Is Zion Williamson playing tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers?

When the New Orleans Pelicans square off against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight, they will do so without Zion Williamson. This will mark the 41st straight game (and 49th overall) that the team has been without their superstar, who has been nursing a strained hamstring injury he suffered on January 2nd against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The last update we’ve gotten on the timetable for Williamson’s potential return came on March 22 when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that while Williamson was now cleared for on-court activities, it would be another two weeks before he would be re-evaluated.

Based on that time frame, two weeks from March 22nd would be April 5th, so we should be getting some sort of update on a possible return date for Williamson very soon.

If, say, an update did come on the morning of Wednesday, April 5th, the Pelicans would have three games remaining on their schedule. So, time is ticking if the team plans on having Williamson return before the end of the regular season.

It goes without saying that not having Williamson available for tonight’s game against the Clippers is a massive blow for the team. On the season, the team is 17-12 when Williamson does play and 22-26 when he doesn’t.

Tonight’s game is highly consequential for both teams. The Pelicans are trying to both stay in the play-in mix (they are two games ahead of the eleventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks) while also trying to climb up in standings (they are one and a half games behind the fifth-seeded Clippers).

If the Pelicans win, there’s a chance that they won’t even need the play-in tournament to be eligible for the playoffs (to learn about the inner workings of the NBA Play-In Tournament, reference this post here). But if they lose, there is a chance that they won’t even qualify for the play-in tournament.

Along with Williamson, the team will also be without Jose Alvarado (tibia) and E.J. Liddell (knee).