The New Orleans Pelicans have fallen on tough times in recent weeks without NBA All-Star Zion Willamson in the lineup. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 NBA Draft had better injury luck to start the season, playing in 29 out of 37 games.
With him on the court more regularly, the Pelicans were one of the best teams in the NBA. They were 17-12 with him in the lineup and 6-2 without him. The experience that the roster gained playing without him last season, as Williamson missed the entire 2021-22 campaign, seemed to be paying off.
As long as he wasn’t missing extended periods of time, the team was able to find success without him on the court. Unfortunately, that extended absence occurred right after the new year.
Williamson has not played since January 2nd as he is dealing with a hamstring injury. New Orleans has bottomed out, going 5-14 in that span and sinking in the Western Conference standings.
NBA INJURY NEWS: Zion Williamson & New Orleans Pelicans Updates
There was some optimism that Williamson would be back in the lineup by now, but he has reportedly suffered a setback.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Williamson re-aggravated his hamstring injury recently. That will keep him sidelined for an indefinite period of time as David Griffin told Charania that Williamson will be sidelined multiple weeks beyond the All-Star break.
That is a crushing blow for a Pelicans franchise that was heading in the right direction before injuries derailed them. They are now 29-28 on the season, holding down the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference.
NBA INJURY NEWS: Zion Williamson & New Orleans Pelicans Updates
However, New Orleans is only three games ahead of the 13th-place Los Angeles Lakers. Another extended losing streak and they could fall out of the playoff picture altogether. One thing that should help the Pelicans is that they at least have Brandon Ingram back in the fold.
Ingram has played in even fewer games than Williamson, as he missed two months of action with an injury. Getting him back on track will be key to the team staying afloat without Williamson as New Orleans is now running things back with essentially the same lineup they had when they made their push late last season to earn a playoff spot.
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