What does Zion lack (aside from health/conditioning) that stops him from doing this?

[Im Still Ballin]

Is it just how he wants to play? Or does he lack the touch and footwork to pivot/leverage his size, strength, and power in the post? He has great touch finishing around the rim off of dribble penetration. I don't know about with his back to the basket though.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2uD8l2Ra2E&ab_channel=BasketBall

[RRR3]

He's pretty amazing when he actually plays and they run the offense completely through him, I don't think he needs to change anything about his style in order to be a monster offensively, they just need him to be healthy and to stop letting guys like Ingram and McCollum hijack the offense from him. Neither happen very often though.

[Charlie Sheen]

Is it just how he wants to play? Or does he lack the touch and footwork to pivot/leverage his size, strength, and power in the post? He has great touch finishing around the rim off of dribble penetration. I don't know about with his back to the basket though.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2uD8l2Ra2E&ab_channel=BasketBall

two things that stand out working back to the basket

One zion does not have anything like Barkley's up & under. Two Barkley creates separation lowering the degree of difficulty where I want to say Zion is jumping into the defender when they are in that position with the defender on the shoulder before going up for the field goal.

[tomtucker]

please stop posting zion threads.
everytime i see his name i have to go to pornhub and watch his babymama get railed by hung white dudes.

and i get kicked out of the library every time! :(

[ArbitraryWater]

please stop posting zion threads.
everytime i see his name i have to go to pornhub and watch his babymama get railed by hung white dudes.

and i get kicked out of the library every time! :(


Ahahaha tommiee!!

Nothing like an OG tomtucker zinger

[Im Still Ballin]

two things that stand out working back to the basket

One zion does not have anything like Barkley's up & under. Two Barkley creates separation lowering the degree of difficulty where I want to say Zion is jumping into the defender when they are in that position with the defender on the shoulder before going up for the field goal.

It's a shame no one taught his ass fundamental post-up play. He could be scoring the easiest baskets of his life if he knew how to play with his back to the basket.

Pascal Siakam kills dudes down low with a great pivot game. Zion may not be as tall, long, or have as much shooting range, but he's bigger, stronger, and more powerful. No reason why he can't cook fools too.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKH7DNGAcbI&ab_channel=IntuitionHoopsTwo

2023-24 Pascal Siakam post-up:
- 2.7 possessions per game (215 possessions) [tied 13th most]
- 1.12 points per possession (240 points) [6th most for players with at least 2.0 possessions per game]

2024-25 Pascal Siakam post-up:
- 3.7 possessions per game [4th most excluding Embiid]
- 1.11 points per possession [5th for players with at least 2.0 possessions per game]

2023-24 Zion also used 2.7 post-up possessions per game but only scored at 0.89 ppp. There's definitely potential there because he did 1.04 ppp on 3.5 possessions in 2020-21 which was his best season.

[Druckenmiller]

All you need to do to understand the difference between the two is to look at the rebound numbers.

Barkley had the kind of will and intensity inside of him that Zion has never had and will never haves dude couldn’t average fewer rebounds for his size, strength and athleticism if he tried. He has no motor, no will. He doesn’t want a rebound, he’d rather run away from a scrum in the paint.

That mindset defines everything about him as a player. The end.

[Charlie Sheen]

It's a shame no one taught his ass fundamental post-up play. He could be scoring the easiest baskets of his life if he knew how to play with his back to the basket.

Pascal Siakam kills dudes down low with a great pivot game. Zion may not be as tall, long, or have as much shooting range, but he's bigger, stronger, and more powerful. No reason why he can't cook fools too.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKH7DNGAcbI&ab_channel=IntuitionHoopsTwo

2023-24 Pascal Siakam post-up:
- 2.7 possessions per game (215 possessions) [tied 13th most]
- 1.12 points per possession (240 points) [6th most for players with at least 2.0 possessions per game]

2024-25 Pascal Siakam post-up:
- 3.7 possessions per game [4th most excluding Embiid]
- 1.11 points per possession [5th for players with at least 2.0 possessions per game]

2023-24 Zion also used 2.7 post-up possessions per game but only scored at 0.89 ppp. There's definitely potential there because he did 1.04 ppp on 3.5 possessions in 2020-21 which was his best season.

I realize that is a highlight video but a lot of good stuff going on there... spatial awareness and patience

Siakam will face up and take one dribble before putting the defender on his back. This helps him in two ways...he is seeing the coverage before he goes to work and he gains a better position without having to fight for it. Liking how he will reset to the entry passer when that is where the help is coming from. He has a real good feel for the baseline move. It is not an accident he is catching these defenders flat footed on his spin. Same principle as a perimeter player working to shift the defender's weight to their advantage before the blow by.

[Im Still Ballin]

I realize that is a highlight video but a lot of good stuff going on there... spatial awareness and patience

Siakam will face up and take one dribble before putting the defender on his back. This helps him in two ways...he is seeing the coverage before he goes to work and he gains a better position without having to fight for it. Liking how he will reset to the entry passer when that is where the help is coming from. He has a real good feel for the baseline move. It is not an accident he is catching these defenders flat footed on his spin. Same principle as a perimeter player working to shift the defender's weight to their advantage before the blow by.

It's refreshing to see a guy see the opportunity of the post-up game and feast off of it. He was statistically the best post-up player in the playoffs last season too:

2023-24 playoffs Pascal Siakam post-up:
- 3.2 possessions per game [2nd for players who played more than 7 games]
- 1.36 points per possession [1st for players with at least 1.2 possessions per game]

[AussieSteve]

Barkley was ATG around the basket.

Asking why another player is not as good as him is silly. Very few players will ever be.

[Im Still Ballin]

Barkley was ATG around the basket.

Asking why another player is not as good as him is silly. Very few players will ever be.

I mean, Zion isn't just "another player." Very few players can compare physically to Barkley and Williamson is one of them. The comparison is very apt.