Stephen A Smith Took More Shots At Zion Williamson's Weight So The Pelicans Twitter Account Came Back With A Haymaker Of Their Own

Layne Murdoch Jr.. Getty Images.

Of all the storylines of the 2023-24 NBA season, one that I feel like we're not really talking about is the fact that for the first time in forever, Zion Williamson has consistently been on the court. That's a pretty big deal given his injury history, and after last night he's already hit the 45 games played mark (played just 29 last year).

That's partly why the Pelicans have been a sneaky under the radar team out West. They've currently on 4 in a row and sit at 34-22 which is good for 5th in the West, trailing the Nuggets by just 3 games. Given how deep their roster is, they're definitely a team that you should not be overlooking as we approach the playoffs, especially if that means a healthy Zion. As a reminder of what that looks like, his performance last night against the Rockets is a pretty good example

27/9 on 12-21 in his 35 minutes, Zion looked great. Surely that would be the story today right?

Ha, you fools. Not according to Stephan A!

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but the whole Zion is fat thing is a little played out at this point. Especially coming off one of his better games of the season, why is that the talking point? Yes, we all know that for Zion to be at his best, he needs to be in shape. Welcome to the world. But his weight/conditioning hasn't really been an issue this season compared to previous years, and it just feels like piling on at this point. It's the low hanging fruit that Zion refuses to eat, and for some reason Stephen A can't get over it.

As we saw with the whole JJ Redick/Pat Bev beef, you'd be silly to think that the Pelicans were going to just let this slide. In 2024, that means one thing. You punch back on Twitter

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We've seen this move before with another ESPN talking head, so I appreciated the call back. Remember when Jalen Rose did this same thing to Skip Bayless all those years ago?

Some may think this is corny, but I'm all for it. That's called sticking up for your guy where I'm from. I'm not sure what it has to do with Stephen A's overall point, but it's still funny which is truly what I care about. If you choose to put your energy towards comments like that coming off the heels of the type of game Zion just played, everything is fair game in my opinion. 

It also should be mentioned that this entire rant/dialog is coming immediately after JJ Redick basically called out First Take and ESPN for that exact type of discourse. Why talk about the product on the court when you can just make some Zion is fat comments and go viral? Stephen A basically proved JJ right and it only took 2 days.

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Honestly this is something I think we could use more of. Team social accounts are pretty vanilla for the most part, so when we get one that is ready to get into the internet mud and punch back when someone gets a little out of pocket on TV, I consider that a good thing.

I'm also not kidding about the Pelicans/their potential playoff run either. Do yourself and watch more Pelicans games if you haven't been so far this season. They have a point differential of a top 4 seed (+4.5), and if they remain healthy they could absolutely be a tough out regardless of who they're matched up with. Especially if we're going to be getting a healthy and revamped Point Zion. That guy is still very much a monster.