Zion Williamson’s defense is a problem and raises questions about Pelicans’

NEW ORLEANS — The Pelicans didn’t lose on Thursday night because of their defense.

They held Portland to 106 points on 43.5 percent shooting. Damian Lillard didn’t play, and Anfernee Simons was held to 5-of-18 from the field.

On most nights, the Pels would have enough offensive firepower to win under those circumstances.

But on this night, their offense failed them in the second half against the Blazers’ 2-3 zone, resulting in a bitter 106-95 loss at home.

Considering Lillard’s absence, it was probably the ugliest loss of the season for a New Orleans team struggling to find consistency.

Still, the failures on offense are probably fixable with a few tweaks here and there. The much bigger concern is an issue that’s quietly haunted this team all year, and it popped up again late in this game:

Zion Williamson’s defense is a problem.

And it’s not just because he’s getting caught out of position or messing up communication on certain coverages (which has also been a struggle). He hasn’t gotten it done nearly enough when called upon to man up and prevent dribble penetration.

There are some minor fixes New Orleans can make on both ends of the court to deal with the woes that have resulted in the team’s underwhelming 6-6 start. But this franchise’s big-picture goals hinge on their stars’ willingness to make the necessary sacrifices to win. No one will be called upon to embody that mindset more than Williamson on defense.

In certain instances, he’s shown he’s more than capable of making an impact on that end with his strength and quickness. But consistency will continue to evade this group if he keeps struggling the way he has to start the season.

“Collectively, we all have to make a decision that we’re going to guard, no matter who’s on the floor,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “We can mix up some of our coverages … (but) we didn’t guard the ball. They got into paint. They got to the basket. Those are the things that we need to do better.”

When good teams find a weakness in an opposing defense, they go after it repeatedly until the other team does something to adjust. That’s what the Blazers did on Thursday night.

Almost every time they needed a bucket in a big moment, they threw out the offensive playbook and called Williamson into a pick-and-roll with Simons or Jerami Grant. Once Portland forced the Pelicans to switch and Williamson was left on an island to guard Simons or Grant one-on-one the results were always bad for New Orleans.

In these matchups, Williamson didn’t use his physicality to his advantage, and he struggled to move his feet and stay in front of the ball. With every possession Simons or Grant blew past Williamson, his frustration grew, and so did the home crowd’s impatience.

After only attempting six shots through the first three quarters of the game, Williamson caught fire — scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter — and kept the Pelicans in the game. But it didn’t matter in…