It's the same story for the New Orleans Pelicans for the second straight season. They currently find themselves in the play-in tournament picture, shaking off a rough stretch of the season behind inspired basketball from Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, all the while the uncertainty of Zion Williamson's injury status hangs over their heads.

And it could very well take even more time before the Pelicans get a bit more clarity regarding the Williamson situation.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Zion Williamson still has no concrete timeline for a return, which should worry Pelicans fans with the postseason beckoning.

“There's still no timetable for [Zion Williamson's] return. He's going to be re-evaluated later this week,” Charania said, via FanDuel TV.

The good news is that the Pelicans forward participated in some 3-on-3 work even if he was unable to participate in the team's practice on Monday.

“The one bit of news is that he did participate in some low intensity three on three over the weekend. The goal right now for the Pelicans is making sure that he's in game shape, his conditioning his right. They're not going to rush him back, though,” Charania added.

The Pelicans are “hopeful” that Zion Williamson, at the very least, manages to get some game reps just in time before the playoffs (or play-in tournament) begin. It's understandable why Williamson would need a ramp-up period; he has missed the Pelicans' past 41 games due to a lower-body injury — a major cause for concern, since the Pelicans star missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season due to a foot injury.

As well as the Pelicans have played in recent weeks to claw themselves back towards playoff contention, they're simply a different team with Williamson in the fray. An unstoppable force on the interior, Williamson is such a difficult offensive weapon to stop when he's on the roll, which should complement Brandon Ingram's midrange stylings well.

The Pelicans will now be hoping that the lack of timeline for Williamson's return ends up being a good thing — the lack of a timeline means he could be back anytime soon. But given how much they've invested in Williamson, they could very well err on the side of caution even with the fate of their season hanging in the balance.