Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Expected to play Saturday
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Coach Willie Green said Friday that he expects Williamson to play in Saturday's matchup against the Bulls, Christian Clark of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Williamson has sat out the second half of each back-to-back set thus far, but that could change Saturday. Green left things open-ended, saying his expectations could change, but for now, it appears Williams will play Friday and Saturday. Despite taking the occasional night off, Williamson's return to action this season has been a success. He's averaging 24.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 31.9 minutes per game.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Incredible efficiency
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Williamson provided 33 points (11-12 FG, 11-12 FT), eight rebounds, six assists and three steals over 33 minutes during Wednesday's 124-114 victory over Philadelphia.
Williamson's nearly perfect shooting from both the field and the free-throw line helped him post a season-high 33 points in Wednesday's win. Despite shooting just 64.9 percent from the charity stripe on the season, the 23-year-old forward converted 11 of his 12 free-throw attempts against Philadelphia. Williamson continues to show that he's one of the NBA's most efficient scorers, shooting 56.6 percent from the field in 2023-24.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Nearly perfect in dominant effort
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Williamson totaled 33 points (11-12 FG, 11-12 FT), eight rebounds, six assists and three steals across 33 minutes during Wednesday's 124-114 win over Philadelphia.
Williamson took advantage of the absence of 76ers star center Joel Embiid (illness) by dominating in the paint en route to a season-high point total. The 2019 No. 1 overall pick originally appeared to have recorded a perfect 11-for-11 performance from the field, but a league decision after the game tagged him with a missed shot on a play during which he lost the ball out of bounds. Despite that, this was an ultra-efficient shooting for Williamson, especially when considering his 11-for-12 mark from the charity stripe. The 23-year-old is shooting 56.6 percent from the field on the season, and he's posting per-game averages of 24.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals over 31.9 minutes.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Logs team-high 26 points in return
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Williamson ended Monday's 114-112 loss to the Jazz with 26 points (9-16 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 7-9 FT), four rebounds, seven assists and one steal across 34 minutes.
The Pelicans dropped the first of a two-game set versus Utah with Williamson out for rest purposes, and although the Pelicans came closer to a win in Monday's rematch, they still fell short. The team has cemented a pattern where Williamson sits during one game of back-to-back sets, and he's taken a seat for the second half of the set in each instance thus far. Fantasy managers need to be aware of this pattern if they depend on Williamson for consistent production.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Good to go Monday
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Williamson (rest) is off the injury report ahead of Monday's game against the Jazz.
Williamson sat out of the team's last game, which was the second game of a back-to-back, for rest purposes, but he will be available for Monday's game in Utah. Williamson has posted four straight 25-plus-point performances and sports averages of 27.3 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 33.0 minutes per game over that stretch.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Out for rest Saturday
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Williamson will sit out Saturday's game against the Jazz for rest.
It's the second night of a back-to-back for the Pelicans, and Williamson is coming off a performance of 32 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals in 34 minutes. Saturday will mark the third time this season Williamson has sat out the second half of a back-to-back. In his absence, more minutes could be available for Naji Marshall, Larry Nance and other frontcourt players. Brandon Ingram should take on more usage among the starters.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Scores team-high 32 points
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Williamson had 32 points (13-25 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 6-9 FT), six rebounds, five assists and two steals in 34 minutes during Friday's 116-106 win over the Clippers.
The Pelicans improved to 3-1 in West Group B behind Williamson's stellar play. In the three games after a brief one-game absence, Williamson averaged 27.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.7 steals while converting 61.4 percent of his shots.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Dominates in win
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Williamson ended with 25 points (10-16 FG, 5-7 FT), five rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes during Wednesday's 117-112 win over the Kings.
Williamson finished with at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists for the first time this season. The 2019 No. 1 overall pick has looked healthy to start 2023-24, but his production hasn't been as prolific as previous years. Regardless, Williamson is averaging 22.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 0.9 steals in 31.3 minutes per game, and most importantly, he's appeared in 12 of the Pelicans' first 15 games. His usage may take a hit when CJ McCollum (chest) is cleared to return, but fantasy managers shouldn't worry about that in the short term.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Stuffs stat sheet vs. Sacramento
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Williamson totaled 26 points (12-16 FG, 2-2 FT), three rebounds, five assists, one block and three steals in 30 minutes during Monday's 129-93 victory over Sacramento.
Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans in scoring with a 31-point performance, but Williamson also delivered a strong performance and filled the stat sheet admirably while missing just four of his 16 shots from the field. The star forward has been outstanding when available, and he is yet to miss a game in 2023-24 outside of scheduled rest days and personal matters. Through 11 games, Williamson is averaging 22.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per contest.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Off injury report
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Williamson (rest) is no longer listed on the injury report and will play Monday against the Kings.
Williamson missed Saturday's game for rest purposes but has been taken off the injury report, so he will be available for Monday's game barring any changes. In the four games previous to Saturday's game, Williamson averaged 21.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 30.3 minutes per contest while shooting an impressive 55.9 percent from the floor. The fourth-year pro is slowly returning to dominant form after a couple of injury-riddled seasons.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Sitting out against Minnesota
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Williamson won't play in Saturday's game versus the Timberwolves for rest purposes.
Williamson hasn't suffered an injury, but the Pelicans are playing it cautiously on the second night of a back-to-back Saturday. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Naji Marshall are candidates to receive increased minutes in his absence. Williamson should be good to go for Monday's matchup with Sacramento.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Solid performance in blowout win
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Williamson amassed 19 points (8-15 FG, 3-7 FT), seven rebounds, five assists and two steals over 27 minutes during Tuesday's 131-110 victory over the Mavericks.
Williamson has appeared in nine of the Pelicans' first 11 matchups, averaging 21.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 31.0 minutes per game. That's solid production but not quite as prolific as his limited time last season. Following Sunday's loss to the Mavericks, which marked a fifth straight losing effort for New Orleans, Williamson said he's taking a back seat to start the season. "I'm trusting the process," Williamson told reporters. "I'm trying my best to buy in right now." The Pelicans snapped out of their slump in a big way Tuesday, but Williamson's comments suggest a larger workload isn't on tap.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Efficient shooting in loss
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Williamson closed Sunday's 136-124 loss to the Mavericks with 18 points (7-11 FG, 4-8 FT), two rebounds, four assists and one steal over 27 minutes.
Williamson failed to reach the 20-point plateau for the first time since Oct. 30, and in fact, he has scored fewer than 20 points just twice all season, so his role as one of New Orleans' primary scoring weapons is set in stone. Williamson will always have issues with health and fitness, but he has been playing regularly so far in 2023-24, and his numbers are quite good. Through eight outings, he's averaging 21.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Set to play Friday
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Williamson (personal) is available for Friday's game versus the Rockets, Christian Clark of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Williamson has been upgraded from questionable to available Friday after missing Wednesday's loss to the Timberwolves due to a personal matter. The star forward should reclaim his spot in the starting lineup, likely replacing Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Questionable Friday
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Williamson (personal) is questionable for Friday's matchup at the Rockets.
Williamson sat out Wednesday's loss to the Timberwolves, and it's unclear if he'll be taking more time away from the team. The Pelicans' injury report has filled up quickly, and Herbert Jones (leg) is also questionable. Fantasy managers, especially those in daily leagues, should keep tabs on things leading up to tipoff.
Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Sits Wednesday for personal matter
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Williamson won't play Wednesday against the Timberwolves due to a personal matter, Michael Grady of Bally Sports North reports.
The Pelicans didn't go into further detail regarding Williamson's absence, though the 23-year-old previously disclosed in the offseason that he was anticipating the birth of his daughter in November. The Pelicans are already missing four other players due to injury and forward Herbert Jones (fibula) is listed as questionable, so head coach Willie Green could be forced to rely on supporting players like Dyson Daniels, Matt Ryan and Larry Nance to absorb more minutes at forward. Williamson's next chance to play will come Friday in Houston, though it's unclear if he'll be ready to rejoin the Pelicans by the weekend.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Flirts with triple-double in loss
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Williamson had 20 points (10-22 FG, 0-1 FT), 10 rebounds, nine assists and two steals in 37 minutes during Monday's 134-116 loss to Denver.
Williamson did a little bit of everything against the Nuggets. With CJ McCollum (lung) out for an extended period, Williamson took on an enhanced role as a ball distributor with a season-high nine assists. The assist increase could become a regular occurrence while McCollum is out, which only increases Williamson's immense fantasy value.
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Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Puts up 25 points in return
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Williamson closed with 25 points (9-16 FG, 7-10 FT), five rebounds and three assists over 32 minutes during Saturday's 123-105 loss to the Hawks.
Williamson returned to action after he was rested in New Orleans' most recent game, and it seems the move paid off, as the star forward led the team in scoring and rounded out a solid fantasy line. Health and durability will always be concerns with Williamson, but if he stays healthy, he is a must-roster player across all formats and an absolute gem in dynasty or keeper leagues. He has scored at least 20 points in four of his five appearances this season.
