Pelicans' Zion Williamson reportedly 'unlikely' to be ready for play-in tournament
It looks the NBA regular season will end for the New Orleans Pelicans without Zion Williamson on the court.
Williamson is unlikely to be ready to return to game action in time for next week's play-in tournament, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Williamson has been sidelined since early January with a hamstring injury he sustained during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers, and he hasn't played since. The Pelicans announced on March 22 that Williamson had been cleared to return to on-court activities, but included no timeline except for a re-evaluation in two weeks. That re-evaluation has apparently happened, and the Pelicans reportedly want Williamson to keep taking it easy as he returns.
That says a lot about how much the Pelicans care about Williamson being whole and ready to go. They have a ghost of a chance of getting out of the play-in tournament over the final two regular season games, and if they don't, they have to survive the play-in to even make it to the actual playoffs. Williamson, at this point, is unlikely to be around for any of that.
But while Williamson is unlikely to be ready for the play-in, we know nothing about what might happen after. If the Pelicans make it to the playoffs, would they unleash Williamson if they thought they had a chance to make a deep run? That entirely depends on Williamson's health, and the strength of the team that's been playing without him for the last three months.