The New Orleans Pelicans are going to be without All-Star forward Zion Williamson for longer than originally expected due to a hamstring injury.
Williamson, who hasn’t played since Jan. 2, re-aggravated the injury and is expected to be sidelined through the All-Star break and beyond.
This is a huge blow to the Pelicans’ NBA Finals chances, especially since they were amongst the best teams in the West earlier this season when Williamson was healthy. The West is extremely crowded as the All-Star break nears, and several teams (the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks mainly) improved with trades at the deadline.
This is one of many injuries that have hampered Williamson early in his career, and it should completely change bettors perspective on this Pelicans team given their current price in the futures market.
New Orleans Pelicans NBA championship odds
The Pelicans currently sit at +3500 to win the NBA Finals this season, but that number is likely to fall if Williamson misses a significant stretch in the second half.
New Orleans has really struggled without the All-Star forward, going 12-16 in the 28 games that he has missed this season.
Not only that, but the Pelicans aren’t exactly the most durable team around Zion.
Brandon Ingram has missed a large chunk of the 2022-23 season due to injury, and the Pels have suffered through a really rough patch since Williamson went down.
Dating back to Dec. 31, the Pelicans are just 6-16 and have fallen from a top three seed in the West all the way down to the No. 7 seed. They are just 1.5 games ahead of the No. 12 seeded Portland Trail Blazers, making their margin for error for a playoff spot extremely thin.
Williamson has been really injury prone in his NBA career, missing all of the 2021-22 season and playing in just 114 total games since being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
This is Zion’s fourth NBA season, yet he hasn’t even played a season and a half (which would be 123 games) for the Pelicans.
New Orleans is a team that you should stay away from in the futures market until Williamson is able to return to the lineup.
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