Zion Williamson and the Pelicans need to give reasons to believe before it’s too late
Nearly 70 percent of the New Orleans Pelicans' annual salary was allocated to players on the inactive list Monday night.
A few teams have been dealing with injuries to their main guys at the start of this season. In New Orleans, it's been an avalanche of bad news since the beginning of training camp.
During Monday's 118-100 loss to Portland, the Pelicans were missing arguably six of their top seven rotation players due to injury. They looked like a team fighting with one hand tied behind its back.
CJ McCollum , Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Jordan Hawkins were all on the bench in street clothes while Brandon Boston Jr. , Jaylen Nowell and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl were playing crucial minutes in the fourth quarter.
Less than 10 games into the season, this has become the reality of a Pelicans team that started the year with high hopes. As of late, it's been a struggle to find any hope with the current state of the roster and a 3-5 record.
As ugly as it's been, there's still far too much time left in the season to think this group can't get healthy and make a run at some point. For the most part, it's the same squad that was 9-9 through 18 games last year before finishing with 49 wins.
That team's identity was centered around a certain grit and unwavering belief that this year's squad hasn't shown as often. Of course, it's tough to keep the spirits high among the fan base when almost every relevant figure on the roster is injured, but this team isn't giving anyone reason to believe that there's enough fire within them to pull off another major turnaround.
There's certainly enough talent in the building, but are they doing all the little things that indicate they'll be ready to hit the ground running once everyone is healthy? Does this team seem more likely to continue free-falling in the next few weeks without key contributors or more likely to start reeling off wins at a rapid pace once the injuries improve?
Considering this team's history, it's hard to ignore those who say the latter sounds more like a pipe dream with each passing day. The latest drama from Monday's loss provided an even bigger spotlight for some skeptics who believe the Pelicans are on the way to another year of disappointment and "What could've been" stories.
And, of course, Zion Williamson — one of the most polarizing figures in the NBA — plays a prominent role in all of this.
The Pelicans star showed up to Sunday's game against Atlanta and informed the team he was feeling tightness in his right hamstring that led to him eventually sitting out. The following night, Williamson wasn't present on the bench and was ruled out with right thigh soreness. After the loss to Portland , Pelicans head coach Willie Green said Williamson's absence was because of "doctor's orders."
"It was because of the hamstring/quad," Green said. "We kept him at home tonight."
At the very least, Williamson's no-show was peculiar considering he went through a full pregame warmup the previous night before being ruled out with a hamstring injury. Those with a more skeptical view might say this is yet another example of the strange actions and messaging that come along with most Williamson injuries.
Green did say after the game that Williamson's injury isn't long term, but it's tough to blame those who see this team's frustrating start and sense some of the same patterns from previous seasons that didn't go well: mysterious Williamson injury stories, unrelenting injuries to some of the most important players on the team, and the persistent feeling that there's so much untapped potential in New Orleans that's not being fulfilled.
Ultimately, Williamson could come back and drop 30 points on Wednesday or Friday and all of the consternation about his whereabouts on Monday will fade. Above all, what fans are desperate to see from Williamson is a complete buy-in with everything the team has going on — even during grim moments like this. Leaders show their true colors during times of turmoil, and there's no greater turmoil than what New Orleans is going through right now.
With all the talk about Williamson's absence on Monday potentially reflecting poorly on his leadership, it's tough to overlook the fact that Dejounte Murray hasn't been around the team since undergoing surgery to repair the broken hand he suffered in the Pelicans' season opener two weeks ago.
Murray certainly isn't the first player to spend part of his rehab process away from the team after surgery. The team has been aware of what he's been doing during the early stages of his recovery, but having him around would boost the morale of everyone in the locker room. It would also allow him to establish some of the leadership qualities that made him such a valuable target for New Orleans in the offseason.
It's not a knock on Murray that he isn't around. However, his presence would be additive during the turmoil New Orleans is currently going through.
Williamson making sure his teammates feel his presence even when he's out would be a reason for belief. Murray coaching up his younger teammates as they go through these growing pains would be a reason to generate some belief.
It's understandable why some might question if this team will keep fighting if things go poorly in the next few weeks when there isn't more of an effort to show everyone is committed to making sure this ship doesn't sink.
Along with questions over mindset, there's always skepticism regarding how long Pelicans players will be out with injuries and the accuracy of timetables released by the team.
After Murphy injured his hamstring during training camp in early October, the team initially announced that he'd be out at least three weeks. Once those three weeks were up, the team updated his status on Oct. 24 and said more updates on his progress would come in two weeks. Murphy was recently cleared to start playing 3-on-3 in recent days, but his return to the court still seems unclear. It might be in the coming days or it might end up being another week or so, depending on how his hamstring responds in workouts.
The team announced last Friday that Herb Jones would be out 2-4 weeks after suffering a small tear in his rotator cuff, but Jones hasn't done anything more than shoot one-hand jumpers a week into his rehab. He doesn't look like someone who's playing basketball any time soon.
On the same day, the team said McCollum would be out 2-3 weeks while he recovers from a right adductor strain. But older players dealing with soft tissue injuries in the middle of the season are always a concern. Would it be a surprise if this injury drags on as well?
This team should eventually get healthy, and it will certainly change its fortune when it does. But how long will it be before this becomes a reality?
The fact that this team constantly deals with injuries is frustrating enough, but the never-ending updates and updates to a previous update make these situations even more exasperating.
Sometimes, hope can go a long way. It would undoubtedly provide some positivity that's been missing in New Orleans most of the season. But hope also has to be earned, and the Pelicans haven't done enough to show they deserve the benefit of the doubt just yet.
(Photo of Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum: Ezra Shaw / )
