The New Orleans Pelicans are bracing themselves for life without Zion Williamson. The All-Star forward is now expected to be sidelined for a relatively significant period after suffering a hamstring injury during New Orleans' loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. At the moment, things aren't looking very good for the Pelicans' cornerstone superstar.
NBA guru Shams Charania recently provided a rather concerning update on Zion's injury status. According to Shams, he expects New Orleans to take a very cautious approach with their prized star:
“Three weeks pretty much takes you right up until February, and at that point, just knowing how the Pelicans have operated, how cautious they've been with Zion Williamson last season (and) this year, we'll see exactly when he's gonna be back,” Shams said. “Just because he's gonna be re-evaluated at the end of the month doesn't mean he's gonna be back. But I think there is hope that this is not something that's more serious. Obviously, the worst case in a hamstring is that you rupture it fully. It wasn't that.
“With Zion Williamson, he's the prized possession of this Pelicans organization. They're gonna be very careful with him and I expect them to take a very cautious approach to this.”
Zion Williamson will be re-evaluated in 3 weeks on his hamstring injury.
The Pelicans are currently 23-14 and sitting solo at 3rd in the West.
(via @ShamsCharania , @FanDuelTV)pic.twitter.com/JAPQniYXJf
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 4, 2023
As Shams said, we all know how prudent the Pels have been when it comes to Williamson. The 22-year-old sat out the entirety of last season due to a lingering foot injury, and while he isn't expected to miss as much time this time around, it still wouldn't be surprising if New Orleans opts to keep him sidelined up until he is fully healthy.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski also stated in an earlier report that Zion Williamson's hamstring injury was “not a mild strain.” Woj expects that he “will be out for at least a month plus,” which means that the Pelicans will need to navigate the next several weeks without their superstar in the mix.
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