GoneTrending

After 518 days, Zion Williamson played basketball for the New Orleans Pelicans again on Tuesday night, enticing in a preseason opening win against the Chicago Bulls. On the surface level, it was awesome simply to see Williamson back on the court, healthy and in shape.

We’ve seen the pictures and read the quotes since media day, but to see his explosiveness again in a live game scenario is an instantaneous reminder of his mesmerizing and powerful talents. His second jump remains immaculate.

The short area quickness and ground coverage he possesses were on full display throughout the game. As phenomenal as he was during 2020-21 season, there were moments in which his lateral quickness and his ability to play in space were pretty dicey. He seemed to have less of that pop on rotations that made him such an intriguing otherworldly prospect; his defensive potential coming out of Duke wasn’t the main selling point, but it’s seemingly been lost in the ether that he wasn’t supposed to be a poor defender coming into the league.

Tuesday night showed some of the most consistent, engaged, and positive defense we’ve seen from Williamson in his NBA career. While noting that we need to be careful with preseason takeaways, I’d argue these hold more merit considering how long it’s been since Williamson last played. It’s still important to take preseason minutes with a grain of salt, but the actual play was greatly encouraging.

He was zoning up on the back-end, splitting the difference between the corner and the slot; a vital part of New Orleans’ defense considering how much they rely on backline rotations to help the helper against ball screen actions. He didn’t get backcut, had a few nice recovery plays including a steal knifing into a passing lane, and his communication and overall awareness and engagement stood out. He’s not on track for All-Defense, but the player we saw looked like a positive scheme defender capable of making some chaos plays few in basketball can. That’s a gigantic improvement compared to who Williamson has been in the NBA.

This play was a decent representation of his on-ball defense.

He’s a little late in tracking Patrick Williams, but this is probably a blow by in 2021 rather than working to get back in front, riding out the drive, funneling to the rim protection, and ultimately contesting a shot. It’s bend but don’t break defense. It can be better and needs to be better in time, but Zion Williamson’s defensive backbone wasn’t built in a day.

One thing that is worth monitoring throughout the season is how the team handles screening actions with Williamson. After struggling to generate good offense early in the first half, Chicago started to throw in some back screens and pin-ins on Williamson, who keeps Caruso in front coming off the curl. Caruso pulls for a jumper, which is fine enough process, but there’s room to be active and aggressive in handling this screen.

On the second play, Williamson roams low and then calls out a switch when Caruso feigns a screen for Williams before executing a 45 cut. This puts Jose Alvarado on Williams, who flows into a pick and roll. CJ McCollum’s nail stunt stops the action. This works in the setting — Alvarado is a heady defender in spite of his small stature — and the scheme works. It’ll be interesting to see how opposing offenses look to prod some of those switches given that some mismatches can redefine how the court can be utilized by an offense given personnel.

On the final play, there’s two straight screens with Williamson switching. The ball stays in front and Caruso misses wide with a floater. Again, I like the process. There’s room for better positioning and some more aggression from Williamson in attacking screens, squeezing some of the space, and using his arms actively, but this is quality stuff that we’ve seen the Pelicans utilize last season.

I’m interested to see how the staff continues to toy with their ball screen coverages. They have a ton of length and activity on the wings that can let you get away with more aggression and funneling. Do they maybe look to throw in blitzes and situational pressure if Williamson can add some more defensive balance?

While there are plenty of questions on the defensive side of the ball, Williamson offensive utilization has me giddy. I just need to gush about how talented Zion Williamson is real quick: Even without the ball, he’s so good at being assertive and finding ways to impact the offense. He’s phenomenal on the glass and with duck-ins or quick cuts to rim run. He sets impromptu screens to free up the corner or slot. He attacks guards with seals and post-ups.

Williamson really challenges what “spacing” is and how it can be over-idealized with 5-out play. While he is not a steady shooter, his constant activity contributes to good offensive flow and continuity. That’s his impact without even touching the ball.

And then, there’s what he is capable of doing when he touches the ball.

His dynamism as a handler, roller, scorer, and playmaker all in one is not something even close to common in basketball at any level. It’s easy to forget just how dynamic he is when you haven’t seen him play live in so long. Watching him slot back in reminds me of how much he makes the guys around him make sense. While Brandon Ingram and McCollum can dent a defense and create advantages, Williamson creates them at a rate neither can replicate. The margins for error are a little bit larger when your focal point can draw three players in the paint.

This is a defensive breakdown to be certain, but it happens because Williamson pushes off a miss, catches the defense on their heels, and there are 3.5 defenders glued to him with their eyes. Should Naji Marshall shoot the three? Probably, but he attacks that gap incredibly quickly, the defense is still reacting, and he hits Jonas Valanciunas with the dump off for an easy basket. It’s Marshall’s assist, but Williamson’s gravity reverberates through the box score.

Set wise, Willie Green is letting the chopper sing! They opened with Williamson in the corner quite a few times and coming off of staggered screens into his own ball screen. He missed his first drive to the rim, but drew a few fouls after getting skinny as the game went on. Even when stifled, he’s so explosive that it’s hard to not foul him. Force a miss, and he has a pretty great chance to get it for a put back himself or kick it back out thanks to that aforementioned second jump ability.

He got opportunities as a hand-off operator, as a post-hub, and generated great looks in transition simply by running the floor without the ball. He was used a ton rolling or cutting to the rim as initial actions in sets to grab defensive attention. It felt like every action he could’ve been involved in, there was some sort of look thrown his way to test it out. It was a smattering of what may come in a dynamic offense that should power this team.

All that came in less than 16 minutes of play. We’re en route for an exciting NBA season, and Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans are a budding reason for that excitement.

Phoenix is getting ready to release their new album, Alpha Zulu. They unveiled the single “Tonight” and brought it to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert with a digital Ezra Koenig. Last night, they took another single, the album title track, to Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The performance is vivacious and invigorating; the vocals are clean and animated against a transfixing bassline. It sounds identical to the recording. The track is more atmospheric than “Tonight” — “Alpha Zulu” is exuberant but has a sense of mystery within the sputtering beats. It only heightens the anticipation for the rest of the long-awaited LP, which is finally arriving just next month.

“Alpha Zulu” was their first new song in two years, since 2020’s “Identical” (which itself was also at the time the band’s first new song in two years). A press release noted that the song title and lyric come from “a phrase Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars heard a pilot repeating over the radio during a turbulent flight in a storm. The urgency of the phrase stayed with him, and the band’s new song was born.”

Watch their vivacious performance of “Alpha Zulu” above.

Alpha Zulu is out 11/4 via Loyaute/Glassnote Records. Pre-order it here.

In this week’s episode of Fresh Pair, Compton rap veteran The Games sits down with Just Blaze and Katty Customs to discuss his 20-year career, his favorite LA rap albums, and why he just can’t seem to follow through on all those retirement plans. He also challenges Eminem to a rap battle, if you’re into that sort of thing, although if Eminem hasn’t responded to “The Black Slim Shady” yet, he probably won’t.

The Game first burst onto the scene in 2003 as a member of 50 Cent’s G-Unit clique with a string of successful mixtapes and the breakout single “Westside Story.” Needless to say, his longevity and prolific output make sifting through his catalog to find his best songs ever a task and a half. To make things simpler — or create an unnecessary challenge — we’ll only pull from his ten studio albums and singles on which he’s credited as the primary artist. It’s still pretty daunting to break this down, especially considering the writer’s personal history with the Compton rapper, but I’ll do my best. Here are The Game’s best songs, ranked.

10. “Ricky”

An album cut from Game’s fourth official release, 2011’s The R.E.D. Album, “Ricky” is blessed with an epic-sounding beat by DJ Khalil, along with a prominent sample from the seminal ’90s coming-of-age classic Boyz N The Hood. It’s pretty hard not to feel the emotional weight of the moment from the film permeating the song — which might be a cheat, but by this point in his career, The Game was wise enough to work smarter, not harder.

9. “Let Us Live”

This overlooked gem from 2008’s LAX deserves mention for the smooth way The Game sticks to Scott Storch’s smoldering instrumental. The Game has often been praised and derided for his chameleonic flow, but let’s be real: If there’s any rapper to do an impression of, it’s Nas, and The Game absolutely pulls it off. It was a little spooky to put this on back in the day and hear him so closely approximate Nas’ gruff rasp that we had to check the liner notes to make sure it wasn’t Nas. Chrisette Michele’s hook seals the deal.

8. “Compton” Feat. Will.I.Am

Admittedly, this might be my undying love for J. Dilla and De La Soul seeping out, but anytime I hear that sample of Ahmad Jamal’s “Swahililand,” I tune all the way in, regardless of its source. Add in the shout-out to my hometown and you all are lucky I didn’t just plop this underappreciated bop from 2006’s The Doctor’s Advocate at No. 1 and call it a day. Fortunately, I have a little thing called “journalistic integrity.”

7. “Dreams”

Game’s debut album, The Documentary, was hailed as a triumph when it dropped in 2004 and since then, its legend has only grown. Since this is how these things usually tend to go, it’s often compared to 50 Cent’s debut Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ due to the two rappers’ long, fraught history. While there’s some debate already about which has aged better in the nearly 20 years since both shifted the balance of hip-hop in the early aughts, “Dreams” is my exhibit A for Game’s edge there. 50 may have laid claim to many of The Documentary‘s standout tracks, but this one, produced by Kanye West at the height of his powers, is all Game.

6. “Jesus Piece” Feat. Kanye West and Common

The title track from The Game’s second-best album — yeah, I said it — was a total surprise for longtime fans. The celebrated gangsta rapper linking up with the rap biz’s very standard for conscious rap, Common, was a left-field move that paid off big. And say what you want about Kanye’s weird right-wing turn over the past couple of years, but he and Game still have the chemistry of oil and fire.

5. “The City” Feat. Kendrick Lamar

Back to The R.E.D. Album, there’s no way to exclude this heat rock, as it was one of the early guest appearances that Kendrick Lamar’s ascent to the stratosphere of rap. Dropping just after K. Dot made 2011’s XXL Freshman cover and released the mixtape Section.80 , this was many non Angelenos’ first exposure to the emerging talent. For those of us in the city, we’d just seen him crowned “New King Of The West Coast” by Game, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg (RIP the Key Club). This was the moment he received the baton, and he hasn’t stopped running since.

4. “Ali Bomaye” Feat. 2 Chainz and Rick Ross

Every album needs a gym song, the one that’ll make you feel like you can run through a brick wall when it comes on your playlist. This is that song on Jesus Piece. It’s aptly titled, named for the cheer the locals in Kinshasa, Zaire gave Muhammad Ali for his legendary 1974 fight against George Foreman, the Rumble In The Jungle. We all know who won.

3. “How We Do” Feat. 50 Cent

Sorry, I have no surprises for you down here. I think we all know what The Game’s best three songs are — and it’s likely no coincidence they all feature 50 Cent (seriously, can these two just both grow up and make a joint album, already? It’s No. 1 with a bullet and the only Throne-style project the rap world truly needs at this point). “How We Do” is probably the catchiest of the trio, but doesn’t have the raw soulfulness or gritty menace of the other two.

2. “Westside Story” Feat. 50 Cent

The Game’s debut single, “Westside Story” was produced by Dr. Dre and Scott Storch and reintroduced the world to the idea that LA gangsta rap could move units. While the style never truly went away, it maybe had gotten a little stuck in the weeds of synthesizer-heavy G-Funk in the years since Tupac’s murder. “Westside Story” was a corrective, realigning the genre with its early belligerence. This was music you played to scare your mom, a reminder that amid all the Southern California sunshine, circumstances could get dark in a hurry. Carry yourself accordingly.

1. “Hate It Or Love It” Feat. 50 Cent

There really isn’t another option for No. 1 on this list. Far and away, this 2005 hit is The Game’s best song. Even if you don’t come from the hood or personally relate to every situation that gets described here, the song pulls on your heartstrings. It’s nostalgic, it’s a little sad, it’s a little hopeful. I sh*t you not, every time I have ever heard this played in public, every single person from little kids to grandparents, seems to know the words. Even more impressively, The Game lived up to all the promises he makes on the chorus. Despite threatening to quit again and again, he really isn’t going anywhere — and rap is all the better for it.

If you ever have the opportunity to see “Weird Al” Yankovic live, do it. This is not a request; it’s a demand. I saw him a few nights ago during the Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, where he played only original, non-parody songs, save for a greatest-hits medley (dedicated to Coolio) in the encore. You might think it would be a bummer to not hear “The Saga Begins,” and it is. But “Albuquerque” and “The Night Santa Went Crazy” alone are worth the cost of a ticket.

At one point during the concert, “Weird Al” joked that he was going to play an original song from Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, the Walk Hard-style biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe as a fictionalized version of the parodist, but couldn’t because he signed an NDA. But we’ll be able to hear it soon — and maybe at the Academy Awards.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Evan Rachel Wood, who plays Madonna in the Roku Channel movie, was asked for her thoughts on “Weird Al” winning an Oscar for his closing credits song. “We’re seriously campaigning. It starts today!” she said. The “we” is herself and Radcliffe, who revealed that he was “randomly more half-naked as ‘Weird Al’ than any other character I’ve ever played.” He should do a revival of Equus, where he famously appeared fully nude, but as “Weird Al” this time.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story premieres on the Roku Channel on November 4.

(Via EW)

While promoting his Rogue One prequel series, Andor, that’s racking up rave reviews on Disney+, Tony Gilroy dropped by Marc Maron’s WTF podcast this week to discuss his decades-long screenwriting career that really took off during the ’90s. One film that Gilroy is particularly proud of is the 1997 classic, The Devil’s Advocate, starring Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino. The movie stars Reeves as a hot shot, small town attorney who finds himself working for the actual devil, played by Pacino at the top of his scenery chewing game.

The script called for Pacino’s character to have a decadently evil New York City apartment, and the production was frantically trying to find a location that fit the bill. Enter Donald Trump. The real-estate mogul caught wind of the search and “threw” his Trump Tower home at the filmmakers. According to Gilroy, the apartment was so over-the-top “ugly” that they didn’t have to change a thing. Via Pajiba:

We needed the ugliest, most garish, horrifying real-estate developer apartment we could possibly find, and Trump threw his apartment at us. We didn’t have to [do anything]. If you look at the movie, that’s his f**ing sh*t-bag apartment with all Versailles gilt and the high-rise windows. It’s just so perfect. He came by the set every day. Because he was living there. He’d come by the set and poke around … he was a clown. I’ve been in New York since 1979. I’m with him … he’s a f**king clown. You know, just that grifter clown kind of loser outsider, pretend rich guy. [To the actual titans of New York], he was lint.

In an on-brand move, Trump would reportedly drop by the set unannounced to try and get a look at Charlize Theron. However, unbeknownst to the now former president, the production was mocking him the whole time.

“He would come by on the way to the office, peek by and try to see Charlize,” Gilroy told Maron. “Everyone was laughing at him. Laughing at his apartment.”

You can listen to Gilroy talk about The Devil’s Advocate at the 26:00 mark below:

(Via WTF with Marc Maron)

As Trevor Noah gets ready to retire his seat as host of The Daily Show, he might want to think about a career in marketing. On Wednesday night, he offered up an idea for a new revenue stream to the powers-that-be at HBO — and he might just be onto something.

On Sunday night, fans settled in for the latest episode of House of the Dragon, only to be left in the dark — literally. Though the show has an estimated budget of $20 million per episode, very little of that apparently went to any sort of lighting package, as the show was rendered almost completely in black, leaving viewers to wonder what the hell was happening on the screen. Or, as Noah put it: “People watching House of the Dragon are complaining that they can’t watch House of the Dragon.”

When fans began tweeting at the HBO Max support account, one viewer — who wanted the network to “issue a written apology for literally a whole episode of black screen of #HouseOfTheDragon” — received a response in which the network explained that the impossible-to-see episode was “an intentional creative decision,” which really didn’t make things any better.

Noah, too, was confused by the response:

Look, I’m not Steven Spielberg or Barry Jenkins. Alright, I haven’t directed anything. But in my opinion, if your ‘intentional creative decision’ is that people can’t see the TV show that you’re making, then you’re making a podcast. Alright? That’s not TV. I can’t see it!

This isn’t the first time HBO has dealt with this complaint; in 2019, Game of Thrones fans were rightly pissed off when they couldn’t actually see what was happening during the long-awaited Battle of Winterfell. But Noah thinks it’s becoming a problem with TV shows in general. “Everything on TV is so dark!,” he complained. “You can’t see anything. I don’t know why. Are they trying to make it grittier? Are they trying to make it feel like a movie? Or maybe they figure if they make it dark enough then we can’t complain about the cast not being diverse. You’re like, ‘I think that’s another white person?! I guess I’m going to let it slide.’”

But he did have an idea that HBO might want to run with:

Right now, HBO is facing a lot of backlash. But I think if they’re smart about this, this could be a good business opportunity for them. They should just add a higher price tier. Yeah, think about it. They should say ‘HBO Max is $9.99 a month. OR $14.99 a month if you want to be able to see what the f**k is happening.’

You can watch the full clip above, beginning around the 6:30 mark.

If you’re an American of a certain age, it’s highly likely that your version of Rosa Parks is a sweet, old woman who was just too dang tired to move to the back of the bus one day and caused a ruckus that lit the Civil Rights Movement ablaze.

Get ready to learn the full truth. Or, at least, as much of the truth that a documentary can provide.

Based on the bestselling biography by Jeanne Theoharis, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks seeks to expand beyond the mythology of Parks by telling the story of a radical icon who fought all her life against racial injustice. She may be known best for refusing to move to the back of the segregated bus, but her decades of activism were truly groundbreaking and set the stage for civil rights movements that still press on to this day.

Executive Producer Soledad O’Brien said in a statement, “The Rosa Parks of American history – the quiet, demure and tired seamstress taking a seat on the bus – is simply a fable. The real Rosa Parks, whom we explore in this film, is a lifelong activist, outspoken strategist and freedom fighter. My hope is that this documentary, alongside Jeanne’s incredible book and the free teacher curriculum that she has created with Zinn Educational Project, helps to redefine Rosa Parks’ legacy and lead to a fuller understanding of her place in history.”

Directed by Yoruba Richen and Johanna Hamilton, and constructed with a blend of historian testimony, archival footage, and statements from Parks’ contemporaries, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks hits Peacock October 19th.

Ever since early copies of Maggie Haberman’s new Donald Trump tell-all Confidence Man began circulating, we’ve been fed tasty little tidbits about everything from Trump’s favorite part about being president (the fame, obviously) to how the former president once made Eric fast-forward through the dialogue of Bloodsport to get straight to the fight scenes while the two of them were on a private plane with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. But the bombshell to end all bombshells (at least as far as this writer is concerned) was the news that Trump once very loudly berated No. 1 stooge Rudy Giuliani for dropping a fetid No. 2 while aboard Trump’s plane.

To be honest, we were kind of shocked that Seth Meyers didn’t cancel his entire show on Tuesday and just spend an hour talking about that. But he made up for it on Wednesday night, when he channeled his inner Walter Cronkite — black-and-white film and cigarette included — to deliver this vital piece of news. As Meyers explained:

Every so often, a story comes along that makes us throw out everything we were planning on doing that night on this show — a blockbuster story of monumental consequence to the nation. It happened many times during the Trump presidency: the Mueller investigation, two impeachments, an attempted coup. And look, I don’t want to say that our audience expects or needs us to provide this service. But we feel a moral obligation to bring you the biggest stories of the day because for many people, let’s face it — and I don’t say this lightly — we are their Walter Cronkite. People trust us to bring them the stories that matter most. And to do it with poise and moral clarity and gravitas.

It was all just a preamble to what Meyers rightly concluded is one of the most important stories of the year — hell, maybe even this century: “According to a blockbuster tell-all by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, ‘Trump razzed Giuliani about how much his sh*t literally stinks!!’” As Meyers continued:

That’s right, Trump loudly complained about his lawyer’s stinky dumps. According to the book, “While aboard one of the former president’s planes with Giuliani, Trump made it a point to ‘loudly complain’ about ‘the odor after Giuliani had used one of the plane’s bathrooms, so that other aides could hear.’ ‘Rudy! That’s f***ing disgusting!,’ Trump yelled.

This is one of those shocking stories that you also definitely could have predicted. No one thinks Rudy is making good smells. It’s why he’s constantly voted New York Mayor Least Likely to Have His Own Fragrance… So I’m not surprised Rudy makes bad smells, but I am surprised that it’s so bad that TRUMP complained about it. I mean, all Trump consumes are Big Macs and Diet Cokes. He probably has one bowel movement a week that looks like the scene from Jurassic Park.

While no specific time frame is given for Stankgate, Meyers can imagine it being while Trump was in office, and should have been preoccupied with other things. Like North Korea launching a nuclear missile at us or something. But all Trump can think about is the smell that singed his nose hairs, while yelling things like, “Rudy, it’s Air Force One, not Air Force Number Two.”

But Meyers has a sneaking suspicion that Trump jumped right in there with his complaints was “so that he could beat Rudy to the punch. Because Rudy definitely has the vibe of a ‘Don’t go in there!’ kinda guy.”

You can watch the full clip above — and should. Because, as Meyers noted, “This is the most important story we have ever covered on this show. This is our Watergate!”

Kanye West may be in the midst of a string of petty feuds, but he recently showed that he can set aside those conflicts for the sake of the greater good. Last year, he buried the hatchet with Drake at their Free Larry Hoover concert in LA, putting an end to about a half-decade of beef between the two. Now, it appears they’ve graduated to Instagram friends again, with Kanye noticing that Drake liked one of his recent posts about the backlash to his “White Lives Matter” shirts and subsequent “bullying” of the Vogue editor who spoke out against them.

Apparently, he was so overjoyed by this seemingly basic but positive reaction, he decided to let the world know about it in yet another post, while making a semi-extravagant gesture to thank his friend-turned-rival-turned-friend-again. “EVERYONE KNOWS ME AND DRAKE HAVE HAD A RIVALRY IN THE PAST,” he declared. “IT REALLY WARMED MY HEART TO SEE DRAKE LIKE ONE OF MY POST. WE STILL NEED THE DONDA TEAM TO PLAY NOCTA. ALL DRAKE MUSIC WILL BE PLAYED AT DONDA GAMES MOVING FORWARD.”

It’s Kanye, so he’ll probably forget or change his mind by the time the basketball season gets rolling, but it is kind of endearing to see him get so excited about a something as small as a “like” on Instagram. Too bad it can’t undo all the other icky behavior he’s been engaging in.

The G League Ignite and Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 met on Tuesday evening inside Henderson, Nevada’s Dollar Loan Center, where two of the best NBA Draft prospects in recent memory squared off: Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson.

Neither 18-year-old disappointed. Wembanyama tallied 37 points (11-for-20 shooting), five blocks, four rebounds, and one steal, while netting seven of his 11 triples. Drilling pull-ups, spot-ups, and jumpers on the move, he showcased his immense shooting intrigue while altering numerous shots inside the paint.

His counterpart, Henderson, led Ignite to a 122-115 victory behind 28 points (11-for-21 shooting), nine dimes, five rebounds, two steals, and only two turnovers. The 6’2 dynamo is a superb point guard prospect, rivaled by few, if any, since the turn of the century. His Tuesday night performance illuminated seemingly all of his wide-ranging offensive allure. He canned jumpers, diced up Metropolitans’ pick-and-roll defense, thrived with and without the ball, and converted finishes around limbs as sprawling as an Inflatable Tube Man.

Henderson’s ball-screen expertise is incredibly advanced, especially for an 18-year-old. Time and time again, he engaged Wembanyama and forced the big fella to make a decision. That is how pick-and-roll initiators succeed: coaxing the defense into compromised decision-making rather than vice versa. Chris Paul, for instance, has long been a master of this; it’s why he’s remained an All-Star in the twilight of his career.

Henderson’s pacing and omnipresent threat as a scorer and facilitator routinely cornered defenders into a bind. Augmenting these traits is his brilliant processing speed. As soon as a window opened, he delivered punctual pocket pass after punctual pocket pass to rollers. Whenever the drop defender — usually Wembanyama — shifted their weight toward him, he effortlessly and accurately set the table for his partner.

On one play, Wembanyama granted him too much room around the screen, so he exploded downhill and drew a foul. Headlined by a pair of empathic rejections, Wembanyama enjoyed his moments against Henderson. Generally, though, the guard won their battles, largely on the basis of ball-screen craft that belies his birth year.

The majority of Henderson’s pick-and-roll playmaking featured above occurred in the second half because Metropolitan altered its coverage against him. In the first half, he dazzled with a pair of pull-up jumpers and they elected to increasingly prioritize getting the ball out of his hands after that.

Not only is his 0-60 explosion otherworldly, his deceleration as a means of space creation is, too. Defenders are in constant worry of his driving potential that any brief moment of acceleration has them teetering. He exploited that fear into open buckets off-the-bounce. His transition from horizontal to vertical explosion is instantaneous, which renders the space creation even more pronounced.

The stepback 3 over Wembanyama is outrageous for an array of reasons. He is 6’2. Wembanyama is 7’4 with an 8-foot wingspan. Henderson still cleanly fires over the top. More than that, though, how he maintains balance and force with his base this wide and deep to promptly elevate is special, special athleticism.

That right-foot jab sends Wembanyama retreating on his heels toward the paint, so Henderson simultaneously launches away from him. Everything — the footwork, the balance, the elevation, the release — has to be pristine. There is no margin for error, given their size discrepancy, and he aces it. Whew.

For as jaw-dropping as the pull-up triple was, Henderson might’ve outdone himself on his slew of finishes with Wembanyama in the vicinity. This dude looked like a dominant guard finisher and driver. Struggles around the former can often bury or hamstring smaller guards in the NBA. Merging skill and athletic tools, Henderson doesn’t appear as though that will be the case for him.

Similar to how he preps room for those pull-ups with elongated strides, he swallows up space downhill like a 6’7 wing, not a 6’2 guard. Note where he picks up his dribble and where he ends this drive.

It wasn’t like he had tons of real estate to rev up, either. He caught the ball at the left wing, pounded a pair of dribbles, and gathered to score inside. His ground coverage, acceleration, and comfort in small spaces are remarkable.

Due to his pliability, he can vary the direction of his steps and maintain speed. When he flips from horizontal to vertical movement, there is no buffer period; he just beams toward the hoop. His understanding of how to optimally shield himself from rim protectors without venturing into impossible angles is uncanny. Wembanyama was stumped a few times as a result.

Ignite wasn’t just the Scoot Henderson Show on Tuesday in the sense that they spammed ball-screens and isolations for him. He displayed impressive duality, adept functioning on and off the ball. Whether it was flowing through handoffs, teleporting off the catch, or cutting against ball denials, he resembles a rather malleable offensive engine.

Many of the skills and athletic traits highlighted previously carry relevance here. His processing speed as a passer ensures he’ll expose a titled defense. His explosiveness has defenders reacting to movement one direction, while he’s already bolted another on cuts; the second play below really emphasizes this component. The manner in which he shrewdly diagnosed and dissected Metropolitans’ defense across varying roles and coverage was the stuff of savants.

Henderson provided virtually everything necessary Tuesday offensively. He jammed out as a scorer and passer. When the defense amended its scheme, he wasn’t rattled. He flourished on and off the ball. He splashed home jumpers and torpedoed to the rim for layups.

Often, these sequences arrived with Wembanyama around. The gangly, sweet-shooting, shot-block center may be the one whose services teams will vie for at unprecedented levels this season. But Henderson is also delightfully good and conveyed that sentiment for the entirety of Tuesday’s 48-minute contest.