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New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson was a full participant in five-on-five practice drills with his teammates during Tuesday morning's session. He's nearly recovered enough to make his regular-season debut, but the team will place him on a minutes restriction at first whenever that is:
Gentry says it’ll be a week before the team can really practice again but Zion did participate fully in practice and in 5-on-5 drills.
Gentry preached conditioning and once again said team will be overly cautious. When Zion does return, there will a minutes restrictions early.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) January 7, 2020
Williamson has been sidelined due to a torn right lateral meniscus sustained before the Pelicans' season opener. The former Duke standout played well in his four preseason outings, racking up averages of 23.3 points on 71.4 percent shooting from the field (25.0 percent from beyond the arc), 6.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals.
NBA fans are anxious to see Zion take the floor in an actual game setting with the Pelicans, but it seems they'll have to wait just a bit longer. He was initially estimated to be out of commission for six to eight weeks, though he has passed that mark. Some experts thought he might be able to return by January, and it seems that goal may reach fruition.
The Pelicans have struggled through the first half of this season without Zion Williamson, who they selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. His recovery seems to be going well, though. Hopefully, he'll be able to make his debut sooner rather than later.
