The Sacramento Kings apparently will not have to worry about New Orleans Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson when the teams meet in Friday’s play-in game that will determine the final entrant in the NBA’s Western Conference playoffs.
Williamson will miss the elimination game against the Kings after suffering a strained left hamstring late in Tuesday’s 110–106 play-in loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in New Orleans. Sacramento advanced Tuesday with a 118–94 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors.
An MRI on Wednesday confirmed the injury to Williamson, and the team said he will be re-examined in approximately two weeks. That means that if the Pelicans beat the Kings and advance to a first-round playoff matchup against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, Williamson would likely miss most, if not all, of that series.
Williamson departed with 3:13 remaining after scoring 40 points in the loss to the Lakers, who claimed the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and a first-round date opposite the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets. Denver swept Los Angeles in last year’s Western Conference finals.
Williamson had just tied the score at 95–95 on Tuesday when he exited with the injury to his left leg. In addition to his game-high point total, which came on 17-of-27 shooting, the two-time all-star totaled 11 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one blocked shot.
Williamson, 23, averaged 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 70 games, all starts, this season. The 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick has career averages of 24.7 points, 6.5 boards, and 4.1 assists in 184 games.
New Orleans defeated Sacramento in all five regular-season meetings between the teams, but the absence of Williamson would figure to be a huge break for the Kings.
