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David Griffin – Zion Williamson that begins, does not end, is part of the pelicans’ plan

The way the New Orleans pelicans handled the minutes of rookie forward Zion Williamson was apparently the NBA’s speech Thursday evening when the league returned to play in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

On Friday, executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin spoke to reporters to try to clarify the situation, including why Williamson only played at the start of the quarterfinals and was not on the ground while Utah Jazz took over. the command in the fourth and eventually delivered a loss to New Orleans.

“The reason they take place as they are in the beginning is just that the medical team wants to make sure it is warm and loose before going on the pitch,” said Griffin. “Everything they are doing is based on this. The players have a very clear routine. His routine is to go wild at a certain time. We don’t want him to let go, so they sit on the side and wait because he is not so conducive to do his best. “

On Thursday 15 minutes, Williamson finished 13 points in 6-of-8, but did not register a rebound, theft or a blockage. He had an elegant assist behind his back in Lonzo Ball, but that was his only one. He checked out forever with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter with the pelicans rising four and did not return even when Utah took the lead.

This, according to Griffin, was all part of the plan. Griffin explained that the pelicans’ medical and performance staff had a “very clear plan” for every player heading to Orlando and that since Williamson spent July 16-24 away from the team due to a family medical emergency, did his four-day quarantine, the rookie lost crucial time to prepare.

“And every team member had to follow that plan,” Griffin said. “That plan involved minutes of scrimmage that many of the team could play. Many of our players were kept at 15 minutes or 12 minutes or more. Not because there is a fixed number of minutes, but because there was a fixed approach to how they were going to play.

“Everyone had to do it over the course of the scrimmages. Zion didn’t have this opportunity. Unfortunately, due to the situation with his family, he was called away. It was a very legitimate reason to leave. But unfortunately, he has 13 years days removed from the group in terms of following that plan after not playing basketball in the amount of four months. “

As for the appetizer minutes, in the first pelican scrimmage, Ball played 19 minutes, Jrue Holiday played 15, Brandon Ingram played 10 and Derrick Favors was left out. In the second scrimmage, Ball and Holiday played 12 and 13 minutes respectively while Favors played 12 and Ingram stayed out. In the final fight against Milwaukee, their playing time ranged between 17 and 23 minutes.

Griffin added that Williamson will not play “significant minutes” against the Los Clippers on Saturday and “may not” play in the game against Memphis on Monday evening. The pelicans are 4.5 games of the Grizzlies for the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff race.

“It’s about the acceleration time,” said Griffin. “He hasn’t gotten the benefit of everything his teammates have had for those 13 days. It will take time and I think it will take time for him, he mentioned his flow and pace. It will take time for him. to find it. “

Griffin said Orlando’s practice and condensed play schedule does not allow the team to get the 5 out of 5 job they want to speed up Williamson on rest days. So pelicans have to do it in game situations.

“I realize that it is really harmful to do what we are trying to do, which is to make the playoffs, but if we have it in full swing during these games, it will have to go through this process,” Griffin said. “There is no alternative. There would be no other player.”

While Williamson and his £ 285 chassis are unique, Griffin pointed out that any player on the roster who has lost 13 days of work up to this point in Orlando would have experienced the same thing.

Pelican coach Alvin Gentry said before the games, he, Griffin and vice president of player care and performance Aaron Nelson sit down and devise a comprehensive plan on how Williamson will be used.

“We understand that this is the best right now for him from the perspective of the explosion he would have had,” said Gentry. “This is how we try to interpret it.”

As the number of “bangs” increases, it is possible that the team will allow Williamson to complete the quarters instead of starting them.

For players, Williamson’s limited availability was a challenge, but it’s something the team has already faced. In January, when Williamson made his debut after losing 43 games with knee surgery, he played with a similar program.

“He is definitely unfortunate but, for him, he is a once in a generation type player,” said pelican guard Josh Hart. “You absolutely have to look long term for him. We just have to go out there and figure out if he has 3 minutes, 5 minutes per quarter, whatever it is.

“We have to go out there and make a circle when it’s out there and use it to our advantage. When it doesn’t, we have kids who are fully capable of stepping up. [and] filling that void when it’s not out there. Yesterday was a challenge, but we know what it is first. We just have to make the best of it. The kids have to step up and play bigger roles until they are fully able to be out there. I think we can do it. “

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