Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are expected to play in Tuesday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers after sitting out Saturday's win over the Indiana Pacers.
Via Andrew Lopez of ESPN:
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram were both held out Saturday w/ ankle sprains.
Both are day-to-day however a team source told me the expectation is to have both players back for Tuesday’s game against Portland.
Will see how they respond to treatment until then.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) February 9, 2020
Though Zion's playing time has increased fairly steadily since his debut on Jan. 22, the Pelicans attempted to dial things back a little bit in his last time out against the Chicago Bulls. Williamson played just over 25 minutes, his fewest since his second time on the floor.
Given he missed the first 44 games of the year, it only seems fair the Pelicans are continuing to exhibit caution with the No. 1 overall pick. Zion has been fantastic in his early showings, even showing improvement from the free-throw line as of late. He has scored at least 20 points in each of his last four outings. And the Pelicans have played tough opponents like the Nuggets, Rockets and Bucks fairly tight with Zion on the floor.
Ingram, meanwhile, was named to his first All-Star team this year. The 22-year-old is averaging 24.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He's also shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. He is also making improvements on the end of the floor, as Ingram is currently worth 1.3 defensive win shares and approaching his career-high 1.8 DWS.
One of the reasons the Pelicans stood pat at the trade deadline is they wanted to see how the roster would click with Williamson firmly entrenched in the rotation alongside the likes of Ingram and Jrue Holiday.
Before that can happen, however, both Williamson and Ingram need to get healthy. The Pelicans are still four-and-a-half games out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Needless to say, New Orleans has some ground to make up. And getting their stars back would go a long way toward gaining ground on the Memphis Grizzlies.
Follow Us
Subscribe