Oft-injured Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson is injured yet again. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the 6-foot-8 big man has suffered a posterior hip contusion near the end of New Orleans’s 122-121 overtime loss to the Jazz Sunday. The severity of the ailment, which could indicate a recovery timeline, has not been revealed as of yet. Across his first two games this season, Williamson had been averaging 20.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.0 APG and 2.5 SPG for the Pelicans.
The team’s other star forward, Brandon Ingram, also departed the contest early after the club determined that he had incurred concussion-like symptoms from a head injury, reports Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Ingram bumped into Pelicans reserve small forward Naji Marshall while trying to snag a steal. Ingram had averaged 28.0 PPG, 8 RPG and 6 APG through his first two complete contests. He played just 11 minutes against the Jazz before ultimately departing the game.
New Orleans is currently 2-1 for the young 2022-23 NBA season, but should either player be sidelined for an extended duration, the club may need to lean on shooting guard C.J. McCollum for further scoring punch, and could be looking for further minutes from reserves Marshall and Larry Nance Jr. if it needs to compensate for the absence of Williamson and/or Ingram.
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