Duke basketball: Zion Williamson proving NBA competition is too easy

Former Duke basketball standout Zion Williamson is proving NBA competition is too easy. 

Those who tried to say former Duke basketball superstar Zion Williamson wouldn’t have immediate success in the NBA have been very quiet as the former Blue Devil is dominating at the professional level.

Williamson’s most recent outing was a 38-point performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-34) on Sunday night as the New Orleans Pelicans (24-29) won their second straight game, 116-109.

The former No. 1 overall pick also added nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks on 16-of-22 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line to his stat line.

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Since being named to his first NBA All-Star Game, Williamson has played in 14 games and scored at least 23 points in 13 of those games, with his only bad performance coming in a blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets on April 7.

Williamson scored 16 points in the 28-point loss, in which eight points came from the free throw line.

However, Williamson has 30 points or more in six of the games following the break, with his career-high coming against the Denver Nuggets with 39 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal on 16-of-19 shooting and making his lone 3-point attempt.

Duke basketball superstar needs help from teammates

Despite Zion Williamson’s incredible recent performances, he needs help from his teammates in order for the Pelicans to reach the Play-In Round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

New Orleans currently sits as the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference, one game behind the Golden State Warriors (25-28) for the elusive No. 10 seed in the conference.

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Zion Williamson is averaging 26.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 62.0-percent from the floor in his second NBA season but his first full season in the association after his rookie campaign was derailed by injuries and the COVID-19 pause.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson return to the court on Monday, April 12 against the Sacramento Kings (22-31) at 9:00pm EST.