New Orleans Pelicans striker Zion Williamson returned to training with his team on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after finishing his four-day quarantine after returning to the NBA campus on Friday.
Williamson’s workload was light, according to pelican coach Alvin Gentry, who said Williamson only did 3 out of 0 and 5 out of 0 jobs and did not participate in 5 out of 5 exercises. Williamson left Orlando on the 16th July to take care of a family emergency and returned last Friday, completing her quarantine on Tuesday afternoon before the pelicans took the floor for late practice.
Gentry said the team will have another training on Wednesday and will evaluate Williamson to see if he will be able to play in Thursday morning’s inaugural game against Utah Jazz – the first official game of the NBA restart.
“Medical personnel will evaluate and see where they are and see if it makes sense to go out and play,” said Gentry.
While pelicans’ medical staff will play a role in Williamson’s status, rookie forward will. Gentry said the team will speak to Williamson himself to see how he feels after spending 12 days without team activity.
Williamson was one of the last players on the field on Tuesday, raising the extra shots as he is handling his handling of the ball as he tries to prepare for the opening of the pelicans.
However, Gentry said the team will not risk their long-term future for just one game to get Williamson back on the pitch on Thursday.
“It’s not really a difficult decision, guys. If he’s ready to play, he will play. Otherwise, we won’t play him,” said Gentry. “You will not risk anything in the long run for something very, very short. We will see and evaluate tomorrow where it is. Medical people will do it and Zion will too. Zion will tell us how it feels. From there, we will go to see and make decisions on what which is best for him and what is best for our team. “
The pelicans have won all three of their scrimmage games without Williamson – including Monday’s final setup against the Milwaukee Bucks – and have played 44 games in the regular season even without him. In the last 16 games before Williamson’s return, the pelicans have gone 11-5 and won a game without him in mid-February after his return.
Williamson’s presence on the pitch – even if he didn’t practice in full contact – was a welcome sight for his teammates.
“It’s always nice when someone is gone for four, five, six days, it’s always refreshing to see their face, to get energy from them,” said pelican guard Josh Hart. “Obviously, he didn’t participate in the 5-of-5, but his presence was there and we can’t wait for him to come out tomorrow or Thursday. But it’s always nice to see someone know that they had to fight with someone – court things, see them come back, smile and be professional “.
Lonzo Ball, with whom Williamson was developing a strong relationship on the pitch with this season, said the team is happy to have him back.
“We are much better with him than we are without him, we know,” said Ball. “So having it back to restart the games is fantastic for us.”
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