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ccgeneral

Cody Zeller - New Orleans Pelicans

By ccgeneral, in Hoosiers in the Pros

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OliviaPope40    6,316

OliviaPope40
Posted (edited)

At 7-foot and 240 pounds, Hornets big man Cody Zeller doesn’t have the size to bang inside with true NBA centers, but he thinks he can beat them in other ways.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford plans to use the second-year player at backup center to spell starter Al Jefferson if the matchup calls for it. And Zeller believes he’ll be able to work around the competition rather than through it.

“If I can play defense against the other (center), it should create an offensive matchup for myself,” Zeller said this week at Hornets’ training camp at UNC Asheville. “There are a lot of big 5s (centers) in this league that I’m quicker than, if I can defend them on one end and hopefully score on them on the other end. I’m just trying to become tougher to guard and create more mismatches.”

In his rookie season last year, Zeller played mostly at power forward as Jefferson and backup Bismack Biyombo shared the center position. Zeller will remain a power forward first behind starter Marvin Williams, but his skill combination fits what Jefferson and Biyombo lack.

Jefferson struggled last season on pick-and-roll defense, and Zeller may offer better defense against more agile big men. On the offensive end, Biyombo has never filled up the stat sheet, while Zeller is adding to his cadre of post moves.

“Cody’s not a back-to-the-basket guy like myself,” Jefferson said. “But when he does play the 5 and get in position, when he does get the ball in the post, he’ll either know how to face up, bounce it and go to a jump hook or whatever move he decides to go to.”

Charlotte selected Zeller with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft with the hope he would be able to run the fastbreak as well as shoot from outside. The team had seen his range in workouts even if it wasn’t displayed at Indiana during his two years as the Hoosiers’ center.

But Zeller rarely tested his range last season, and he averaged 6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while averaging 17.3 minutes.

Through the first 57 games of the season, Zeller shot 37.8 percent from the field. In the final 25 games of the season, though, he improved to 53.2 percent. That strong finish in the final third of the year helped him earn second-team NBA All-Rookie honors.

Zeller said the game slowed down for him and he was able to catch and shoot without thinking about it.

Clifford said when Zeller plays center, the Hornets will play more pick and rolls – and he’ll have a quickness advantage.

Defensively, Zeller has spent the offseason working on his defensive technique. He plans to use his quickness to front opposing centers and keep them from getting the ball deep in the post.

This week he has practiced against Jefferson, the kind of big, slower center Zeller might face in live action to get the mismatch.

Luckily for Zeller, he won’t have to face a center with the kind of pump fakes Jefferson has.

“I don’t know if anyone will be able to match that. That’s his go-to,” Zeller said. “I’ve been around him for a year now, and I went for his shot fake on the first play today. I still go for it.”

 

I am not surprised to see this but at the same time you have to prove your worth and show that you deserve playing time.

Edited by OliviaPope40

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