Pelicans Williamson Out at Least 2 More Weeks – The New Orleans Pelicans, who are in the basement of the Western Conference, will be without their superstar Zion Williamson, who has been on the shelf since November 6 with a strained left hamstring, “is progressing well through rehabilitation and will be re-examined in approximately two weeks,” the team announced Wednesday. This is the first official update concerning Williamson’s playing status since he was ruled out “indefinitely” on November 9.
At the Pelicans practice on Wednesday, New Orleans coach Willie Green did not go into great length or offer much detail about Williamson’s return-to-play protocol.
“Getting better and better,” Green told reporters. “He’s progressing.”
Williamson has taken the floor in only six games this season, averaging 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 31.1 minutes. The Pelicans posted a record of 2-4 in those contests, and they have gone 2-14 without him. The prolonged absence of their franchise player and former No.1 draft pick out of Duke, is not the only reason they are all the way at the bottom of the West. In addition to Williamson, every other member of New Orleans’ rotation has missed significant time due to injury.
On this front, the Pelicans got some good news on Wednesday. Brandon Ingram, who has missed their last five games while suffering from right plantaris tendonitis, and defensive specialist Herb Jones, who has been sidelined since straining his right shoulder on October 29, have both been upgraded to questionable for Thursday’s game against Devon Booker and the Phoenix Suns.
Green told reporters that he is “hopeful” that Ingram and Jones will be in the lineup against Phoenix.
“They had a good practice today,” Green said. “They went through a full practice, full contact.”
New Orleans also announced that Jose Alvarado, who has been out since November 11 with a strained left hamstring, will be reevaluated in approximately 14 days. Jordan Hawkins, who missed the Pelicans’ last three games with lower back soreness, has been diagnosed with a lumbar spine annular fissure and will be reevaluated in about a week, according to the organization.
It is hard to believe that New Orleans will be close to fully healthy in two to three weeks. This announcement indicates it is in the realm of possibilities, that is if no one else goes down in between now and then.
If the Pelicans fail to start to stack wins together soon, then Williamson will return to a team that has dug itself into such a deep hole that even competing for a play-in spot would require a minor miracle. They are 7.5 games behind the 10th-place San Antonio Spurs at this point, and are a league-worst 1-11 away from home.
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Suns Durant Expected to Miss 1-2 Weeks – The ‘Slim Reaper’ will be out of commission for a minute. Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant will be reevaluated in a week after spraining his left ankle Tuesday in a win against the San Antonio Spurs, the team announced on Wednesday.
Durant played a total of 16 minutes in the first half before turning his ankle on an opponent’s foot and clutching it in pain. He attempted to gut it out like a warrior and remained in the game briefly and even buried a shot before he left the game. That is just who he is. Durant did not return for the second half.
“It’s part of our league,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game. “We’re not any different. There’s not a team in the league that’s not dealing with some in-and-out of the lineups, and hopefully we teach and start to learn a way of playing that’s good for everybody, regardless of who’s healthy and who’s not. Other people have opportunities to get more minutes. So, we’ll just see how Kevin is, and you’ve just got to keep playing.”
He has fought through and battled left calf and ankle issues since the middle of November. Durant sat out for seven games from November 9-25 with a left calf strain, and the Suns, as expected, struggled without him, going 1-6 in that stretch.
The 18-year veteran made his comeback on November 26 against Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks but a week later against his former, the Brooklyn Nets, tweaked his calf again. That did not result in Durant missing any time.
The Suns start a road trip on Thursday with a visit to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans. They face the Miami Heat on Saturday and the red-hot Orlando Magic on Sunday prior to a potential Durant return. After that, the Suns play continue their journey at Utah to face the Jazz on Friday, December 13, which could come after the All-Star and two-time champion is reevaluated.
Even at this advanced age and stage of his career, Durant continue to put up excellent numbers and is averaging 25.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season.
Phoenix is 11-2 when he has played but 12-8 overall.
The Suns will also soldier on without starting center Jusuf Nurkic, who is also in the middle of a one-week period before he will be reevaluated for a thigh contusion.
During Phoenix’s initial stretch without Durant, head coach Budenholzer, to a large degree, altered his rotations based on matchups.
Rookie Ryan Dunn could receive an uptick in minutes as a bog perimeter defender at the forward spot. He has nine starts in 19 appearances, though his surprising shooting touch has come back down to earth (41% overall, 31% 3-point) since a red-hot preseason.
Budenholzer’s small-ball lineups to space out San Antonio on Tuesday led to backup point guard Monte Morris playing eight minutes, all in the second half, while Royce O’Neale ended up being the biggest beneficiary by playing 30 minutes off the bench, oftentimes as an undersized 4.
Rookie big man Oso Ighodaro got the start Tuesday and logged 28 minutes to complement veteran center Mason Plumlee’s 19. They will likely receive minutes boosts by default and even saw a short spell together in the starting five when Durant and Nurkic were both out November 18 against the Magic.
