Zion will “NOT” make debut vs Knicks Friday

Sorry Knicks fans & ESPN

https://syndication.bleacherreport.c...njury.amp.html

New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson has been ruled out of making his season debut Friday against the New York Knicks.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 9, 2020

Perhaps they had second thoughts about this. Maybe they are considering resting him whole season but allowing him to do pregame warmups. If you want to see him slam and jam get there as soon as doors open.

Not surprising whatsoever.

Many of us on the forum (myself included) seem to think that Zion will make his return at home, which would make sense as a crowd-pleasing measure. It would also give him a friendly, supportive environment to make his first appearance.

Some others (luckyman, I think, was one of these people) have suggested that VS the Jazz on the 16th would track better with the 3 practices guideline that Gentry mentioned a short while ago. That seems to tick more of the boxes.

do it big..the 18th against the clippers on ABC...or the 26th against boston on espn....it got to be for the world to see....do it big lol...

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Originally Posted by 6warddude

do it big..the 18th against the clippers on ABC...or the 26th against boston on espn....it got to be for the world to see....do it big lol...

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I think we got flexed out for Rockets vs Lakers that day. Warriors games been flexed out too.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Not surprising whatsoever.

Many of us on the forum (myself included) seem to think that Zion will make his return at home, which would make sense as a crowd-pleasing measure. It would also give him a friendly, supportive environment to make his first appearance.

Some others (luckyman, I think, was one of these people) have suggested that VS the Jazz on the 16th would track better with the 3 practices guideline that Gentry mentioned a short while ago. That seems to tick more of the boxes.

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I was betting on Utah too. If he isn’t back by then, I would scratch my head a little.

Okay, this is getting ridiculous now. Zion will miss half the season on a”6 to 8 week” procedure? But it’s okay to throw down between the leg dunks during warm up? I was 100% on board with the Griff hire, but I feel now like I was conned a little......buy season tickets, buy merch, to see the next big thing, then this?????
Is Griff a used car salesman or is it me being impatient?

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Originally Posted by Chavan30

Okay, this is getting ridiculous now. Zion will miss half the season on a”6 to 8 week” procedure? But it’s okay to throw down between the leg dunks during warm up? I was 100% on board with the Griff hire, but I feel now like I was conned a little......buy season tickets, buy merch, to see the next big thing, then this?????
Is Griff a used car salesman or is it me being impatient?

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I don't think it's either, at least not fully.

I feel like giving 6-8 weeks early was a mistake. I get why they did it, because you kinda have to give a rough time-table, but when it hit 10 weeks and Griff was on the in-game commentary saying that there were other factors beyond just recovery that they wanted Zion to hit before returning to play, that felt like a complete error for them: why didn't they announce that right at the beginning? Why didn't they just say ''Zion will be out for 6-8 for injury rehab, but will remain out for a period of time afterwards, until he's up to game speed after missing so much time''? That's not necessarily used car salesman, but it's definitely a miscommunication that's led to a lot of frustration.

On the other hand, I do think there is a degree of impatience to it. We're at the point now where almost every game for the last 3 weeks people have been saying ''is THIS the game he's back? is it THIS one?!'' and it's like... no? We've been told some updates, and about 10 days ago we got told that they wanted him to have 2 or 3 full practices with the team before playing. So why, when we got told that nearly 2 weeks ago, did we have people expecting him to play in the very next game?

Unfortunately, we've had a big mess here. Huge hype + unclear communication + impatience = mass frustration.

Hopefully Zion will be back within the next handful of games and all of this can get put to the side while we enjoy some basketball.

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Originally Posted by Chavan30

Okay, this is getting ridiculous now. Zion will miss half the season on a”6 to 8 week” procedure? But it’s okay to throw down between the leg dunks during warm up? I was 100% on board with the Griff hire, but I feel now like I was conned a little......buy season tickets, buy merch, to see the next big thing, then this?????
Is Griff a used car salesman or is it me being impatient?

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Yeah . This is a real good troll job going here. Let’s have Zion have his own slam dunk contest before the game.

Nope he not ready.

Seriously is Vince McMahon in our front office too? Is Griff getting advice from him?

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

Yeah . This is a real good troll job going here. Let’s have Zion have his own slam dunk contest before the game.

Nope he not ready.

Seriously is Vince McMahon in our front office too? Is Griff getting advice from him?

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Being ready to do some walk throughs, hit a lay-up line, and do a dunk =/= being ready to play a full 25, 30 minutes of NBA basketball at in-game levels against active defenders

Looks ready to me

More dunk. pic.twitter.com/jNCEPDmNk1

— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) January 8, 2020

Just a little dunk to start. pic.twitter.com/po9C4Y0OCt

— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) January 8, 2020

Thanks DAE, but I hope it’s not too late when he comes back. This organization was a laughing stock around the NBA, now there “seems” to be much distrust with the small by comparison fan base with the miscommunication. I have been getting questions like “ they haven’t had 2-3 practices in three weeks??”, “ we can’t play him but we can have him risking injury by doing crazy dunks in warm ups??”....etc. I am banging the drum for the Pels, but it feels like a losing battle.

Let him play

Zion. Oop. pic.twitter.com/jMq4HtqwDv

— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) January 8, 2020

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Originally Posted by Chavan30

Thanks DAE, but I hope it’s not too late when he comes back. This organization was a laughing stock around the NBA, now there “seems” to be much distrust with the small by comparison fan base with the miscommunication. I have been getting questions like “ they haven’t had 2-3 practices in three weeks??”, “ we can’t play him but we can have him risking injury by doing crazy dunks in warm ups??”....etc. I am banging the drum for the Pels, but it feels like a losing battle.

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I totally understand that. It definitely is frustrating, and I want to see Zion play as much as anyone :hihi: I think he has all-time great potential, and he's such a nice guy from all the interviews and locker room stories and such we've heard, you can't help but root for him. There's pretty much no other player I'd rather build my franchise around right now, aside from maybe Giannis.

That said, I do also totally recognise and appreciate that the longer Zion stays out, and the more people see him doing things like dunking in warmups, the more people are going to get annoyed. I've said it before on here: the fanbase isn't stupid, nobody minds Zion not playing when he's injured, people get that. But just not playing him when he is ready? That's a different issue.

I would like to note though that not having 3 practices in 3 weeks doesn't seem particularly unusual around the NBA. Teams don't get to practice properly as much as fans sometimes think, what with road-trips and physio and personal days and stuff. From what I understand, some of the older teams in the NBA basically don't practice at all, at least not with full-on 5-on-5 stuff.

It is frustrating, I want to see him back too, but I wouldn't give up hope quite yet. As long as he plays this month, I'm staying calm.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

Yeah . This is a real good troll job going here. Let’s have Zion have his own slam dunk contest before the game.

Nope he not ready.

Seriously is Vince McMahon in our front office too? Is Griff getting advice from him?

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There's an incredibly big difference between making a planned jump and dunk with your knees as opposed to trying to juke and track other players during a game. C'mon.

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

There's an incredibly big difference between making a planned jump and dunk with your knees as opposed to trying to juke and track other players during a game. C'mon.

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We were told he is ready. Alvin Gentry said he was ready with time restrictions. He has been practicing for 2 weeks now!

Pels will probably end up getting fined for resting him.
Although it's ok for Memphis to not play Iggy or Parsons.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Pels will probably end up getting fined for resting him.
Although it's ok for Memphis to not play Iggy or Parsons.

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Pelicans fans bought season tickets with the intention of going to see Zion play. Zion secured multiple TV appearances for this team. Zion merch has been through the roof: Zion's jersey had more sales within 5 days than any other rookie's jersey in history.

Absolutely nobody bought a season ticket to watch Andre Iguodala play, and no games were given TV slots for Chandler Parsons.

Is that unfair? To have one standard for Zion and another for Parsons? Sure. Is it surprising to anyone, for any reason, at all? Not a bit.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

I think we got flexed out for Rockets vs Lakers that day. Warriors games been flexed out too.

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According to what? The espn website still has us on abc for that game. Especially if they think Zion will be playing by then. ABC and ESPN are sister stations.

And whoever thought he'd play against the Knicks? Where did that come from?

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Originally Posted by luckyman

According to what? The espn website still has us on abc for that game. Especially if they think Zion will be playing by then. ABC and ESPN are sister stations.

And whoever thought he'd play against the Knicks? Where did that come from?

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A: NY Media. ESPN. This was supposed to be 8 -10 weeks. We are in week 12. It certainly is not shutting up Reggie Miller and Kendrick Perkins saying won’t play at all this season.

If Kendrick Perkins jumped off of a bridge, would you do it, too?

I'm hearing whispers that it will be Thur against the Jazz.

Whispers is a random guy in a group on Facebook. That's all I've got. Sorry.

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

If Kendrick Perkins jumped off of a bridge, would you do it, too?

I'm hearing whispers that it will be Thur against the Jazz.

Whispers is a random guy in a group on Facebook. That's all I've got. Sorry.

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Perk is not that bad at times. I would not mind him as an assistant coach. He is not afraid! As for Zion return did you wager the Jazz game ? Yes there is Vegas odds now.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Pelicans fans bought season tickets with the intention of going to see Zion play. Zion secured multiple TV appearances for this team. Zion merch has been through the roof: Zion's jersey had more sales within 5 days than any other rookie's jersey in history.

Absolutely nobody bought a season ticket to watch Andre Iguodala play, and no games were given TV slots for Chandler Parsons.

Is that unfair? To have one standard for Zion and another for Parsons? Sure. Is it surprising to anyone, for any reason, at all? Not a bit.

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I actually buy tickets to watch the team play. Zion is part of the team. When he is ready, he's ready. The vacillating on the board is actually pretty stupid

I just think the board is being cautious which is fine. He was probably okay to play a couple of weeks ago (with minute restrictions) but they want to make sure everything is 100% healed. If they hold him out past the Jazz game though, I’d be concerned with the way they are handling him. But again, I don’t know all the details.

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Originally Posted by JJackisangry

I just think the board is being cautious which is fine. He was probably okay to play a couple of weeks ago (with minute restrictions) but they want to make sure everything is 100% healed. If they hold him out past the Jazz game though, I’d be concerned with the way they are handling him. But again, I don’t know all the details.

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I cant copy paste now, but Griff did a radio interview yesterday and pretty much said the idea of sitting Zion all year is absurd. So he will play barring any setbacks.

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Originally Posted by luigi modelo

I actually buy tickets to watch the team play. Zion is part of the team. When he is ready, he's ready. The vacillating on the board is actually pretty stupid

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Zion said he had been itching to play “and if it was up to me I would have been out there two weeks ago”.

— Scott Kushner (@ScottDKushner) January 2, 2020

On January 2

https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-ne...was-up-to-him/

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positive sign: Williamson went through a full practice session on Thursday. The team would like for him to get through a few more such practice sessions before clearing him to play, according to ESPN.

A source within the organization told ESPN that before Williamson makes his on-court return, the team would like him to undergo at least two or three practices doing full work. A source told Sedano the team is targeting just after the new year for those practices.

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We are past 3 practices.

Update: Zion practiced this morning at MSG. ESPN airing footage . Not playing per Gentry (Laughing) on Sportscenter just now.

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Originally Posted by luckyman

I cant copy paste now, but Griff did a radio interview yesterday and pretty much said the idea of sitting Zion all year is absurd. So he will play barring any setbacks.

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And I’d think he is being truthful. For one, you run the risk of jeopardizing your relationship with the fans and the player himself if you sit a perfectly healthy young man all season. The guy is dying to play. Secondly, NBA experience is important and it isn’t worth sitting him out for a draft pick in a weak draft. Thirdly, we actually have a shot at the playoffs. For all of the heartache we suffered to begin the season, we are still in the playoff race and can build a winning culture now. Play the man.

Zion working on his shot at MSG. Gentry joked bringing him back in NYC would be too much pressure. ‘Who would do that?’ pic.twitter.com/XfCOLh9Xni

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) January 10, 2020

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

There's an incredibly big difference between making a planned jump and dunk with your knees as opposed to trying to juke and track other players during a game. C'mon.

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Alvin Gentry said he’s making progress and he’s practicing, playing 5-on-5 and we’re “trying to gauge when exactly” he will return. When he does return, Gentry said he will not start and he will have minutes restrictions.

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) January 10, 2020

Zion will not start when he returns. https://t.co/E1YMQeQih2

— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) January 10, 2020

Zion not starting adds another twist. LOL. Pretty much guarantees he is ready. Can they draw this out any further? LOL . Alvin can’t even give a straight face anymore.

He hasn't played in a meaningful game yet in the NBA and hasn't played in any action since October. He absolutely should be on a minute restriction AND (especially with the team playing as well as it is) shouldn't be starting his first game back. Let him get some run mid game and ease into it. I don't see what the issue is with that.

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

He hasn't played in a meaningful game yet in the NBA and hasn't played in any action since October. He absolutely should be on a minute restriction AND (especially with the team playing as well as it is) shouldn't be starting his first game back. Let him get some run mid game and ease into it. I don't see what the issue is with that.

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Not to mention, coming off the bench means he's going to get a HUGE reaction if his first game is at home. Can't wait

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Originally Posted by DarkHornet

Not to mention, coming off the bench means he's going to get a HUGE reaction if his first game is at home. Can't wait

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Please let it be the Utah game or we riot.

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

He hasn't played in a meaningful game yet in the NBA and hasn't played in any action since October. He absolutely should be on a minute restriction AND (especially with the team playing as well as it is) shouldn't be starting his first game back. Let him get some run mid game and ease into it. I don't see what the issue is with that.

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No argument here. Just tired of the “He is ready but not yet” that has been going on for the past 9 days. Perfectly okay with restrictions on playing time. Just give me 30 seconds and I will be happy.

At this point I'd be absolutely certain it'll be the 16th.

You can see the power of large markets. Most of the recent Pelicans videos are when they were in LA. Now a lot of media activity since they've been in New York.

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

He hasn't played in a meaningful game yet in the NBA and hasn't played in any action since October. He absolutely should be on a minute restriction AND (especially with the team playing as well as it is) shouldn't be starting his first game back. Let him get some run mid game and ease into it. I don't see what the issue is with that.

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Yep, I agree. I don't think he needs to come off the bench, starting seems like it would probably be fine, but at the same time I don't really care too much as long as he gets some minutes with members of the starting lineup.

As for the minutes restricting, it really depends what it is. I saw someone on Twitter speculating that it will be a 12 minute restriction, which I think is a bit extreme after all the extra time Zion's sat out; his injury should be pretty much 100% healed by this point. But a 20, 25 minute restriction? That seems perfectly reasonable. Don't see why Zion should need to come back and immediately put in a 38 minute game :hihi:

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Originally Posted by luigi modelo

I actually buy tickets to watch the team play. Zion is part of the team. When he is ready, he's ready. The vacillating on the board is actually pretty stupid

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Sure, and I'm not saying everyone that bought tickets specifically and exclusively bought tickets for Zion. But there's a reason that we sold more season tickets within 48 hours of drafting Zion than we sold in total last year.

He got the between the legs to go tonight. pic.twitter.com/IH026WW2Qr

— Christian Clark (@cclark3000) January 10, 2020

Well ... Zion's looking good ����

(via @_Andrew_Lopez) pic.twitter.com/UpQFVzjqza

— ESPN (@espn) January 10, 2020

I'm itching to see him play but I'm in no rush either. We have him for 7 years at least

******** of Kinobody