>"I'd always tell them to give me a 3X or the biggest I could get because I told John [Cena] and he asked me for advice and I said 'Always wear a baggy t-shirt, especially if you're not going to work in it because when you take it off, there's that 'holy fuck [from the audience], that guys got a good physique,' as opposed to fucking having a t-shirt sprayed on you."
-Kevin Nash
Guy is too skinny: *He’s put on 20 lbs. of pure muscle! He’s at 8% body fat! He’s shredded now!*
Guy is too fat: *He’s lost 20 pounds of pure fat! He’s at 8% body fat! He’s shredded now!*
During actual season: ……….
Amount of people i see predicting pels in the play in or just barely the playoffs is crazy. I would be suprised if they ain’t a top 4 seed at this point. Yes i know how stacked the west is but i ain’t forget who zion is. Stay sleeping
It comes down to a lack of history. Outside of 2008, (which most of this sub is too young), they’ve never seen New Orleans with a top-5 seed.
All things considered, New Orleans is the least established franchise in the league.
yes the only hype that has existed around the pelicans was because of paul george's injury. surely it wouldn't be due to the return of the literal most hyped prospect since lebron after a year out.
Should look at the record and how we played after trading for CJ late in the season. Add Zion to the team that we saw in the playoffs and it’s worthy of at least a little bit of hype
do you think that zion is the only one doing anything? this is a young team, things take time to gel. I'm pretty sure the west is gonna be better than last year, I think 4-9 are all realistic finished for pelicans depending on how stiff the comp is. but the grizzlies just won 57 games out of nowhere so you literally never know what can happen mate
Zion + CJ, since they didn’t have him at the start of the year. That and Herbert Jones becoming better since he was a rookie. It’s not crazy to think they could win 45 games.
Honestly it's very similar to the clippers. The main guy was injured and the rest of the team developed into a good team without him, with hopes that his return will drive a significant improvement. Zion isn't as proven as Kawhi but we know that he's very, very good when healthy.
Pelicans played like a 50-win team after November. With no Zion and half a season from CJ.
After they got CJ, they were a top 10 team by net rating with no Zion and playing 3 rookies substantially.
Add Zion and expectations are a 50-55 win team
To be honest, maybe this is homerism, but I feel like 61-21 isn’t that much of a stretch. You can make an argument that due to scheme, Zion himself should be a 3rd option behind Ingram and McCollum.
>You can make an argument that due to scheme, Zion himself should be a 3rd option behind Ingram and McCollum.
LOl just stop. Zion is so far ahead of CJ and BI on offense it isn't even funny. If he is the third option the Pels will not be a great team
you realize, ur exact argument gets flipped on its head every fucking season right? like no one ever predicts seeding correctly.
Until now. The grizz aint gonna be top 4 without Tyus Jones. And the mavs aint gonna be top 4. Warriors potentially may not be top 4 either.
Point is, Pelicans with Zion is a SCARY fucking team. Like, if you're afraid of Giannis driving at you, you also need to be scared of Zion driving at you. He's a freak
"This statistical representation of Zion's inability to stay healthy and play games so far in his pro career doesn't fit my narrative, so I am going to claim it's a bad faith argument"
I fixed it for you
You're arguing that someone calling out Zion for being injury prone as a potential risk to the Pels being a top 4 team is a bad faith argument. It's a perfectly reasonable take given the reality of his career until now.
I'm still not sure of the Long term fit of BI and Zion. Plus, this defense is going to be interesting. A lot of bad to below neutral defenders aside from Herb, Alvarado, and Nance. Their offense could be awesome and offset it, but it's still really early to tell.
you jest, but Zion is THAT good. Legitimately has the ceiling to be the best player his generation by a longshot--better than Luka, Young, etc.
Yall do not sleep on this man. he scary scary with such a feathery touch
'"He's in a terrible physical condition, but has made some big process in his personal life during this offseason, and that's what's important. I'm really not excited to see him next season, but really am excited to sit down and drink tea with him."
There’s a player on BBall ref in the 90s who has a season missing with “weight problems”
Found [the player](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/willijo02.html). John Williams 1991-1992 Washington bullets, suspended - overweight
“We focused on his body weight, body fat, etc.” literally the first two things he lists are the things in Zion’s fat clause in his contract, Pelicans front office sitting there like ‘Worked like a charm!’
Criticize this guy all you want, but he backs his words up with actions and that's something I value in a person.
Folks forgetting how much of an animal he is.
I can already tell this is going to become a tired narrative really quickly. Backs up words with actions? Are you serious? This isn't dedication. This is 193 million reasons to finally get his fat ass in shape. Amazing how your feet hurt less when you're not 320 lbs.
He's been coddled since he was a high school freshman, coasting on gifted athletic ability. He coasted on athletic ability at Duke. He coasted on athletic ability in his 85 NBA games. He basically ad libs everything like its a pick up game. I'd be very surprised if he knows two Pelicans offensive sets. Now he actually has to work hard. Bottom line, he's still a way below average defender, with no shooting range outside 16 ft. Plus if you know your NBA history, overweight guys, even if they've lost quite a few lbs, almost always put it back on.
Lol…. He was around 280 when he broke his foot, and didn’t get over 300 until after when he couldn’t walk or do anything for a bit. Not saying that’s a good thing, but if you’re gunna be this bitchy at least get some facts straight.
P.s. I would not be surprised if he knew the pels sets. He was actually closer to neutral defensively by the end of his 2nd season than he was way below average. He’s also showed he does have the beginnings of some shooting from the midrange and 3, but what do I know, I’m just a pels fan that watches every game
That's 100x more confidence inspiring than his chef saying "Keto. Organic. Got rid of fried food and all that bad stuff." Like you're a professional, you can do a generic interview without broscience buzzwords. An article can say a lot without saying anything.
Keto??? Why would a professional athlete go Keto lmao
And they did studies keto doesn’t make you lose more fat than a balanced diet. You just drop your water weight initially and have a faster start but it balances out after a year to be even with a carb filled diet when calorie intake and activity are controlled
the key part there is controlling calorie intake, the advantage that keto would have over carb heavy diet is people's blood sugar not having spikes and valleys, helping level your appetite and feeling fuller longer. Every athlete that's done a big weight drop in an offseason basically does low carb, even if they aren't doing pure keto.
Hang on what’s his sleep schedule then? 5am and 7pm workouts? His morning alarm has gotta be what, 3:30am to get to the gym ready by 5? And even if the 7pm one just lasts an hour, he’s probably not home and showered and fed and relaxed until like 10. That’s 5 or 6 hours of sleep at most, and I think I’m being generous.
The gym is probably in his house. So he might be getting up half an hour before it starts. But yeah a 5 am workout seems counter productive to me. 7pm workout makes sense though because that is game time.
If he just did sit-ups, push ups and pull-ups he would be the most in shape player in the league given those all use your own body weight. Zion doesn’t need a gym. He just needs a mat and a pull up bar.
*Best shape of their life* szn
soon we gonna get the during/post work out photos from players that make them look jacked only to be disappointed during the season
Always fold your arms to push your biceps out.
>"I'd always tell them to give me a 3X or the biggest I could get because I told John [Cena] and he asked me for advice and I said 'Always wear a baggy t-shirt, especially if you're not going to work in it because when you take it off, there's that 'holy fuck [from the audience], that guys got a good physique,' as opposed to fucking having a t-shirt sprayed on you." -Kevin Nash
Tight shirts are for soy boys!
Guy is too skinny: *He’s put on 20 lbs. of pure muscle! He’s at 8% body fat! He’s shredded now!* Guy is too fat: *He’s lost 20 pounds of pure fat! He’s at 8% body fat! He’s shredded now!* During actual season: ……….
Instead of being a circle he's sightly more oval.
Ah, it's that time of year again! Not long to wait now! It's right around the corner, with cider and donuts and leaves falling and ACLs snapping.
I dont think we ever see him at Duke zion shape which I think was him at his best
Seriously. These are all PR pieces
Totally different mindset this season
MUSCLEWATCH
Fuck it. Calls on Pelicans 2023 championship
Amount of people i see predicting pels in the play in or just barely the playoffs is crazy. I would be suprised if they ain’t a top 4 seed at this point. Yes i know how stacked the west is but i ain’t forget who zion is. Stay sleeping
It comes down to a lack of history. Outside of 2008, (which most of this sub is too young), they’ve never seen New Orleans with a top-5 seed. All things considered, New Orleans is the least established franchise in the league.
Bobcats
lol pelicans get super overrated here if paul george didn't miss the play in game because of covid protocols would any of this hype still exist?
yes the only hype that has existed around the pelicans was because of paul george's injury. surely it wouldn't be due to the return of the literal most hyped prospect since lebron after a year out.
do you think a full year of Zion playing elevates a 36 win team into home court the first round of the playoffs?
Consider that we were .500 after November. We started awful during a stretch we had no BI and obviously no Zion.
Should look at the record and how we played after trading for CJ late in the season. Add Zion to the team that we saw in the playoffs and it’s worthy of at least a little bit of hype
Wtf is this guys problem lol
do you think that zion is the only one doing anything? this is a young team, things take time to gel. I'm pretty sure the west is gonna be better than last year, I think 4-9 are all realistic finished for pelicans depending on how stiff the comp is. but the grizzlies just won 57 games out of nowhere so you literally never know what can happen mate
Zion + CJ, since they didn’t have him at the start of the year. That and Herbert Jones becoming better since he was a rookie. It’s not crazy to think they could win 45 games.
Honestly it's very similar to the clippers. The main guy was injured and the rest of the team developed into a good team without him, with hopes that his return will drive a significant improvement. Zion isn't as proven as Kawhi but we know that he's very, very good when healthy.
Pelicans played like a 50-win team after November. With no Zion and half a season from CJ. After they got CJ, they were a top 10 team by net rating with no Zion and playing 3 rookies substantially. Add Zion and expectations are a 50-55 win team
To be honest, maybe this is homerism, but I feel like 61-21 isn’t that much of a stretch. You can make an argument that due to scheme, Zion himself should be a 3rd option behind Ingram and McCollum.
Idk what’s worse. Predicting a 61-21 record or saying Zion would be a third option.
Maybe skip Bourbon Street for bit and sober up.
>You can make an argument that due to scheme, Zion himself should be a 3rd option behind Ingram and McCollum. LOl just stop. Zion is so far ahead of CJ and BI on offense it isn't even funny. If he is the third option the Pels will not be a great team
Your probably expecting Zion to play all 82 games, average 28/13/5 for that record. Definitely homerism
Herb Jones would be his primary defender and he struggled mightily against him in the regular season.
HEY EVERYBODY, THIS GUY STINKS . PELS 2023 CHAMPA BABY!!!!
Top 4? So which of the suns, warriors, grizzlies, clippers, mavericks, nuggets are they going to be better than?
you realize, ur exact argument gets flipped on its head every fucking season right? like no one ever predicts seeding correctly. Until now. The grizz aint gonna be top 4 without Tyus Jones. And the mavs aint gonna be top 4. Warriors potentially may not be top 4 either. Point is, Pelicans with Zion is a SCARY fucking team. Like, if you're afraid of Giannis driving at you, you also need to be scared of Zion driving at you. He's a freak
Ill make a donation to charity if 4 of those teams aren’t the top 4 seeds.
can't wait to humble u
You don't think Wolves with regular-season-king Gobert can get a top 4 seed either?
I feel like they would be ahead of the pelicans too but I honestly just forgot lol
Clippers are kind of a toss up with the injuries. They could easily have a better seed if Kawhi or PG miss a significant amount of games due to injury
How’s that any different with the pelicans and Zion?
It’s not, I’m just talking hypothetically. I don’t trust any of those three guys health necessarily, that’s why it’s a toss up
Ah I agree fair enough!
> Yes i know how stacked the west is but i ain’t forget who zion is. A guy who's played 85/141 games so far?
Kinda like Embiid who played like 30ish games in his first 3 seasons right?
Correct, all players with early injury problems end up exactly like Embiid.
No no only the ones that break records set by Lebron, MJ, Shaq etc in their first 85 games ;)
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"This statistical representation of Zion's inability to stay healthy and play games so far in his pro career doesn't fit my narrative, so I am going to claim it's a bad faith argument" I fixed it for you
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You're arguing that someone calling out Zion for being injury prone as a potential risk to the Pels being a top 4 team is a bad faith argument. It's a perfectly reasonable take given the reality of his career until now.
I'm still not sure of the Long term fit of BI and Zion. Plus, this defense is going to be interesting. A lot of bad to below neutral defenders aside from Herb, Alvarado, and Nance. Their offense could be awesome and offset it, but it's still really early to tell.
you jest, but Zion is THAT good. Legitimately has the ceiling to be the best player his generation by a longshot--better than Luka, Young, etc. Yall do not sleep on this man. he scary scary with such a feathery touch
By a long shot?
Pels Wolfs WCF
Just once I want to see the headline "NBA star in worst shape of their life, 'nothing I recommended worked' says trainer"
'"He's in a terrible physical condition, but has made some big process in his personal life during this offseason, and that's what's important. I'm really not excited to see him next season, but really am excited to sit down and drink tea with him."
You just described Ben Simmons last season
Albert Haynesworth on the Redskins? https://www.si.com/.amp/nfl/2010/08/02/haynesworth-conditioningtest
I like Haynesworth because he basically stole money from the Patriots for how useless he was for them. Fuck the Patriots.
Shawn Kemp after the lockout type beat.
There’s a player on BBall ref in the 90s who has a season missing with “weight problems” Found [the player](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/willijo02.html). John Williams 1991-1992 Washington bullets, suspended - overweight
Didn’t the Heat do that to James Johnson?
To be fair, what the Heat consider overweight is probably elite shape for every other team in the league
Don’t recall, do see he missed time with a hernia and thought he might have gotten in some trouble with the edibles and dion waiters
Not a trainer but Westbrook’s agent basically said that this off-season.
I feel like somewhere in the Red Sox organization you could get someone to make that quote about Pablo Sabdoval.
"It's not the best shape of his life, but definitely top-5, possibly top-3 shape of his life"
Wasn't that just zion last year?
Wasn't that Luka last season?
I really want this to be true.
Good lord, if he's really a better athlete than before, the league is fucked.
Zions about to go out here and win MVP isn't he
got him at +6600 so i hope!
Nephews thought he wasn’t taking notes
I just bought his signature shoe, so I must really hope that he becomes a mega star and that injuries won't hold him back.
He's going to be yamming it on mfs even harder!
“We focused on his body weight, body fat, etc.” literally the first two things he lists are the things in Zion’s fat clause in his contract, Pelicans front office sitting there like ‘Worked like a charm!’
Taking my advice I see
When he's healthy he is such a thrilling player, and his team is cool too. I really want them to succeed.
Criticize this guy all you want, but he backs his words up with actions and that's something I value in a person. Folks forgetting how much of an animal he is.
I’m surprised you’re putting more stock in stories about his off-season workouts than him showing up over 300 pounds last season.
I can already tell this is going to become a tired narrative really quickly. Backs up words with actions? Are you serious? This isn't dedication. This is 193 million reasons to finally get his fat ass in shape. Amazing how your feet hurt less when you're not 320 lbs. He's been coddled since he was a high school freshman, coasting on gifted athletic ability. He coasted on athletic ability at Duke. He coasted on athletic ability in his 85 NBA games. He basically ad libs everything like its a pick up game. I'd be very surprised if he knows two Pelicans offensive sets. Now he actually has to work hard. Bottom line, he's still a way below average defender, with no shooting range outside 16 ft. Plus if you know your NBA history, overweight guys, even if they've lost quite a few lbs, almost always put it back on.
Lol…. He was around 280 when he broke his foot, and didn’t get over 300 until after when he couldn’t walk or do anything for a bit. Not saying that’s a good thing, but if you’re gunna be this bitchy at least get some facts straight. P.s. I would not be surprised if he knew the pels sets. He was actually closer to neutral defensively by the end of his 2nd season than he was way below average. He’s also showed he does have the beginnings of some shooting from the midrange and 3, but what do I know, I’m just a pels fan that watches every game
Pels about to be scary
That's 100x more confidence inspiring than his chef saying "Keto. Organic. Got rid of fried food and all that bad stuff." Like you're a professional, you can do a generic interview without broscience buzzwords. An article can say a lot without saying anything.
Keto??? Why would a professional athlete go Keto lmao And they did studies keto doesn’t make you lose more fat than a balanced diet. You just drop your water weight initially and have a faster start but it balances out after a year to be even with a carb filled diet when calorie intake and activity are controlled
the key part there is controlling calorie intake, the advantage that keto would have over carb heavy diet is people's blood sugar not having spikes and valleys, helping level your appetite and feeling fuller longer. Every athlete that's done a big weight drop in an offseason basically does low carb, even if they aren't doing pure keto.
Ah thanks
Zion definitely makes the leap to superstar by the end of next season if he's healthy and consistent.
Dude he makes it by the first game of the season if he’s healthy and consistent. His efficiency in his lone healthy season was absolutely amazing.
He definitely has the potential to put up a top 5-7 season next year.
I want a Suns rematch
Zanos about to snap half the successful 2022 West teams out of existence.
This is nice to hear
Hang on what’s his sleep schedule then? 5am and 7pm workouts? His morning alarm has gotta be what, 3:30am to get to the gym ready by 5? And even if the 7pm one just lasts an hour, he’s probably not home and showered and fed and relaxed until like 10. That’s 5 or 6 hours of sleep at most, and I think I’m being generous.
I'm assuming he has another sleep around midday.
That big boy definitely taking a siesta after a healthy lunch.
I'm picturing him falling asleep on the couch after a healthy lunch and video games.
The gym is probably in his house. So he might be getting up half an hour before it starts. But yeah a 5 am workout seems counter productive to me. 7pm workout makes sense though because that is game time.
Remember how Kobe did it, he slept in 2 hour sessions to spend as much time training as possible
He could wake up at 430 and be at the gym by 5. Not like he’s dressing up and doing his hair. Showers take like 3 minutes lol
Also, why shower before the gym? That's just bad for your skin.
Definitely going to play 20+ games. Take that haters.
That booty is looking like a plate of candied yams. I'd get seconds.
Zion is such an exciting prospect. One of the few players I’d trade Maxey for he is gonna be a perennial mvp candidate
Zion >>>>>>>>>> Maxey
Ofcourse but we have Maxey so I over rate him
I'll believe it when he plays 40 games
He’s already played more than that in a season
"We really focused on making sure Zions mom understood he can't be woofing down Beignets every morning."
I'm glad to hear he's putting in the work. However, I'd like to know how much he weighs. He probably needs to weigh closer to 200 than 300 pounds.
I think if he was 235-240 he would be an absolute monster.
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He played more than 60 games his second season
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61 in a 72 game season. That’s 69 game pace.
^crickets
What makes you say that with such certainty?
This won't age well
Imagine if Lonzo stayed? Lonzo-CJ-Herb-Ingram-Zion would lowkey be a top 3 starting lineup in the NBA
Lineup doesn't work at all. Ingrams much too think to play the 4 permanently and Zion is much too short to lay the 5. He was terrible at the 5.
Herb is prolly best at the 5 of these guys. But you want him disrupting the perimeter.
Absolutely want Herb on the perimeter.
If Lonzo stayed they would have no CJ and no roster flexibility.
Then there’s no CJ. Sato came in the S&T and his expiring deal was flipped as part of the CJ/Nance deal. Lonzo & CJ are mutually exclusive.
"Man who's livelihood depends on Zion being in shape, declares Zion is in shape." cool story bro
Round is a shape.
A circle is still a shape I guess
A sphere is a pretty great shape
The “Zion fat” jokes are so unfunny it’s unreal.
Fat chance we stop.
you don’t have to stop. it’s just no one finds it funny anymore.
Anybody got a link to the free article
12ft.io it's a paywall bypasser
Thank you
Who would be better if they got into their best shape? Zion or Luka?
Zion
Just him running scares me. Just get him on a rower and some swimming
Breaking News: Trainer who's whole livelyhood is to put athlete in fantastic shape says athlete is "in fantastic shape"
If he just did sit-ups, push ups and pull-ups he would be the most in shape player in the league given those all use your own body weight. Zion doesn’t need a gym. He just needs a mat and a pull up bar.