Zion Williamson apparently heard all of the criticism about him and responded on Monday night.
The New Orleans Pelicans big man lit up the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night and scored 36 points in a big 121-107 win.
There may be many reasons for Williamson’s strong showing but many people are pointing out that it came just days after the Los Angeles Lakers utterly embarrassed him and the Pelicans.
Speaking to Rod Walker, Pelicans teammate CJ McCollum stood up for Williamson.
“You saw the response tonight,” McCollum said about Williamson’s performance.
“You saw the response tonight.” CJ McCollum on Zion Williamson.
Zion faced both 4 days worth of criticism and Rudy Gobert and handled them both….
My column from Monday night in the Smoothie King Center
https://t.co/QxvcdSwZ60— Rod Walker (@RodWalkerNola) December 12, 2023
Through all his ups and downs, Williamson has always had substantial support from teammates like McCollum and others.
They know the power and potential that Williamson has and they are certain that he can show it.
For most of the season, Williamson has indeed looked quite good and has averaged 22.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.
But there have also been claims of him not playing well enough and being inconsistent.
Those claims were very loud last week after the Lakers eliminated the Pelicans from the In-Season Tournament and Williamson had a very weak game.
Then there were reports that the Pelicans front office was unhappy with Williamson’s physicality and the way that he was taking care of his body.
In short, he had a very bad weekend full of negative press.
McCollum claims that Williamson’s game on Monday was a direct response to that.
If that’s the case, Pelicans fans are hoping he pays attention to bad press more often because they need Williamson to play like this for the rest of the season.
The team is currently trying to climb higher in the standings and continue a strong run of games that was interrupted by their loss to the Lakers.
Williamson will, of course, be at the center of any success or failure for the team.
NEXT: Zion Williamson Has A Message For 2 NBA Legends Criticizing Him
