The next few weeks are going to be difficult for the New Orleans Pelicans to navigate. That is because their rising NBA star, Zion Williamson, is heading to the sidelines with a hamstring injury that was suffered in Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Williamson was coming up the court on a fast break in the third quarter when he pulled up and began moving gingerly. He handed the ball off to a teammate before moving into the corner away from the action.
Head coach Wille Green quickly made a sub and Williamson headed back to the locker room. It was a huge blow for the Pelicans as Williamson was having another dominant performance, scoring 26 points with seven assists and six rebounds in only 28 minutes.
“That was extremely difficult,” Green said. “It was right at a pivotal moment during the game. We’ll do some imaging and look at him. Hopefully, he’ll be OK.”
While Williamson looks to have avoided any serious injury, he is going to be sidelined for a period of time. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Stadium and FanDuel TV, Williamson will be re-evaluated in three weeks with a right hamstring strain.
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It wouldn’t shock anyone if Williamson wasn’t back on the court until February as the Pelicans have always been cautious with their injury-prone star. Williamson has missed more games than he has played thus far in his NBA career, so adjusting to life without him is unfortunately something that New Orleans is used to.
His loss will put a lot of pressure on CJ McCollum to carry the scoring load. In addition to not having Williamson, Brandon Ingram has not been on the court since November 25th because of a toe injury. Other players are going to have to step up in his absence as Naji Marshall and Jaxon Hayes should see an uptick in minutes.
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It will take a team effort to replace someone that is as impactful as Williamson, as no single player can replicate what he does on the court. Green will have to find ways to win as an extended losing streak would send the Pelicans tumbling down the standings in a congested Western Conference.
