Pelicans star Zion Williamson finally receives clearance to resume basketball activities

We are closing in on three months since we’ve last seen young Zion Williamson grace the court wearing the Pelicans jersey, but good news is finally arriving at the New Orleans camp as he’s been cleared by the medical staff to resume his training with the team. 

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean he’ll be back playing with the squad already, as management decided he still needs a couple of weeks to pick up his rhythm and go through one more reevaluation before getting his final approval to compete again.

The Pelicans announced that Zion Williamson will be reevaluated in two weeks https://t.co/pGeK63KJFi

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 22, 2023

So, it’s official, Zion won’t be back to help his team in regular season’s final push to seek for a playoff position. The Louisiana side’s downfall ever since Williamson got injured on January 2 is tough to look at, as they fell dramatically from the Western Conference’s third place, all the way down to the 12th position with a 35-37 record.

According to some of our recommended sport betting sites, back in December the Pelicans were considered to hold a strong title-contending case, but now possess only the 18th best odds (+20,000) in the league to conquer the NBA trophy this year, tied with other franchises such as the Toronto Raptors or the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Let’s recap on the power foward’s situation. The player is dealing with a right hamstring strain which he suffered during his team’s loss against the Philadelphia 76ers. At the time, he was only expected to be sidelined for three weeks, but the 22-year-old suffered many setbacks in the following weeks and his recovery extended time and time again.

When asked about what training drills Zion is approved to do at this point, head coach Willie Green said “not a ton at the moment.” The trainer then tried to explain the situation further.”I said it before, because of the re-injury we are taking a slower approach, with his rehabilitation we’ll get on the floor, move a bit, running, doing some shooting.”

Check out the complete interview with trainer Willie Green in yesterday’s practice session:

It’s been a lot of injuries for the 22-year-old, considering what a short career he’s had so far. Even former NBA player Kendrick Perkins went all the way to say on ESPN that the Pelicans should seriously consider trading off the power foward this next offseason, as he’s proved to be so injury prone.

Is there really a return date for Williamson and Jose Alvarado?

About his return, Green simply wasn’t able to give a straight answer. “We’ll see, I can’t confirm if he will be back (by the end of regular season). This has been extremely positive for him and for the team,” he said. “It’s been another one of those years that he starts out well, makes an All-Star game.

“It’s been difficult navigating injuries, but it’s part of the game. It’s definitely tough, I’m sure he’s relieved to finally feel normal again and being on the floor.”

The medical staff also provided an injury update on young guard Jose Alvarado, who has missed the last 10 contests after suffering a stress reaction in his right tibia.

“Same thing,”, coach Green said. “It’s one of those injuries that takes time to heal. We feel bad he has to go through this, but nothing we can do about it, just a lot of processing.”