METAIRIE, La. — There's growing frustration in the New Orleans Pelicans locker room with how Zion Williamson is treated by the NBA officials.
Simply put, Williamson seemingly doesn't get foul calls that other offensive players get.
The most common explanation is that Williamson is just such a physical force that when guys slap at him or bump him, he tends to just go thru it and it doesn't look like a foul in the same way as it does with smaller players.
Former LSU great and four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal had the same complaint when he played.
In football, the Carolina Panthers said for years that then-quarterback Cam Newton didn't get the same roughing calls that other NFL signal-callers got due to his size.
That definitely could be happening to Williamson.
"I've said it a few times, the consistency for me is the main issue," Pelicans head coach Willie Green told media following the practice on Monday. "If that is a foul, it should be a foul. If they slap down and they hit your arm, it should be what it is.
"And so when I look at the stat sheet, and I see that DeRozan shoots 14 free throws and Zion only two, that's concerning. That's really concerning," continued Green referring to the discrepancies in the number of fouls committed against Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan compared to those against Williamson during the Pelicans' 114-106 loss on Sunday.
"For us, we have to continue to play through it. We have to acknowledge that we feel like it's happening. But we have to play through it. We can't allow it to stop us from going to the next play. And you know, it's gonna make us more mentally tough, but it's definitely some frustration with that."
According to Green, the Pelicans are not allowing the perceived lack of fouls that go uncalled with league officials.
"We were doing it consistently after games that we feel there were some situations that maybe you know, they need to look at," said Green when asked if the team has addressed their concerns with the league. "So, we're doing that part of it. Now, it's about us not allowing it to affect our play."
The Pelicans (34-24) play the Knicks (35-23) in New York on Tuesday.
Tipoff set for 6:30 p.m.
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