In his fourth NBA season, Cody Zeller has flashed signs of “making the leap” to become a legitimately above-average player and, on Friday night, he made the leap in a different way. Just ask Bismack Biyombo.
Early in the first quarter as the Charlotte Hornets took on the Orlando Magic, Zeller received a seemingly harmless pass from Nic Batum about 18 feet from the rim and both Biyombo and Aaron Gordon went flying in the direction of the original ball-handler. That turned out to be a death sentence for Orlando’s principal rim protector, as Zeller needed only one dribble and two lengthy steps to close the gap and rise up for a tomahawk dunk as he moved through the lane.
It would be easy to bless Zeller with the description of “sneakily athletic” after a play like this, but there was nothing sneaky about the way the 7-footer exploded toward the rim, and he seemed to surprise Biyombo with the speed and power he displayed. At the age of 24, Zeller is beginning to look a lot like the player that the Charlotte Hornets drafted in the top five out of Indiana in 2013, and plays like this are just part of what is becoming an impressive overall package.
