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"My teammates, they expect more from me. I expect more from myself," Zion Williamson said following the New Orleans Pelicans' 44-point loss to the Lakers in the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament semifinals back on Dec. 7. He was humbled. You could hear it in his voice as he sat at the podium, dejected, frustrated and perhaps even a little embarrassed. 

That game, for all intents and purposes, was the closest Williamson had come to experiencing the urgency and adrenaline of an NBA playoff atmosphere, and he laid a 13-point, two-rebound egg in 26 painfully lazy minutes. 

He was no match for the magnitude of the moment. Took zero initiative. "Ran" the floor like he was on a leisure walk. Got back cut multiple times on defense while exhibiting the off-ball awareness of the guy at a lunchtime L.A. Fitness run who plays with his ear buds in. 

But he took responsibility. He said, "I just got to be more aggressive." And to his credit, he has done just that. It started with New Orleans' very next game, when Williamson went for 36 points in a win over the Timberwolves, and he's been thundering downhill ever since. 

All told, Williamson is averaging better than 22 points and five assists on 62% true-shooting since that IST loss, and the Pelicans are one of two teams to register top-five in offensive, defensive and net ratings over that same span. The other is the Boston Celtics, who obviously qualify as a title contender. 

Is it time to start looking at the Pelicans in a similar light? Only if you believe the Williamson we have seen over these past three months will show up in the playoffs, where he has never set foot through the first four years of his career. He missed New Orleans' Play-In Tournament victories and first-round series vs. Phoenix in 2022, as well as their play-in loss to the Thunder last season. 

There's reason to believe this Williamson is here to stay. For starters, you only have to take one glance at him to know he's gotten himself into terrific shape. ESPN's Brian Windhorst recently noted that Williamson has lost 25 pounds since December, and if you've been paying attention, it shows. Williamson's energy -- on both ends, I might add -- has never been higher than it is right now. He is competing. He looks focused. Even angry. Like a guy who's on a mission, who's heard just about enough from the critics. 

It would not be an overstatement to say that Williamson has looked unstoppable over this stretch. He is basically New Orleans' point guard. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo scores more points in the paint, so he essentially guarantees a collapse and kick at the very least. More often than not, he's using the runways gifted to him by sagging defenders to take one or two power dribbles and explode to the rim himself. He gets off the ground as fast and as forcefully as anyone in the league. 

The key is how quickly he's attacking. It's when he starts surveying too much that he can get into trouble. In general, the longer Williamson sizes up the chess board in front of him, the better chance the defense has of anticipating his path and, to whatever degree possible, walling it off. He was doing too much of that for a while. Rhythm dribbling like James Harden, trying to beat guys with shifty handles. 

Now he's operating like the muscle car he is. He's revving his engine waiting for the green light, which the Pelicans are working to give him in the form of preferred switch matchups, and when that light turns, he's standing on the gas. If you're in the way, that's your problem. 

In New Orleans' win over the Clippers last Friday, poor Ivica Zubac found himself switched onto Williamson over and over, and he got run over every single time. 

As you can see, whether it's his own creation, off-ball cuts or offensive rebounds, Williamson isn't doing anything passively. He's all force all the time. He's hunting vertical detonation the way Steph Curry hunts jump shots. He's looking for any opportunity to get airborne. 

You can't defend him when he's in this mode. Sag off, and he gets a head of steam. Play him tight, and he overpowers you. When playoff basketball rolls around, it's all about forcing defenses into difficult decisions. Do you double Nikola Jokic and let him pick you apart as a passer, or single cover him and watch him bully the poor sap in front of him for 40? 

With Williamson, there's no good way to cover him if he's on the gas, particularly as he's developed as a passer; New Orleans has shooters all around him, and we're not seeing as much Brandon Ingram isolation, which sometimes stagnates and neutralizes Williamson's aggression. 

The Pelicans run some super low pick and rolls for Williamson, which puts him so close to the rim from the start of the action that it's impossible to keep him from elevating. One dribble, whether his defender chases over or goes under the screen, and he's already cleared for takeoff. 

And, again, Williamson has been legitimately defending for a while now. He demanded Kawhi Leonard duty down the stretch of the aforementioned Clippers win (he covered him for most of the game), and he delivered. 

If Williamson can take on a major defensive assignment like Leonard, who is too powerful for an Ingram or Herb Jones, that's a big deal for the Pelicans in a potential playoff series. Now Jones and Ingram and Trey Murphy III are able to deploy their length around the perimeter and suddenly the Pelicans are pretty damn difficult to breach. 

Entering play on Tuesday, New Orleans is one back of the Clippers for the No. 4 seed with the tiebreaker already clinched. A first-round matchup is certainly possible, if not likely. If it happens, keep this in mind: Williamson, in four games against the Clippers this season, has averaged 24.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, five assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 52.1%. 

Like I said at the top, there are a lot of reasons to believe this Williamson, as long as he stays healthy, will show up and show out in the playoffs. His mentality. The way he's being deployed. His conditioning. But until we actually see it on the the big stage, there are going to be questions. This is a guy who has missed more games than he's played in his career. A guy who's been in and out of shape. A guy who, at one point, was starting to be considered as a potential trade candidate. 

Forget whether he could perform in the playoffs; people were starting to wonder whether he could even last in the league. If he was ever going to take his health and conditioning seriously enough to reach his virtually limitless potential. 

It's not the first time we've seen glimpses of greatness. The guy is a two-time All-Star. He was one of the best players in the league the only other time he's played more than 30 games (2020-21 season) prior to this year. 

But this time it's different. 

He's older now. The Pelicans are legit. This isn't house-money time. It's earn-your-money time. Williamson -- though admittedly he's isn't covered the same way when he's playing well as when he's not -- has lured those of us who've been watching all the way back in. He once again looks like one of the league's brightest stars. 

But he's a volatile stock. Always has been. We won't know if this latest investment in Williamson as a re-emerging superstar and franchise player was wise until the playoffs -- which, again, he's never experienced. Here's to hoping he's up for the challenge, because if he is, the Pelicans have all the markings of a sneaky contender out West.