https://youtu.be/qH9rDpCmhZo
Everyone loves Zion Williamson. Including me. Just because he easily graduated from my channel doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s great. What a fun player to watch grow before our eyes. But, MAN, he’s really holding down Jaxson Hayes. It’s almost criminal. Not his fault, of course. He’s the one with the pedigree and everything, he’s just taking the minutes and touches that are provided to him. But the Pelicans have this dude Hayes on their roster, and he hardly gets to do anything because this big penguin-looking goofball is preventing him from stretching his wings and majestically taking flight like his team’s namesake.
Like I said, I think Williamson is awesome. Super cool. But he doesn’t even really dunk as much as I thought he would coming in to the league. Where are the free-throw line jams? Where are the windmills? Where are the windmill free-throw line jams? I’m disappointed that he seems content to just lay it in over and over and over. But dunking it hard and with fury is not a problem for Hayes. He’s got legit athleticism, and he’s got legit length, and every time he gets the ball, he’s thinking “how can I arrange things so that a few fractions of a second from now I’m FRICKIN’ jamming the ball through the FRICKIN’ hoop”. He’s trying to add some more stuff to his offensive repertoire this year, up to and including three-point shots, which is cool, but his bread and butter is heavy slammage.
So I’m glad that Williamson is out. Everyone can take a break from riding his jock all the time and start appreciating a bit more the true dunk king in New Orleans. Hayes can start getting legit minutes and opportunities (like he did tonight) while that fatty sits on the bench eating donuts, his face comically dusted with powdered sugar as he gazes at Hayes flying high for yet another devastating SHMUSH. And maybe as he watches that, he can feel dismay at his own diminishing athleticism, and know that his time in the league, while exciting, is coming to a quick end.