New Orleans is 0-6 to start the season, with three of those losses by 30+ points. Yes, that’s a record, the kind no team wants to hold.
Now comes more bad news: The Pelicans’ leading scorer, Zion Williams, is out with a Grade 1 hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in 7-10 days, New Orleans announced. That timeline would have him missing at least four games, starting Tuesday night against Charlotte, and history suggests he could be out longer.
Hamstring injuries are literally an annual occurrence now for Zion, who now will have missed time in each of the past four seasons due to hamstring issues (as noted by Will Guillory of The Athletic). As is always the case, Zion has played well for the Pelicans when on the court, averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game so far this season.
The Pelicans have been outscored by 28.7 points per 100 possessions this season when Zion Williamson is off the court, a concerning statistic heading into the next couple of weeks without him (they are -9.7 points per 100 with him on the floor, not great, but the gap between the numbers shows how much he still means to this team).
All of this could mean a long couple of weeks coming up for Pelicans fans.
