It was revealed that the Pelicans asked Zion to control his diet and physical fitness, but the latter refused, and he faced Emperor Zhan five times in his career, and all of them were defeated
On December 9, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued. Earlier today, prominent journalist Christian Clark revealed that Zion refused to listen to the Pelicans' advice on his diet.
So far this season, the Pelicans have played a total of 23 games, and Zion has played in 19 of them. That's been a very good attendance rate for Zion's entire career. It is important to know that prior to this season, Zion's most appearances in a single season was 61 in 2020-21, and he missed 200 of his 314 career games with a whopping 63.7% absenteeism. He was completely absent in 2021-22 and made just 29 appearances last season.
Christian Clark said in the interview that the Pelicans have repeatedly stressed to Zion that he should improve his diet and fitness, but Zion still reportedly did not listen to the Pelicans. Currently, Zion's official height is 1.98m, while his weight is 129kg.
In yesterday's midseason Western Conference Finals, the Pelicans lost 89-133 to the Lakers and missed out on advancing to the midseason finals. Tin had 13 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists on 6-of-8 shooting, and it's worth mentioning that Zion made 1-of-6 free throws in yesterday's game. He reflected after the game, saying he had to be better and more aggressive, and said he wasn't good enough on the defensive end.
Interestingly, Zion has played against James five times since entering the NBA, and he has lost all of them. In these five encounters, the comparison of the two statistics is as follows:
James: Averaged 29 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game, shooting 59% from the field, 42% from three-point range, 88% from the free throw line, and 69.3% from the true field;
Zion: Averaged 25 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, shooting 56% from the field, 0% from three-point range, 59.6% from the free throw line, and 59.6% from the true field.
According to the schedule, the Pelicans will host the league-leading Timberwolves on December 12.