New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been out of action with a hamstring strain since Jan. 2 of this year.
When he was playing, the 22-year-old looked great and had his team looking like one of the Western Conference’s most formidable young squads.
Unfortunately, since his untimely exit, New Orleans has gone 8-20 and reverted back to being the same old Pelicans they’ve been for years.
Yes, the injuries Brandon Ingram and Jose Alvarado sustained haven’t helped matters, but this whole franchise starts and ends with Williamson. With him gone, the offense has dropped to the fourth-worst in the entire league.
On Wednesday the team announced that Williamson would be out at least two more weeks. Given that roughly a month remains in the season, that’s not great.
This week ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst appeared on his ‘Hoop Collective’ podcast and broke down Williamson’s status.
“He’s not close, I don’t think,” Windhorst said.
“I think his setback was significant, and so now you’re worried about a worse setback, so you’re going to be doubly cautious.”
Williamson is an incredible talent, as evidenced by the 26 points per game he was averaging while shooting 60 percent from the field. But his injuries are incessant.
After being drafted by the Pelicans in 2019, Williamson has only been able to play in 114 total games. Between the issues with his frame, nonstop weight problems and weird off the court drama like his leaked DMs scandal, it has just been one annoyance after another.
The Bears still suck, but at least Justin Fields is winning off the field. https://t.co/7ybEYo1zxJ
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 9, 2023
This most recent situation is just par for the course.
Will Williamson be able to get healthy over the next two weeks, return to action and help the Pelicans make it into the playoffs this season? One way or the other, an answer is coming over the next month.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
