NEW ORLEANS, La. – For the second straight game, the New Orleans Pelicans have decided to rest its stars and place Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday, and Brandon Ingram on the injury report.
This was not the last time that we would see or hear from the Pelicans rookie forward.
During the team’s shootaround session earlier today, Zion appeared before the New Orleans media to discuss his rookie season and plans for the shortened offseason.
Zion appeared in 24 games this season, averaging 27 minutes of action and 22.5 points and 6 rebounds per game.
“There were a few rough patches when I was trying to get into my rhythm, but it’s a part of the game and it’s a part of coming back from injury. I feel like the coaches and the training staff handled it very well. Just to be able to play one minute in an NBA game, I’m grateful for that.”
Zion says that despite missing the playoffs, the young Pelicans squad was able to make strides internally, building a chemistry that will better suit them moving forward.
“When we first got together [in the] preseason, we didn’t really know each other, we didn’t really have a feel for each other in the game. Even when I went down, the chemistry still wasn’t there, but to watch this team grow and build the chemistry on and off the court…that was a big success for us,” says Williamson.
The team’s performance in the Orlando bubble will still be on the minds of Pelicans fans as the NBA postseason progresses.
While the team did not find much success the past 3 weeks, Zion says that it was a great learning experience moving forward.
“You never want to lose like that, obviously. It’s like one of those wake-up calls, one of those lessons that you need to learn and you need to experience. I wish it wouldn’t have went down like that, obviously, but the best thing we can do is just learn from that experience and get to work,” says Williamson.
And when it comes to questions surrounding his body and whether or not he was in shape for the seeding games, Zion says “Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I’m just going to stick to the opinions [of] the people close to me and my team and just go from there.”
This offseason Zion plans to, “Talk to my coaches, see what I need to do better from their point of view. Talk to the player development coaches as well, see what I need to do better from their point of view. Just work on every part of my game and work on getting my body to where it needs to be.”