The New Orleans Pelicans will be facing the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight, and it looks like they’ll be without Zion Williamson due to injury, according to the team’s website.
“Zion Williamson (low back contusion) has been downgraded to OUT for tonight’s game at Minnesota,” the team wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Williamson played in the Pelicans’ recent game against the Timberwolves and helped them get the win, finishing with 29 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. He was also efficient in his scoring, shooting 12-for-16 from the field.
Since returning from injury over a month ago, Williamson has been playing well for the Pelicans, and he’s still not playing back-to-backs as the team is still managing his playing time. With suffering several injuries throughout his career, that approach is probably the best thing for him to keep him healthy through the season.
Though Williamson may be playing well, the team is still near the bottom of the NBA standings with a 19-51 record. Injuries early in the season doomed the Pelicans and they were never able to truly get a grip on their season to turn things around.
Recently, Williamson spoke about what he wanted to see from the Pelicans for the rest of the season and going into the summer.
“The season hasn’t gone the way we wanted, but that doesn’t mean we can’t build into something for next year—build better habits,” Williamson said via the team’s website. “Like I said, it’s about consistency.
“When we take a lead, we have to maintain it instead of just being front-runners. How we lock into the scouting report, how we function as a team—all of that matters. We’ve got to build on that. When summer comes, we need to stick together, and by the time the season starts, we’ll be locked in and ready to go.”
Hopefully, when the team comes back healthy next season, they’ll be able to build on the chemistry that they get during the offseason, and they can start the year strong.
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