A pair of NBA stars were shut down for the season on Monday. The New Orleans Pelicans announced that forward Zion Williamson would not be returning to the court this year, while the Portland Trailblazers have reportedly ruled out the possibility of seeing Damian Lillard suit up as well.
Zion has been extremely productive for the Pelicans when healthy averaging 25.7pts/7reb/3.2ast for his career. Unfortunately for New Orleans, Williamson has been limited to only 85 games since being drafted 1st overall in 2019.
With only 11 games left on their schedule, the Pelicans aren’t going to rush the former Duke Blue Devil back into action. Williamson was recently cleared to resume basketball activities. However, with numerous setbacks in his recovery from a foot injury already delaying his progress, coupled with reports that Zion’s weight is well above his usual playing levels, the Pels stand to gain very little from fast tracking his rehab.
New Orleans currently sits in 9th place in the Western Conference, which would put them in the play in games if the postseason were to start today.
Meanwhile the Trailblazers announced that they would be shutting Damian Lillard down for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign as he continues to recover from abdominal surgery. Lillard has been limited to only 29 games this year after aggravating the injury at the Tokyo Olympics.
After several attempts to play through the pain, Portland and Lillard’s camp opted for surgery in January. The 6x All-Star was averaging 24pts/4.1reb/7.3ast prior to his setback. Lillard hasn’t played since Portland’s December 31st game against the Lakers.
Currently sporting a 26-44 record, the Trailblazers are on the outside looking in when it comes to the Western Conference playoff picture. With 12 games remaining in their regular season, Portland now figures to give extended looks at some of their younger players down the stretch.
The Trailblazers were sellers at the NBA trade deadline shipping out veterans Robert Covington, Norman Powell, CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr, and Tony Snell and are looking to reshape their entire roster ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.