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Andrew LopezESPN
When New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson will return from a right hamstring strain that has kept him out of action since Jan. 2 remains a mystery.
On Thursday afternoon, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin announced, “After further evaluation, it has been determined that Zion Williamson will continue his rehabilitation and conditioning regimen. We will continue to monitor his progression and updates will be provided as warranted.”
Williamson initially injured his hamstring on Jan. 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers late in the third quarter and did not return for the fourth quarter in that game.
Despite being hurt, Williamson was still named an All-Star starter but was unable to play in the game because of the injury. He re-injured the hamstring in early February and has rehabbed ever since.
When Williamson was hurt, the Pelicans were 23-14 and in third place in the Western Conference, just a game behind the first-place Denver Nuggets.
After the injury however, the Pelicans struggled mightily. With Brandon Ingram also missing time in January, the Pelicans stumbled down the West standings and bottomed out at 33-37, losing to the Houston Rockets on a last-second 3-pointer on March 17.
Since then, the team has bounced back to win eight of their last 10 to put themselves back into the middle of the Western Conference play-in race, in part because of strong play from Ingram.
Williamson has played in 29 games this season and averaged 26 points and seven rebounds while shooting 60.8% from the field.
The announcement did leave open the possibility of a return if the Pelicans make the playoffs.
Currently, at 41-39, the Pelicans can finish no worse than the No. 9 seed and will have a shot to make the playoffs through the play-in tournament like they did last season. New Orleans is currently tied for seventh with the Los Angeles Lakers and is a game behind the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors, who both are 42-38.
Source: www.espn.com