. It is possible.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, I mean, it's funny to think back to twenty nineteen.
They actually had they only had a six percent chance
of the lottery that year and did it.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
It was unlikely, I remember.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Unfortunately, if my math serves me correct, they actually had
a twelve times better chance of winning the lottery that.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Time than they did this time.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
They have a zero point five percent chance of winning
the lottery on May sixteenth. Maybe a little better number more,
maybe a little bit more optimism can come from me
saying that they have a two point four percent chance
of finishing in the top four. Sure, so obviously at
the lottery, the only thing that is determined by the
drawing is spots one, two, three, and four. The Pelicans
(02:38):
have a ninety seven point six percent chance of finishing
fourteenth and keeping in that pre lottery slot. That leaves
two point four for any of the other four spots.
We would be doing backflips. I would I'll speak for
myself here, if they finished even fourth, would they have a.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Zero point seven percent chance of finishing fourth?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
That would be amazing to be able to go from
where the Pelicans are to that spot. I feel like
the rest of the league would be extremely angry if
the Pelicans don't end up in the fourteenth.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Sleep horrific that he would rain down. It'd be hilarious
to be the villain for not our own fault, but
starting you know, speaking of villains, i gotta say, we
were talking about the playoffs going on today and you know,
just watching Draymond Greens, I'm gonna call him the antics,
you know, his hijinks, Yeah, his hyjiinks and antics, let's
(03:28):
just call it that. It's been it's been interesting to
watch the varied media reactions to what's going on, because
I remember flipping on the television and watching him a
trampoline a man, and uh, thinking that seems a bit of.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Gregious, but not a little over the top. Yeah, some
people seem to think like, oh, he just kicks his
legs and flails that way. Yes, I don't know. It
just seems to be only him. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
I mean there was the time too where he used
Billy arning Gomez his shoulder I believe, as like a
lever to get off the floor.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
I guess there was no there was no teammate nearby
to help him off the floor. So he said, Hey,
this Hernan Gomez elbow or arm or shoulder or face
looks like something I could use to get me off
the floor.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
There's also yeah, I was gonna mention that as well.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, I think one of the speaking of media reactions,
I think one of the things that's hilarious is how
many people try to treat every single incident as though
it's in a vacuum.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Is though, like it's the first time that he's ever.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Done anything, Like, you know, I don't know why they
should suspend him for you know, stomping on someibonus.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
I mean it wasn't really that SnO, there's no reason
you don't get the benefit of the doubt anymore.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
But from the right and from the other end of
the spectrum, I think it's funny to think about sometimes,
if you didn't know anything about the NBA and you
never watch basketball, you've never seen any highlights, and you
saw one of the recent clips. I believe it was
either TNT or ESPN had like kind of a low
light reel of him kicking Steven Adams in a sensitive area,
him punching Lebron or using a fist for the undercarriage
(04:59):
of Lebron. Yeah, I mean if.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Dylan Brooks too, picking up the mantle for that continuing
to hit Lebron and the groin.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
But if you.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Yes, if you think about it though, if you didn't know,
how would you react if you didn't know anything about
basketball and you saw that highlight reel of him continually
doing damage to people's groins?
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, what would you say?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I seriously, how is this guy still allowed to play
the sport?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Right? What? Someone hit him with a stick. Maybe someone
should do something about this. At this point, he should
be it's.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Out of control. Yeah, is this even the same sports?
He's just an enforcer right now.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
There's a UFC NBA that has been started that we
didn't even that no one knew about.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yeah, I didn't know you could open up the mosh
pit in the paint, but apparently you can if your
dream on green.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Uh So.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Yeah, that's been interesting to watch, just the the people
enjoying and and not enjoying his antics. I gotta say,
I'm one of the one of the haters, and it's
been interesting to see people still giving him the benefit
of the doubt.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
But look, we we got to talk about our own mess.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
We got our own team to deal with because we
want to be whooping up on those Golden State Warriors
in a year or two.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Uh And a big component of that is gonna be
the big man, the man.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
You were there to see the lottery chips fall where
they might so we could get them. Mister Zion Williamson
must have been weird getting getting confused for him all
night too. It's weird that y'all wore the same thing
for draft.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Yeah, that happens all the time to me. I mean,
I know me and another guy that I have that.
It's really odd if you think about this, in this
this three person dynamic. But Jonas Valentunis I get to
confuse for him all the time.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Too, So yeah, it looks nothing like Zion. Somehow you
look like them both. It's incredible. Yes, you're just you're
just a malleable man. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
It's funny the beyond the people in Chicago in twenty
twenty nineteen getting confused between me and Zion. I think
the really overall overriding reaction at the time is kind
of funny too, when you think about it.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Was actually mostly people. If I was wearing a.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Shirt that had a Pelicans' logo, people were congratulating me
and saying, man, we're so glad I had that. You
guys won the lottery and not the lakers of the Knicks,
So that was that was a bright.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Moment for me.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I was very nick rants at that point in Zion,
I'd blocked it out and Oh just came rushing back.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
So that's what I remember.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
That's one of my most besides the Pelicans actually winning
the lottery and shocking everyone with that was just people
congratulating me, not really necessarily because they were happy for me,
but more that they were happy that it wasn't a
good night for a couple other franchises.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Both, it could be both, you know, we like to
see happy.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Yeah, I was fine with it either way.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
And so yeah, it was a great night and a
foundational cornerstone piece for this franchise. And uh, I think
we we still have to agree. We've yet to see
what it could be with Zion there uh a whole season,
and it's something we're going to talk about with our guest,
Antonio Daniels of bally Sports. Of course you can catch
him doing color commentary with Joel Myers there, but we
(07:52):
want to talk about Zion with him and see what
what he sees in the young man's future, what he
can do going forward, uh, and and what could have
been joining us on the Pelicans podcast. You know him,
you love them from Bally's Sports color commentator with mister
Joel Myers.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
You know him from Sirius XM. You know him from
playing Who.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Mister Antonio Daniels here to talk to us today about
Zion Williamson as we recap the season.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Ad. How you doing, man.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
I'm alltimate, I am awesome. I do wish that I
was still calling games. Yeah, to sit here and watch
these first round games understanding that that you had a
team constructed to actually be there, not just be there,
actually compete. But you know, it is what it is.
So I'm just enjoying watching these playoffs with the family.
(08:46):
You know.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
That's the thing we were talking about, Ada, as Jim
and I were sort of discussing before you came on
here that the Pelicans, you know, you sort of saw
what they could be in twenty twenty two before the
calendar year flipped and everything seemed to go sideways. This
team seemed like they showed people legitimately with a large
body of work that they could be a contender for sure.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
But everything in this league is situational. We talk about
that all the time. Throughout the course of the game.
You know, if you have eight turnovers in the game,
if you look at the statute like that's fantastic, But
if eight of those turnovers came in the fourth quarter,
it's not so good. So everything is situational. And when
this team was this league is about playing and peaking
(09:29):
at the right time of the season. And I think
if you ask any of the thirty coaches or assistant coaches,
or general managers or president of basketball operations. If you
ask any of those titles or any of those people,
if you would like to peak at the end of
(09:49):
December the beginning of January, they will all say no,
all thirty of us, which they know, and we saw
the best of this team in the month of December
and to the end of December. But understand, you still
have all of January, you still have all of February,
you still have all the March, and you still have
(10:11):
a week and a half of April. So this team
peaked too early in the season. But that align obviously
parallels and Mary's with the health of Zion.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yeah, yeah, Ada, It's funny.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
We were talking about this in some of the shows
throughout the season two and even after the season that
I think one of the differences between the Pelicans in
twenty twenty three compared to a few years ago is
I think in the previous decade when they had a
good season, the ceiling was a little bit confusing because
you had Golden State that the juggernaut, Golden State that
(10:45):
had kept durant, and it seems like the West is
a little bit more open now, and I think one
of the things that I'm encouraged by too, is just
the fact that, you know, like you said, you'd much
rather have the stretch that they had at the end
of the season than early in the first half. But
at least they showed that they're capable, whereas I don't
think this team or this franchise necessarily in the previous
iteration with a completely different roster pretty much every single
(11:07):
player was different, had that upside.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
But in terms of you know, what you saw from what.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
Makes the more frustrating Jim, Yeah, honestly, yeah, everything you
just said is what makes it more frustrating is the
fact that one, this team showed that they are capable
of beating any team in this conference hole and healthy. Two.
Can you think of a season where the West was
just wide open?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
No, definitely, not an entire time I've been here, yep.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
But there's not a team in a Western conference right
now that is competing from seeds one through eight that
doesn't have a check mark by their names. I mean
a question mark where it's like, man, well they have talent,
but or they had a good season, but they're inexperience,
you know. Kevin Durant and Phoenix Sunsan. Oh guy, they've
only played a total about twelve games together. Right, Sacramento's
(11:56):
inexperience Golden State has been like Jecquelin High from home
to on the road all year long. Miffit. No Steven Adams,
no Brandon Clark. You know how healthy is John Moran.
So you can go down to different teams throughout the
course of the Western Conference and realize and understand that
this easily could have been a year for this team
(12:17):
to accomplish something if holding healthy and honestly, Jim, I know,
for myself and probably for a number of Pales fans,
that's what makes this season so much more frustrating.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Yeah, the fact that they I mean they showed it
and right specifically with Zion, I mean he's had obviously
it's been such a stop and start career for him,
where he played two seasons ago he played sixty one
of seventy two games, then last season doesn't play at all,
and then this season he plays the first half. It's
kind of hard to evaluate the progress of the improvement
(12:51):
that he's made just because it's been so you know,
so much fits and starts. But I mean from the
twenty nine games that he played through the early part
of January. Are there certain things that you saw that
were the most impressive in terms of what he's improved upon?
I mean, do you think it's the playmaking? What elements
when you watch him play? Do you think that you know,
in the first half of the season, when he was
(13:12):
on the floor, he was able to show, Okay, this
is another step that I've made as a player.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
Well, I think first thing we have to understand is
we're talking about a twenty nine games temple size and
not a sixty or seventy games simple size. But in
those twenty nine games, what I saw for me, which
was different than what I have seen in Zion prior
to was the mentality. The mentality was different. There were
many games that Joel and I Jen were blessed the
(13:40):
call that Zion took over, right like completely took over.
So with not really the skill set has always been there.
We know that the ability to handle the ball, the
being cerebra on the floor, seeing played two or three
steps in advance, the facilitating breaking down defenses. But what
(14:00):
I saw this year in those twenty nine games was
the mentality was completely different. His ability to literally take
games over on both sides of the basketball brass, a
block shot, a steal, imposing his will on the game,
and playing with a force that we have not seen
him play with before. So for me and those twenty
(14:21):
nine games, that's really what has That really was for
me what stood out more than anything else outside of
you know, his skill set is concerned, the mentality was different.
He had a SuperStar's mentality in those twenty nine games.
And you know what happens what comes with that mentality,
Jim and Joe, is that mentality is contagious. Right, So
(14:43):
when you have a superstar mentality that is willing and
has the skill set to take over game, that spreads
to the fan base. So when you see Zion do
what he did against Toronto, when you see Zion doit
he did against Minnesota, that spreads to the fan base.
That's where all of that oh my gosh, we are
contending comes from. So then when that is gone and
(15:05):
the team starts to struggle, of course the fan base
is going to have that again. So for me, it's
all about the mentality and his ability and skill set
to take and dominate games.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
You know, it was so impressive to watch him sort
of dictate the pace of games. I think the Pelicans
we've again the thing that Jim and I talked about
is they've been very reactive sometimes and to have that
sort of force, uh, sort of dictate the pace of
the game is so important going forward. And I want
to ask you, you know, it's hard to talk about
the season because it is a season of what if
(15:39):
and what could have been, and you hate to have
to do it again with Zion. But you're looking again
at another off season where you just hope he gets right,
he gets healthy, he gets his body right. But what
else do you want to see from Zion into this offseason?
Obviously there's the stuff. You want to see him get
his hamstring right, you want to see him get his
body right. But what parts of his game do you
think you need to see him work on? You need
(16:01):
to see him get more consistent at or what do
you think he needs to do in this offseason to
help this team?
Speaker 5 (16:07):
And I think the thing I would like to see
him doing this off season is something different And I
don't know what that's something different is, And I think
that's the easiest way to put it. Is the reason
I say something different is because whatever's being done in
the off season up to this point hasn't worked. It
(16:31):
hasn't worked physically, it hasn't worked. And this isn't a
Zion issue. This is a professional athlete issue. It comes
to a point in time where you realize what you
have to do or what you need to do to
have a long, sustain consistent and successful career. So I
don't know what that something is, but something different has
(16:53):
to be done outside of what's been done in the
previous fourth seasons. Right the skin again, I'll be as
to tell you, and I'm not telling you guys something
you don't know. I'm not telling the national media something
they don't know. I'm not telling the Pelicans' fan base
something that they don't know. The skill set it is there,
the skills Thatt is there to help leave this Pelican
team just somewhere where they've never gone before. We all
(17:17):
know that, we all understand that. But for that to happen,
availability has to be primary. That has to be at
the top of the list. So I don't know what
that something is because obviously I'm not training with Dion
in the off season. I'm not there with him in
the off season. No one wants to see this young
man succeed more than I do. I know about all
that he's gone through physically and mentally, and how mentally
(17:41):
draining it is to continue to recover from injury after
injury after injury. What I say is, whatever's been done
in this off season, something has to be done different
to make sure that you come back different physically, which
will lead to coming back different mentally.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
In my opinion, mentioned how you know, when he was
on the floor, the confidence of the team skyrocketed, and
obviously when he was out they went through a ten
game losing streak in January, And this is something that
David Griffin addressed during the exit interviews. You know, maybe
not even specifically just about Zion, but just overall. I
feel like a lot of teams in the NBA are
(18:19):
confronting the situation just on the way the league is trending,
where you have to be prepared for all situations.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
You have to be ready if you know some of
your guys are out.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
I mean, do you feel like that there are things
that the Pelicans can do to be better prepared next
season for situations they're shorthanded and or maybe is it
more just the development of some of the other guys
will put them in a better position regardless, you know,
meaning like the strides that Trey Murphy made, the fact
that some of the other younger guys are getting better,
(18:50):
like Herb had a really good close to the regular season,
and that kind of thing.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
Well, I think it's hard because I think every team
in this league, jim is built around their stars. And
I've been saying this all year about this Pelican team,
Like we can sit here and say, you know what
you need to prepare for brandon Ingram playing forty five
games or Zion playing twenty nine games. The fact of
(19:15):
the matter is, I'm sorry, there's nothing Chris can do
about that, because your team is built around your stars. Right,
even if you look right now as what's going on
in the playoffs, right, the Clippers are without their top
two guys. They haven't one since those two guys have
been out. You know, you look at Giannis Undertakoupo being
(19:38):
out for the Milwaukee Bucks. You go down the list
of different teams these teams are built around. There's no
more professional sports league that's the stars driven to the
NBA is what I mean by that is, the absence
of one player or two players makes a huge difference.
There's you know, I'm a silber lining guy though, And
(19:59):
what I've said season. The silver lining to Zion only
being there twenty nine games and Bi being there for
forty five or so games is the fact that what
you just said is it speaks to the growth and
develops and gives an opportunity for rent for guys like
Ray Murphy, for guys like Herb Jones. Because what we
(20:22):
saw on Trey Murphy now with some specialty that we
would not have seen otherwise. So yeah, those guys were
out for a significant amount of time, meaning Zion and
b I will I'll tell you what what we saw
in Trey Murphy is the budding of a young star.
What we saw at the end of the season for
Herb Jones is something to build around moving forward. So
(20:42):
now again, what this does is it gives you that
that confidence that is, and I put it in quotation mark,
if Ion can come back healthy and if Bi can
come back healthy, and you surround that with the leadership
of C. J. McCollum and the growth of development of
these young players. What this team is truly capable of I.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Mean, yeah, absolutely, and that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
And and I hate to keep harping on this and
continuing to dangle the carrot in front of Pelicans fans,
but the Pelicans as a team did make growing strides
this season, and you did see the development, like Jim said,
of Herb and of Trey, you know, and maybe he
wouldn't develop that way if he didn't get those starting minutes,
if he wasn't you know, foisted into the lineup.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
It was.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
It was a crazy ascension and you just got to
hope that now with all of these improvements around a
now healthy Zion, maybe just maybe we can actually see
what this team could do next season.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
That was like, let let's let's keep it one hundred man.
There's nothing more important in this league in health. Nothing.
I don't care which team you're talking about, There's nothing
more important in this league than healthy. And when this
team went through that ten game losing streak because they're
still young, because they're still inexperience, because they're too impressionable
(22:02):
for a lengthy amount of time, it almost felt like
that broke the team. So they were at rock bottom
but didn't have the star talent to get them out
of that hole. So to watch the growth the progression
of a guy like Trey Murphy, the growth of progression
of a guy like her. That's my silver lining of
this season because those two guys, in particular Trey Murphy.
(22:26):
I'm telling you, I'm telling you, we saw things from
Trey Murphy this year that I don't think any of
us expected. I'm not even sure if he expected is
to come together this quick. But now that it has
come together, it comes a lot of responsibility. But all
of this aligned and marriage with the fact that this
New Orleans Pelicans team needs to be healthy, no if fans.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Or butts about it, absolutely and we want to see
that centerpiece of Zion anchoring down this team next season. Again,
a disappointing end of the season and we hate to
be looking forward to what will be.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
But thanks for helping us look.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Into the crystal ball and get us through it a
little bit as we're still struggling through at AD. Appreciate
your time today on the Pelicans podcast.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
Man first, sure fellas. Always appreciate anytime you guys need me.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
I'm here.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Always great to have mister Antonio Daniels on the podcast.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
He is always busy.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Doing his show on Sirius x sim always talking basketball
and always knows hoops. And you know what, it sounds
simple what he said about how players just need to
be on the floor. And I wish there was some
really smart thing I could say, but I'm not that.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Smart, and it is that simple.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Sometimes there is nothing holding Zion back from being an
absolute monster in this league. And we saw it other
than just being able to be on the court. When
he was, he was putting up historic numbers. And when
he wasn't, you know, the team had to reconfigure itself
and struggled, and you know, we just got to hope
that next season he's on the floor.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
Definitely, And I think if you look across the league too,
if you look at the teams, this is almost always
the case, season in and season out. The teams that
exceed expectations are the teams that stay healthy the most.
I mean Sacramento and the Knicks are two examples of
the teams that they've consistently had their main guys in
the lineup throughout the entire year.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Remember Sacramento especially, I was a big part of you know,
nobody misses games on that right.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
And if you look at the teams that did under
expectations a lot of times, it is the teams that
have a ton of injuries. On Portland is one example
of a team that you know, started off pretty well
and then faded, I mean similarly to New Orleans, but
at a much steeper level in terms of the way
that they ended the year. So you're right, I mean,
you have to have your main guys. And you know,
another thing too, is when you factor in the salary cap,
(24:48):
your your top guys are making a big chunk of money.
It's not like you can say like, Okay, well this
guy that's making thirty million is out, so let's just
sign somebody else who's making thirty million.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
It's not. It's not gonna happen.
Speaker 4 (24:58):
So I mean, the best, the best that you can
do is try to just continue developing the other guys
and developing some of younger players. I think to the
Pelicans from a positive standpoint that they I think they
are in that mode of they have a lot of
guys that are keep getting better. So hopefully, you know,
God forbid, we don't want to see any more injuries.
(25:18):
We want to see them be as healthy as possible,
but you just if you if you don't have that,
and you just need to avoid stretches where you have
long losing streaks and you know, spans that really are costly.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
You know, it's one of those things where I don't
think any reasonable fan expected to win it all this season,
but it's also not unreasonable to be disappointed in how
and where this season ended. So it's it's I understand
why it's frustrating, but you sort of you sort of
see what may accidentally come from this season. Trey Murphy
getting starter minutes because Zion went out was directly responsible
(25:54):
for us watching his ascendants. And now you bring Zion
back to the fold, and you've got this now hyper
developed Trey Murphy to put alongside him, along with a
healthy Bi, a now healed CJ McCullum, And boy does
this team all of a sudden seem way more dangerous
and you saw long stretches of it. I think that's
the frustrating part is, as you were saying, before, you
(26:16):
saw what this team was when they had Zion, when
everyone was operating as they should, and then at the
end of the season you see a lot herb Jones,
Trey Murphy playing way better than they were even then,
and now you add a healthy Zion to the mix,
and the sky's the limit.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Man.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Yeah, I think the part of the season where guys
were asked to do more than they probably ever were
expected to was definitely a good news bad news thing.
It was bad news because it was like, in some cases,
you're putting guys in roles that they weren't really ready
for at this.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
Stage of their and that showed up sometimes right.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
But on the other hand, they were challenged to do
things that they might not have been able to do,
and as a result of that, they're further ahead in.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
Their progress than they would have been.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
I think Herb was an example of that at the
end of the season that he brought out some of
his offensive improvement in some of the strides that he
made there. So overall it was it was frustrating because
you know, you had you know, some cases, you have
a guy who's you think is gonna be your eighth
or ninth man, and now he's your sixth man, and
that's problematic sometimes because you know, you don't want to
(27:18):
have guys playing above what the role that they're suited for.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yeah, but long term.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
You know, hopefully that will pay off down the road
with the guys going into their next going into next season,
going into training camp, there that much further ahead than
they would have been.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Yeah, if you if you know anything about New Orleans,
you know we love a little extra season and on stuff.
And now they just got a little extra season and
for next season. That's what I'm gonna say. And look,
just just good luck to Zion. Want to see him healthy,
want to see him whole on the court again, feeling
like himself and playing like himself, and we just got
to wait and see what this offseason holds. Gonna be
(27:53):
exciting regardless. Jim, thanks as always for helping me along
with this podcast with the infra. I'm just a guy
holding a microphone without Jim. And big thanks to Antonio
Daniels for joining us as always, huge friend of the podcast,
Huge friend to all Pelicans fans who like good info.
Hey continue to tell people, Hey, the Pelicans podcast is
(28:15):
doing a daily podcast.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
Now what just for this offseason little stretch.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Here, So we will be back tomorrow, that is Thursday,
with another podcast, focusing this time on mister Jonas valanchunis
so gonna be a fun one. Stay tuned for that
one and we will talk to you then.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
So until there.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Go best thanks for listening to the New Orleans Pelicans
podcast presented by seat Geek. Join us three times per
week on pelicans dot com, the Pelicans mobile app, or
you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. We'll see
you next time right here. I'm a New Orleans Pelicans
podcast presented by seat geek
Host
Jim Eichenhofer
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