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Stephen A. Smith hasn't let up on his criticism of Zion Williamson's discipline in regards to staying fit. Although the New Orleans Pelicans standout has played in 45 games this season, the outspoken TV personality didn't hesitate from taking aim at him. After the All-Star break, Williamson and the Pelicans picked up a big win on Thursday over the Houston Rockets.
Over the course of 35 minutes played, Williamson scored 27 points on 12-for-21 shooting from the field while also adding nine assists & two steals to the box score. Over the month of February, where he has played seven games, Williamson has scored 30 or more points three times.
This has led many to believe that the young standout is finding his rhythm and returning to form after playing in just 29 games last season. Despite this, Stephen A. Smith had some harsh words for Williamson on Friday morning while speaking on "Get Up" regarding the Pelicans' postseason chances.
"Zion Williamson. It's not about his game. It's about how many burgers he's eating and whether or not he's going to be in shape. Or is he to keep eating McDonald's and have chefs clamoring for him to come to their restaurants?
"That's what he has to prove, that the chefs don't love him any longer, okay? That he's committed to playing basketball and being in shape outside of that."
Looking at the New Orleans Pelicans postseason chances after Stephen A. Smith's criticism of Zion Williamson
As Stephen A. Smith explained, he believes the New Orleans Pelicans do have a chance in the postseason. However, much of their hopes rely on Williamson. When looking at the Western Conference standings, the Pelicans sit in a good position after a successful return following the All-Star break.
With a record of 34-22, the team sits in fifth place in the West. Three games behind the Denver Nuggets, who sit in fourth-place. At the same time, they sit just one game ahead of the sixth-place Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, who are tied, and 1.5 games ahead of the eighth-place Kings.
Given that the final stretch of the season will see the four teams look to create separation from one another before the postseason. With the eighth-place team forced to qualify for the postseason through the play-in tournament, the Pelicans will look to stay out of play-in contention and secure a playoff berth.
Tankathon's strength of schedule calculator, which measures the difficulty of a team's schedule based on how many games they play against teams over .500, has New Orleans sitting in 10th. After their win on Thursday, the team will play in the second leg of a back-to-back tonight against the Miami Heat.
With 26 games left on their schedule, and a logjam of teams between fifth-place and eighth-place, the stakes couldn't be higher for the Pelicans. Whether Stephen A. Smith winds up being right, and the Pelicans' hopes largely reliant on Williamson. It will be interesting to see how things play out.
