The New Orleans Pelicans suffered their first preseason loss last night against the Miami Heat, but Zion Williamson was the only thing anyone cared about.
After scoring 11 points in 11 minutes in the first half, Zion didn’t return to action in the second with what was being called “ankle soreness.”
Williamson went down awkwardly in the second quarter and came up limping. At full speed it didn’t look like much but when you looked at the play more closely, you could see that Zion rolled his ankle.
As someone who recently wrecked his ankle, this was tough to watch.
Pelicans All-Star forward Zion Williamson injured his left ankle Wednesday night and is considered day to day.
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) October 13, 2022
Coach Willie Green says Williamson “is doing fine” and the injury is not expected to be a long-term problem.
🎥 @WillGuillorypic.twitter.com/6uIh1tKbxw
Zion Williamson popped back up, hit two free throws and played a few more minutes, so it doesn’t appear that he is injured or that there is anything to be concerned about, but that won’t stop fans from New Orleans from gasping every time he hits the floor.
Zion Williamson’s injury may be minor, but the concern isn’t
Zion confirmed that he was fine and even took a shot at some of the Twitter doctors. The team has listed him as day-to-day and are downplaying any concerns that he is injured, which gave fans some relief this morning.
Zion Williamson says he’s fine. Said when injury happened, he popped back up and played more minutes.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) October 13, 2022
Said everything was precautionary and he feels he’s day to day.
Jokes that he understands Twitter is full of doctors.
Unfortunately, this is going to happen every time Zion goes down or lands awkwardly, as fans are understandably nervous about Zion’s health considering the team just inked him to a max extension and their chances of contending this season depend on him being on the court.
I also think it’s understandable that fans are somewhat skeptical about anything the team has to say about any injury to Zion being minor.
I was actually surprised that coach Willie Green left Zion in there after he went down, but I think that underscores the fact that there wasn’t any real reason for concern.
But until we see Zion consistently playing and healthy, Pelicans’ fans are going to be watching him like a parent watching their child go ice skating for the first time.
We’ll know more soon, as the Pelicans have another game on Friday against the Hawks and would love to get their starting five some run together before the games get real.
A successful season for the Pelicans will require good health, let’s hope we see the whole team out there on Friday, including Zion Williamson.