LAS VEGAS -- What did former Duke roommates Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, the first and third picks, respectively, of this year's NBA draft, show us in their first professional game against each other Friday night in the NBA summer league?
Like the rest of the rookies in action, Barrett and Williamson were playing their first competitive game since the end of their college season in March. And the night ended prematurely for both Williamson (who took a knee to his knee in the second quarter) and the game as a whole, postponed with 7 minutes, 53 seconds left because of an earthquake that shook the Thomas & Mack Center. So it's advisable not to read too much into their performance.
Nonetheless, our first look at Barrett and Williamson in the uniforms of their new teams offers a good starting point for understanding how their games will translate to the NBA. Let's take a look at what they showed.
Zion gets up, gets shot thrown back in debut
Three-plus months after his final game in a Duke uniform, Williamson appeared to have put on some weight while making the rounds as the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft. During his first stint of action for the New Orleans Pelicans, it looked as if that might slow him down. Williamson saw his shot blocked three times in the first five minutes against the New York Knicks.
When Williamson returned from the game's first timeout, the electrifying athlete who dominated college basketball last season was back in full effect. Reversing his fortunes, Williamson dunked three times in a minute and a half. He then returned from a short rest to dunk again on the team's final play of the first quarter, slipping open on a give-and-go play in the final seconds.
The Pelicans clearly intend to weaponize Williamson's dunking ability. Their first play of the game was a backdoor lob for him, which defender Kevin Knox read but was unable to defend without fouling, and two of Williamson's subsequent dunks came out of designed inbounds plays.
After starting the game at power forward, the 6-foot-7 Williamson came back as a center, changing his matchup from the 6-foot-9 Knox to 7-foot-1 New York center Mitchell Robinson. Having settled too frequently for pull-up 3s against Knox, Williamson was able to use his quickness to beat Robinson -- exceptionally quick for a 7-footer in his own right -- off the dribble. He drew a pair of shooting fouls on isolations against Robinson.
Williamson's most impressive play came on defense, when he ripped the ball away from Knox after a defensive rebound and immediately dunked it before delivering his signature flex celebration. That was the only steal credited to Williamson, but he tracked down a couple of other loose balls in the open court to set up transition opportunities.
In half-court defense, Williamson might have been a bit too eager to help off Knox, who made three 3-pointers in the first half -- albeit one of them over a strong contest by Williamson. Playing on the perimeter made it more difficult for Williamson to help protect the rim, and he did not have any blocked shots, getting called for goaltending on the one he did swat in impressive fashion.
Clearly, Williamson was playing his way back into shape. I'd expect more consistent flashes of brilliance from him if he's cleared to play again after the knee-to-knee contact.
Rough shooting night for Barrett
With multiple other ball-dominant players in Knox and Allonzo Trier, the summer Knicks aren't well designed to showcase Barrett's skills. (Unfortunately, the real Knicks roster might not do much better in this regard.) He spent much of the evening spotting up on the weak side, hands extended to catch passes that never came.
Barrett's reaction was to aggressively look for his own shot whenever he did get the ball. He attempted 18 shots in 25 minutes while handing out only a single assist. That strategy worked well in transition, where Barrett's ability to grab defensive rebounds and start the fast break will be among the most efficient sources of Knicks offense. He drew a pair of shooting fouls on grab-and-go plays, and was credited with the basket due to goaltending on one of them.
Barrett also had another strong and-1 finish through contact in the first half, though that play was the exception. All too often, Barrett took the first 3-point look available either off the dribble or in catch-and-shoot situations, and he went just 1-of-8 from the longer NBA 3-point line. His one make was an impressive pull-up score going to his off right hand. Unfortunately, the results for Barrett weren't much better in the half court when he drove. He had a tough time finishing around the rim, including a play where he did well to get to the basket but couldn't scoop in the ball.
It will be interesting to see how creative New York gets to set up Barrett. The one post-up play he ran showed potential, though Barrett was stripped clean as he went up. He also set some on-ball screens to try to get New Orleans to switch, though the Knicks didn't really look to actively exploit the resulting mismatches.
Defensively, Barrett looked more promising in the first half, fighting through on-ball screens and looking to take charges as a help defender. His energy waned in the second half, possibly attributable to fatigue. His transition defense grew lax and Barrett was no longer as active defensively in the half court. As he settles in, it will be important for Barrett to play at a high level defensively on a consistent basis -- particularly when his shots aren't falling.