Riley always had his players swole and ripped. It's either terrifying thinking of Zion that way or an even faster route to early career ending injury.
There are no 30 year old superstars with these attributes. IMO he's 2-3 years late getting game experience and refining his game. He'll get away with it for the next few years but he has a lot of work to do.
There has been a ton of research on it and it's really not looking good for him. Phx actually has one of the best training staffs in the entire NBA and I would imagine they could fix him better than a team like NO. Take the knee for one example, it's what you would call a "dumb joint". It hinges like a door without any rotation. Everytime he moves his knees are doing things they are not designed to do (mostly laterally). There's movements in the kinetic chain that are more harmful than others, but Zions lower extremity has breaks in just about every single way you can break a kinetic chain (ankle/knee/hip complexes). It hasn't stopped him from being explosive, which is actually worse for his joints. He really should continue to take extra time off and fix this if he wants to have a career beyond this contract. I'd estimate it would take over 6 months to come close to fixing his biomechanics, but could actually help him reach his potential more than just a 20 lb weight loss program.
For a man that likes to eat, Houston would be a bad place to go on a diet. Every time I visit, I come back 5 lbs heavier.
Okay, so I've been watching Zion just like everyone since before the draft. I've always thought his biomechanics will cause him to have an injury plagued career (have posted that since the start)... But there's something interesting I see for the first time in Zions career... improved quality of movement. I'm sure in this video a lot of other things will stand out... like... casually doing a 360 with flare. But there's something a thousand times more important here... his walk. It's not perfect, but it's so much better in this video. Maybe it's just the angle, but his lower extremities are aligned and there's not a whole lot of breaks in the kinetic chain. If you're a fan of Zion and believe in him this is great news. My biggest reason for not believing in Zion has been his movement quality paired with his explosiveness and weight. That has been a formula for, well..you see how his career has gone so far. We might be looking at a legit comeback here... I'll be paying attention to more videos of him walking to confirm, but this improvement can't be understated. Fixing his biomechanics has probably been super tough on him since it's a long process full of corrective exercises (like rehab exercises). I didn't think he'd make a sustainable comeback until I saw this change. This is the first sign of an actual sustainable comeback
This dude is a freak of nature and ridiculous. If the Rockets organisation can somehow keep him healthy, he would make our team unbeatable.
Zion can't stay healthy, so it's a moot point. Way too much downside risk, considering assets to be given up, his availability, and our situation.
Call me crazy but I'd build a trade package for Zion if he was available. He looks slim and dominant. It would hurt and be risky but something like this years Suns pick + Brooks + Tari + Cam would have to be at least somewhat appealing for the Pels. I would give up even more if we could snag Murphy or Jones in the deal. The only thing is I have a hard time seeing Sengun and him fitting together. This Small ball lineup would go crazy though : Reed Jalen Zion Amen Jabari
The only question is how much would it cost? For the right Price (not just money but assets and players) . . . sure Rocket River
I’m not sure he’s a good fit with Amen. Amen is our franchise guy and he needs spacers around him. But mainly I just don’t believe in investing in guys that can’t stay healthy.
When they have as much talent as Zion you take the risk - and hope for the best.....and you manage the situation. We don't have anyone close to his level. DD
Zion + Alperen would fit in just fine, both high IQ + great vision. Same disinformation spread about Giannis + Alp. But Amen + Alp have literally disproven this propaganda. Zion is also perfect for Udoka's bully ball system that prioritizes early offense, transition, defense to offense, rebounds, FTA, etc. Zion would destroy zone defenses in 4th quarter. He just dropped 37 pts + 6 ast vs Pelicans last night. Rockets need a player that averages 25 ppg + 5 ast. Zion plays like Giannis, hard to defend when he has a runway, even in crowded paint. And Zion averaging almost as many assists as Fred this season.
Zion would make whomever is still on the roster better...... I would trade anyone not named Amen for him. DD
