For the first time since his draft in 2019, Zion Williamson looked good enough to play the complete season and the first post-season of his career. But it was too optimistic of us to expect so.
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He has now missed out on 28 games this season, 20 of which have come since he injured his hamstring in the first game back after New Year’s Eve.
We don’t know whether it had anything to do with New Year’s celebration or his diet at the time, but the 2x All-Star was due to come back before the All-Star break. Let’s if he will be before tonight’s game against the surging Oklahoma City Thunder.
Is Zion Williamson playing tonight vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co?
As things stand, Williamson has further aggravated his hamstring injury during a 3-on-3 practice session as per the recent update by the basketball operations chief of the Pelicans.
Breaking: Zion Williamson re-aggravated his hamstring injury, and he’s looking at missing multiple weeks. He will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break, per GM David Griffin. pic.twitter.com/GLiKwFSfGl
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 12, 2023
He will be missing out on multiple weeks of basketball following the All-Star break which could be a month or even two because the injury has a “very high incidence of recurrence,” as explained by Griffin.
How could the Pelicans manage without their All-Star?
The Pelicans will be defending their 29-28 record when they visit Oklahoma Sunday night to face the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led side who are 27-28 presently and what it looks like, are going to fight to finish above the Play-in spot.
They have lost 12 out of 28 games where Zion didn’t play for them. But, given many of those games were also missed by Brandon Ingram, and some even by CJ McCollum, Pelicans might just be able to hold on to either their Playoffs or at least the Play-in spot.
Thankfully, they haven’t lost anyone major from the last year’s resilient team that almost upset the 64–18 Suns in the first round before Luka Doncic’s Mavs actually did it in the next round. Let’s see if they would again have to play without Zion in the Playoffs, who was out of the entire season last term because of a foot injury.
