The Utah Jazz defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 122-121 in overtime on Sunday night, but the bigger concern moving forward is the condition of forwarding Zion Williamson, who left the game early in the fourth quarter after taking a hard fall while attempting a dunk. After the fall, Williamson wasn’t declared ineligible to continue playing, but Pelicans coach Willie Green revealed to reporters after the loss that the All-Star forward had been diagnosed with a posterior hip contusion.
Injury Update: Zion Williamson sustained a posterior hip contusion during tonight’s game
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 24, 2022
Williamson was slow to get up, but he stayed on the field for a few more plays. Since he appeared to be in evident pain, he had to be replaced and stayed on the bench following the event. Later, Williamson was told he couldn’t return from his hip injury and was done for the night, even though the Pelicans hadn’t officially ruled him out of the game.
Zion suffered a hard fall on this play
He continued playing before going to the bench pic.twitter.com/ltWe9q5yVR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 24, 2022
The Duke Blue Devils freshman sensation was out of the entire 2021-22 season due to injury. Thus, the fans expect the Pelicans to be more cautious this time. Yet, Williamson’s exact unavailability time is uncertain; but considering his extensive injury history, the Pelicans will undoubtedly proceed with caution. It will be a setback for a New Orleans team that appeared to be so strong to open the season, in part because of Williamson’s presence, if Williamson does miss more than a few games.
How do you expect the Pelicans to perform in the upcoming games with Williamson down with an injury? Let us know in the comment section.
