New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson is reportedly not close to returning to the court as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain. by ESPN. Williamson has been out since Nov. 6 due to the injury, but there was no firm timetable on a return date for him. Now, however, the Pelicans are preparing for the possibility that he will be out for at least another four to six weeks, according to the ESPN report.
Williamson has been receiving treatment on his hamstring, the same one he injured during New Orleans’ Play-In game against the Lakers last postseason.
If Williamson is out until mid-December at the earliest, it would be a huge blow to what has been an incredibly difficult season for the Pelicans. Not only is Williamson sidelined for an undetermined period of time, he has also been without Herbert Jones (right shoulder strain), Dejounte Murray (left hand fracture), CJ McCollum (right adductor strain), Trey Murphy III (hamstring strain) and José Alvarado (left hamstring strain) for much of the season.
That doesn’t even include the daily injuries to guys like Jordan Hawkins and Brandon Ingram.
To say it’s been a disastrous season for New Orleans from an injury perspective is an understatement, and if Williamson is expected to miss at least a month, that puts the Pelicans in an even worse position to try to make up ground on a team ultra-competitive. Western Conference. The Pelicans are currently 4-13 on the season, the second-worst record in the West and fourth-worst overall. If they are not expected to get most of these guys back in a timely manner, conversations will need to be had about this team’s prospects for the remainder of the season.
It may still seem too early to seriously talk about tanking, but the Pelicans will not only have their own first-round pick, but also the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round pick if it falls between numbers 5-30. If we get to the end of December and New Orleans still has its seven or eight best players on the injured list, it may be time to consider entering the Cooper Flagg draft.
