Zion Williamson is Out 3 Weeks With a Hamstring Injury: Now What?

On Monday night, the Pelicans lost 111-120 to the Philadelphia 76ers but the team suffered an even bigger loss late in the third quarter when Zion Williamson grabbed a rebound and went to push the ball up court but came up hobbling with an apparent leg injury.

Pelicans announced that medical imaging taken earlier today confirmed forward Zion Williamson sustained a right hamstring strain during last night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Williamson will be re-evaluated in three weeks.

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 3, 2023

New Orleans is currently 23-14 and only 1 game out of first place in the Western Conference. Zion is one of the frontrunners for the MVP trophy. I mean, just look at the game he had against the Sixers with his hamstring burning:

28 minutes
26 points
10-for-12 shooting (83%)
6-for-8 from the line
6 rebounds
7 assists
+6

Zion is one of the best basketball players in the world and he’s going to be watching from the bench for the next month: now what?

For the Pelicans

The wheels might fall off completely here. Zion will be on the bench next to Brandon Ingram who hasn’t played since late November. Prior to going down, Ingram was averaging 20.8 points a game. Zion is averaging 26. That’s 46 guaranteed points a night just wearing street clothes courtside.

Zion is only a couple of weeks removed from a career-high 46-point performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

ZION WITH A CAREER HIGH 43 POINTS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nYH5azYZ7o

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 29, 2022

New Orleans’s big advantage over most teams is having a Zion Williamson/Jonas Valančiūnas frontcourt that can body almost any opponent. That’s gone.

So New Orleans loses scoring and physical dominance with Zion off the floor. Get ready for a lot of Naji Marshall minutes. Marshall is having a surprisingly great season but it’s different when you’re coming off the bench with no expectations and when your team actually needs 30 consistent minutes from you.

For Fans

With a history of missing a lot of games, this new hamstring injury is made for the NBA media to continue to attach that ‘injury-prone’ label on him and preface every Pelicans conversation going forward with ‘if Zion can stay healthy’.

Every player is hurt all the time. Steph Curry is constantly limping and missing games but certain guys get these labels and their entire careers are viewed through this cautious lens like Bambi attempting to walk on ice.

The last time Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum were all on the floor together was Nov. 21.

Now, there’s a chance it may not happen again until February.

— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) January 3, 2023

I’m not a Pelicans fan but it sucks we haven’t seen the New Orleans big 3 really play together. Last season, New Orleans gave Phoenix hell in the playoffs but Zion was hurt. This year, those two teams went to war again but Ingram was hurt.

I just want to see what this team is capable of with all of their guys healthy at the same time. This could be the next great dynasty or the next great ‘what if??’.
Just come take my hamstring. I’m truly not using it.