The New Orleans Pelicans got more bad news about Zion Williamson and his injured foot, and it now seems unlikely that the star will return this season.
Zion apparently got an injection in his injured foot and is going to be evaluated again in at least a month:
Pelicans star Zion Williamson underwent injection in his injured right foot in order to promote healing and will be re-evaluated in 4-to-6 weeks.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 16, 2021
This isn’t totally surprising, as there has been no indication that Zion Williamson is healing, and we’ve not seen much of him since that ill-fated media day where he and David Griffin said Zion would be back for the start of the season.
Apparently they meant next season.
But the New Orleans Pelicans still have to play out their schedule, and there is still a chance to salvage this season even without their best player.
I actually think the Pelicans have a good chance to make the play-in tournament anyway and there are some solid reasons why.
New Orleans Pelicans schedule and the garbage Western Conference
The Pelicans currently have the 3rd most-difficult strength of schedule remaining in the NBA, which might make it seem like they have no chance.
This can change quickly, as just two weeks ago the Pels had the 25th most-difficult schedule. The change mostly came because the Utah Jazz have won eight in a row to propel themselves into the 3rd seed and separate themselves from the rest of the West.
The Warriors, Suns and Jazz have pulled away from the pack and the Pels have seven remaining games combined with those three teams, which is why the Pelicans’ SoS went from 25th to 3rd in two weeks.
However, the rest of the West is pretty much equal, with the Grizzlies and Clippers (two teams the Pelicans have already beaten this season) in the four and five seed, so other than the top-3, no one else is really secure in their spot.
The teams directly in front of the Pelicans are all terrible and they are now only 3.5 games behind the Kings for the 10th and final play-in spot.
In between them are the Rockets, Spurs and Trail Blazers, so it is not like the Pelicans have to chase down a bunch of good teams. A three or four game winning streak would probably propel them into the 10th spot, so this season is far from over.
New Orleans Pelicans: Brandon Ingram is playing like an MVP candidate
Ever since returning from an injury that forced him to miss seven games, Brandon Ingram has been playing like an MVP candidate.
In his last eight games, BI is averaging 27.8 points, 5.7 assists and six rebounds while only turning it over 1.7 times per game.
He’s averaging career highs in assists and rebounds and is right at his normal scoring average of around 24 per game and rising.
BI has been handling the ball more and facilitating the offense with Zion Williamson out, and is doing it without dribbling too much or turning the ball over, something that has been a problem for him in his career.
Not only that, but he has been much-improved on the defensive end, something that people haven’t talked about much this year.
His defensive rating has improved by five points this season, he is more active off the ball and his additional defensive rebounds are helping the Pels close out possessions.
Ingram is playing like an MVP right now, which is making the Pels competitive in these games and could be enough to get them into the play-in, especially if they can add talent.
The New Orleans Pelicans can add talent
The Pelicans will reportedly be buyers at the trade deadline, and while I doubt they’ll make a huge move, they have the assets and young players to add talent to their roster.
The starting lineup with Josh Hart and Herb Jones has mostly been very solid, but the Pelicans lack bench depth, as right now they only have Nickeil Alexander-Walker as a scorer and he is mired in a season-long shooting slump.
The Pelicans have Satoransky’s expiring deal, a load of draft picks, a $17 million trade exception and talent like Jaxson Hayes, which they could pile together to potentially add an impact player.
I suggested Jerami Grant from the Pistons as a possibility, but he since injured his thumb and is out for awhile, which put a damper on that idea.
But there are a number of players the Pels could pursue to add depth to their bench or to add another starter, pushing one of their current guys to the pine.
If New Orleans can add another impactful player (preferably a point guard or someone who can shoot) they have a chance to chase down the garbage teams in front of them and make the play-in this season even without Zion.
This should be the goal, as young players get better by playing in important games and the only way to do that is to win.