Zion Williamson is one of the most freakish athletes in the NBA – a 6’6″, 284 pound beast with flea-like hops. Unfortunately, he’s had issues staying healthy throughout his career, playing a total of 214 games over six seasons.
Williamson missed the entire 2021 campaign and has only two seasons with over 50 games played. Last season, he did play 70 games, which fostered some optimism that the injury concerns were behind him, but that seems to have been an outlier season, as Williamson played only 30 games this season.
After missing the last five games due to a back injury, the Pelicans decided on Monday to shut him and CJ McCollum down for the remainder of the season. New Orleans has seven games remaining in the regular season and currently has the third-worst record in the NBA.
McCollum played in 56 games this season. He has missed the last three games with a foot contusion.
Jose Alvarado has been the primary beneficiary of McCollum’s absence, as he’s averaged 28.3 minutes over the last three games. Elfrid Payton has soaked up the backup point guard minutes, but he’s on his second 10-day contract.
Kelly Olynyk has been the replacement for Williamson and he’s averaged 26.4 minutes, 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals over the last eight games. Olynyk is 33 years old with one year left on his contract at $13 million. It’s well within the range of outcomes that New Orleans continues to feed him minutes to possibly drum up trade interest in the offseason.
Bruce Brown has also seen significant playing time recently, averaging 32.7 minutes over the last three games.
There’s some uncertainty as to how New Orleans will manage the final seven games of the regular season, but there is the possibility that Keion Brooks Jr., Karlo Matkovic and Jamal Cain get significant playing time down the stretch.
