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Chicago Bulls: 5 reasons “tanking for Zion Williamson” is the right move

By Andrew Miller

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 09: Duke Blue Devils Forward (1) Zion Williamson waits to enter the game during a game between the Duke Blue Devils and the University of Virginia Cavaliers at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia on February 9, 2019. (Photo by Justin Cooper/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 09: Duke Blue Devils Forward (1) Zion Williamson waits to enter the game during a game between the Duke Blue Devils and the University of Virginia Cavaliers at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia on February 9, 2019. (Photo by Justin Cooper/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 05: Ky Bowman #0 of the Boston College Eagles drives against Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 05: Ky Bowman #0 of the Boston College Eagles drives against Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

4. Force on the defensive end

Now, we can move into the meat of the value that Zion Williamson provides as a potential star in the NBA. Zion is among the nation’s leaders in box plus/minus on both ends of the floor, and leads Duke in both too. He registers a defensive box plus/minus at 8.5 and an impressive 2.2 defensive win shares.

If fans of the Bulls are asking the question “is Zion a better player on the defensive end to the floor than on offense”, then they likely haven’t watched much of his film with Duke. Zion is definitely a more capable and focused player on offense than he is on defense. The same rings true for a lot of college hoops stars that fit a similar profile to him.

However, there’s a few numbers that highlight the effectivness Zion’s athleticism brings on defense. He possesses a solid steal rate above four percent and a block rate of roughly seven percent. Both of those numbers are rare to see out of a 6-foot-8 wing that uses most of his energy on offense like Zion.

The only player for Duke that sits with a much higher block percentage is the starting center, and freakishly long, sophomore Marques Bolden. But, Bolden is in a different category than Williamson since he is a big man that averages four blocks per 40 minutes and 5.3 per 100 possessions.

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