The New Orleans Pelicans have had a good start to their life in the Orlando bubble. They have won all three of their scrimmage games, including wins against the Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks. Young star Zion Williamson, who had left due to an emergency, has returned and will be eager to push his team to a playoff spot. So with the camp in high spirits, veteran sharpshooter JJ Redick was having fun with the media.

During the press conference after the Bucks game, Redick joked about how coach Alvin Gentry was lying to the reporters. Gentry told reporters that the Pelicans were eager to resume where they picked off.

When asked to talk about that Redick said, “I don’t know what Alvin’s talking about. We didn’t pick up where we left off. We did 10 f**cking days of training camp. Full court 5 on 5 scrimmages. He’s lying to you guys. We obviously had to push ourselves a little bit to get back into some semblance of game shape and game rhythm, and I think we did that.”

New Orleans Pelicans will be eager to unleash Zion

Redick says the team is eager to have Zion back. “Zion being here and not being here, having dealt with that during the season, (so) we’re used to that right now. But obviously we’re looking forward to getting the big fella back and keep this thing rolling.”

After playing just 19 games in the regular season (till March), Zion will be raring to go in the bubble. In that span of games, he averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds. If he keeps this scoring streak going, the Pelicans will be able to overtake the Grizzlies who hold the final playoff spot at the moment.

The first three seeding games are the toughest for the Pelicans. They start off with an encounter against the Utah Jazz on July 30. Then they play the LA Clippers on August 1. Then, on August 3, they play the Memphis Grizzlies, which could become a decider in who gets that final playoff spot. The Grizzlies have a tougher schedule than the Pelicans after, so that game could set up a potential run to make the playoffs for Gentry’s men.

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Sources:

New Orleans Pelicans Schedule

Zion Williamson on Basketball Reference

Pelicans Postgame Interviews | Pelicans vs Bucks Scrimmage