Angle Fantasy Basketball

It is another edition of A New Angle! Before we get into discussing Zion and AD we must discuss the In Season Tournament Finals matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers vs the Indiana Pacers. Props to the NBA for making this feel exactly like March Madness when a Cinderella team confronts a powerhouse blue blood program in the latter rounds. Tyrese Haliburton is currently a nationally beloved underdog much like Doug Edert from St. Peter’s famous tournament run in 2022. Now compared to Lebron, who feels like he’s the nation’s top recruit on a stacked Kentucky team. The excitement is palpable. Props to you Silver, you got this one right! 

SIGNS OF A RETURN TO FORM?

There were signs that Zion had started to prove me and many other journalists and analysts wrong. In an earlier edition of “A New Angle” I pointed out how the Zion we see today is a diminished product, which could be a result of the many injuries as well as a strategy to try to avoid injuries. However, it appears the majority of the concerns for Zion were in the mental part of the game. After a team meeting 8 games into the season where the Pelicans and Zion voiced their frustration it really seems Zion has begun to raise his game which has had a winning effect in New Orleans. In the eight games he played before the team meeting, Williamson was averaging what would have been career-low numbers: 21.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. His field goal percentage and free throw percentage were down as well. In the nine games he has played since, those stats are up to 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game with a 10% increase in field goal percentage and free throw percentage — This looks much more like the Zion of old. As Williamson’s performance has improved, so has the Pelicans’. They’re 7-2 in the last nine games Williamson has played (7-4 in total since the meeting), despite being without CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III in most of those games. They also made the Semi Finals of the In Season Tournament. 

The fix was Zion making his shots by better establishing his feet and body when taking his shots in order to make them more efficient. His passing within his driving game has improved a lot as well. It appears many of his early-season problems were merely due to being away from the game for such a long time from previous injuries. We saw Williamson go through a similar ramping-up process at the start of last season. It took him about 8 -10 games to start feeling like himself. Then, he took off before his season-ending hamstring injury in early January. Conditioning is a huge part of Zion’s success. Like Houston Harden or early Luka, Zion appears to be one of those “play his way into shape” types of players. This is further evidenced by New Orleans openly complaining this week that Zion ignores the team’s fitness and diet advice and requests. If this version of Zion actually is still diminished then one must wonder how he will be if his body manages to hold up after completely playing his way into game shape. 

ADISNEY

Anthony Davis is having a monster year in regards to 9 category fantasy basketball. In Yahoo he ranks 3rd for the season in totals and 5th in averages. Yes I’m well aware that fantasy rankings aren’t the tell all for fantasy value, but we still need to take a look at why AD is having an All NBA caliber season. It comes down to improvements in three areas; blocks, rebounds and free throw percentage. Last season was Davis’ first since he was in New Orleans where he averaged more than 11 rebounds per game. He has managed so far to replicate his 12.5 rebounds per game last season with 12.7 this season. Now comes the improvements. First off is blocks, which have increased almost two percent from last season to be at 6.8% of all opponent 2pt field goal attempts getting blocked by AD. The massive improvement is in his free throws. Davis has shown the tendency over the years to fluctuate from the 80% range to the low 70% range at the charity stripe. This season, Davis is shooting 83.7% from the line on 6.7 attempts per game. Fantasy rankings tend to heavily favor those with good free throw percentage on high volume. Offensively, AD has actually been more passive. His points per game are down from last year, which coincides with his usage rate decreasing by almost 3%! However, his assist rate has improved by 2% from last year to be at 15% of teammates scoring plays coming from an AD assist. AD has always been a good 9 category player, but the stat set this year is something that can fit any build regardless of punt and contribute at an elite level.