New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson is reportedly not close to returning to the court as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury, according to ESPN. Williamson has been out since November 6 due to the injury, but no definitive timetable was given for a return date for him. However, according to the ESPN report, the Pelicans are now preparing for the possibility that he will be out for at least another four to six weeks.
Williamson is undergoing treatment on his hamstring, the same hamstring he injured during New Orleans’ Play-In game against the Lakers last season.
If Williamson is out until at least mid-December, it will be a major blow to what has been an incredibly tough season for the Pelicans. Not only is Williamson sidelined indefinitely, but they are also without Herbert Jones (strained right shoulder), Dejounte Murray (broken left hand), CJ McCollum (strained right adductor), Trey Murphy III (hamstring strain) and Jose Alvarado ( strained left hamstring) for large parts of the season.
That doesn’t even include the day-to-day 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, it puts the Pelicans in an even worse position to try to make up ground in an ultra-competitive league . Western Conference. The Pelicans are currently 4-13 on the season, the second-worst record in the West and fourth-worst overall. If they aren’t expected to get most of these guys back in time, conversations will have to happen about this team’s prospects for the remainder of the season.
It may seem too early to talk seriously about tanking, but the Pelicans will have not only their own first-round pick, but also the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round pick if it falls between Nos. 5-30 . If we get to the end of December and New Orleans still has the top seven or eight players on the injured list, it might be time to consider entering the Cooper Flagg Sweepstakes.