Many people feel the New Orleans Pelicans have one of the best and most talented teams in the entire NBA — when healthy.
The problem is they cannot stay healthy, and much of that problem centers around forward Zion Williamson, who has been very injury-prone during his four NBA seasons.
He has been out for about three months with a hamstring ailment, and the team poured some cold water on any hope fans may have had that he could return for a possible playoff run.
David Griffin announced the following update on Zion Williamson:
“After further evaluation, it has been determined that Zion Williamson will continue his rehabilitation and conditioning regimen.
We will continue to monitor his progression, and updates will be provided as… pic.twitter.com/HgtClM5gmS
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) April 6, 2023
Williamson has played just 29 games this season, and in four seasons he has appeared in just 114 contests.
He missed all of last season with a Jones fracture in his foot, and he sat out a large chunk of his rookie year because of a torn meniscus.
When the Duke University product has been available to play, he has been a truly unique and very productive player.
He has career averages of 25.8 points a game while shooting 60.5 percent from the field, and he is nearly impossible to stop when he wheels his way into the paint.
Opponents can foul him, but he has improved his free throw shooting from 64.0 percent as a rookie to 71.4 percent this season.
The Pelicans currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference with a 41-39 record, and they seem assured of at least a spot in the play-in tournament.
Last year, they surprised a lot of people by overcoming a double-digit deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers in their second play-in game, and they went on to give the top-seeded Phoenix Suns a scare in the first round of the playoffs.
NEXT: Fans React To Today's Zion Williamson Announcement