Zion's rehab hasn't been easy. The Pelicans organization has been incredibly patient when dealing with him, going as far as teaching him a new way to walk and run to avoid future injury.
You can see the details on that in my past article.
But you can't blame them. They have what looks to be a generational talent sitting in the wings ready to tackle the NBA at any minute. They don't have an obligation to win right now. They are perfectly happy watching the other young talent grow as they salivate at the future.
Even though they aren't looking to be very competitive, New Orleans has been a roll as of late going 7-3 in their last 10. This streak has included wins against teams like the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets.
Brandon Ingram has cemented himself as the offensive star of this team while Lonzo Ball has had an incredible January averaging 17.3/6.7/8.2. With Jrue Holiday on the trading block, the Pelicans may look to bolster this young core.
Seeing how much Zion can produce for them will be crucial before Trajan Langdon and David Griffin make any big decisions about the franchise's future.
Zion averaged 23.3/6.5/2.3 with 1.5 SPG shooting 71% from the field in the pre-season before injuring himself; historic marks for a rookie. It is incredibly rare for rookies to be this dominant this early.
If he can keep it up, we could be staring at a group that could be perennial playoff contenders.
Tune in Thursday night at 8:00pm EST for your first taste of Williamson in the regular season.
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