The New Orleans Pelicans return home on Sunday after an embarrassing road loss to Houston on Saturday night. They will face the Memphis Grizzlies at the Smoothie King Center in both team's final matchup of the regular season against each other. Memphis won the first three games this year.
Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson hasn't played against the Grizzlies this season, missing all three games because of injury. Williamson struggled on Saturday night against the Rockets, scoring 20 points on 19 shots against the physical Rockets' interior. New Orleans released their injury report for Sunday's game, and Williamson is ruled out for the matchup.
Zion Williamson (conditioning) ruled out Sunday.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) March 9, 2025
New Orleans continues to monitor Williamson's minutes and games since his return from a hamstring injury in January. The hamstring was the third straight year that the two-time all-star suffered this specific injury, and with the Pelicans already out of playoff contention, extending his minutes makes little sense.
Since January 7th, the former No. 1 overall pick has played more than 30 minutes once and has not played in any back-to-back games. Williamson recently told reporters that while he would like to play more minutes, he understands the Pelicans' position to not risk any further injury. The Pelicans are also in a position to get a top draft pick in next year's NBA Draft, so positioning will be key for that.
ZION LOOK OUT. pic.twitter.com/TZYzd2GkD1
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 5, 2025
This season will be the first time that head coach Willie Green will not have his team, at least not in the Play-In Tournament. New Orleans has been in the last three years and participated in the playoffs two of those three years. Tip-off for Sunday night's game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CST.
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