The New Orleans Pelicans suffered a 110-106 defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers last night. The Pelicans will now face the Sacramento Kings on Friday, vying for a spot in the playoffs. However, heading into the matchup, they suffer a major blow as Zion Williamson is ruled out for Friday’s elimination game. The youngster had a dominant performance, scoring 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists. However, with 3 minutes left on the clock, he had to exit the game because of a non-contact injury, which was later reported to be his hamstring.

Hours after the news, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced, “ESPN Sources: Pelicans F Zion Williamson’s (left hamstring) is out for Friday’s Play-In.” Reportedly, this decision was taken after the MRI results from Wednesday morning. While it doesn’t seem like the worst injury possible, it just happened to occur at a crucial time in the season. As per further updates, the 23-year-old’s condition will be assessed in about two weeks. The reason this caught many by surprise is that he walked out of the court without any visible discomfort.

He was obviously frustrated that he suddenly needed to walk off, but the staff didn’t apply anything or have any wrap put on his leg. Initially categorized as “left leg soreness”, the youngster was putting on a show against LeBron James and Co. In fact, they had almost recovered from a point deficit, however, the Lakers then managed to pull away simply because the Pels’ main goal-scoring outlet was absent. Now, the Pelicans will have to rely heavily on CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram’s abilities to create scoring opportunities.

Pelicans’ playoff hopes on the line

Zion Williamson was the Pelicans’ offensive engine and a leader on the court. He averaged 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game this season. Notably, the Pels also have a dominating 5-0 record against the Kings this season, and they’ve outscored them by an average of 19.2 points in every matchup! This being Zion Williamson’s fittest season by far, his team only managed a dicey 7-5 record in his absence. However, one of those games was a 133-100 blowout against the Kings!

CJ McCollum took up scoring responsibilities that day and lived up to the expectations with a 30-point game. In fact, he does tend to raise his game in the youngster’s absence. McCollum averages 20 points per game in comparison to his 21.6-point average, in this scenario. The same can be said for Brandom Ingram. Normally, he averages 20.8 points and 5.7 assists. Whereas, in Zion’s absence he notches up his figures to 22.8 points and 6.3 assists per game.

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Without a doubt, Zion Williamson is part of this team’s core and his absence could prove to be detrimental. He even garnered praise from the mighty LeBron James, who said, “He’s a generational player, a generational talent. He’s going to continue to get better and better and better. And tonight was just a small microcosm of how great he can be”. While there’s the occasional criticism that his performances drop when up against LBJ, one needs to remember that despite him being the #1 pick in 2019, he’s only 23 with his entire career ahead of him.

Speaking of the upcoming game, from a mental standpoint too, the Kings will seem to have the edge as they’ll be high on adrenaline after booking Stephen Curry and Co.’s early ticket back home. Anyway, it remains to be seen if the Pels can hold the fort in the absence of their starman. Should they emerge victorious, they will then face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, in a best-of-seven series.