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Andrew LopezGAME
New Orleans Pelicans Executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said Friday that Zion Williamsonwho has been out of action since January 2 with a strain on his right hamstring, is not allowed to play 5v5 basketball and Williamson did not simply choose not to play in Wednesday’s win-or-go home game. Four with the team Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was an attempt to clarify claims made by Williamson himself when he said on Tuesday he feels fine physically and will return to competition “when I feel like Zion” again.
Those comments came the day before the Pelicans’ play-in loss to the Thunder. Before that game, Williamson warmed up on the field and finished with a number of pitches, including a windmill to round out his practice.
“He came here the other day and said ‘physically, I’m fine.’ ‘Physically I’m fine’ means ‘I’m not injured right now,'” Griffin told reporters during the team’s exit interview. “He wasn’t physically fit to play basketball. He played one-on-one. He went ahead and knocked down the windmill before the game. It’s not a skill set that makes you capable of playing ball. basket 5 vs 5. So for everyone to say now, ‘He chose not to play basketball,’ that makes no sense. compared to him choosing not to play basketball. It’s true.”
On April 6, the Pelicans released a statement saying that Williamson would “continue his conditioning and rehabilitation regimen. The next day, Griffin told reporters that there were still readings in the weight room. and on the field that Williamson needs to hit before being passed.” back to action.
“He made a false statement about ‘physically I’m fine.’ If I were here, I would make things clear right away,” Griffin said. “The problem is when you’re going through recovery and a player doesn’t report, ‘I’m very comfortable and confident in this move,’ you don’t move on to the next move. It’s not because of him. We don’t choose not to play basketball That’s because a recovery protocol requires the player to feel comfortable doing the motion he’s making.
“The miscommunication is largely our fault. I also think part of the reason for this is that if we don’t always look for the most dangerous outcome, there usually won’t be any. “
Williamson has played just 29 games this season and missed the last 46 – including the play-in – because of a hamstring injury. Williamson played 24 games in his rookie season and 61 of 72 games in his sophomore year before missing the entire third year because of a fracture in his right foot.
When asked what changes needed to be made to make Williamson more available, Griffin pointed to several factors.
“I wish I could pinpoint the answer right away. I think a big part of it is him,” Griffin said. “I think there’s a lot of things he could have done better. And I think he’ll tell you that. I think we need to do a better job of looking at the whole situation from top to bottom than one. little.
“I think it’s important to put him in the best position to succeed. And I think his involvement is a big part of that.”
Injuries have been a big part of the Pelicans’ season even without including Williamson in the equation. While the Pelicans are leading 23-14 when Williamson is injured and third in the West, there’s more work to be done.
Brandon Ingram played only 45 games in the regular season and missed two months with a broken toe. CJ McCollum Griffin said he has played for the past two months with a thumb injury that will require surgery, while also battling a tear in his lip in the final two weeks of the season.
Jose Alvarado missed the final 20 games of the season because of a stress reaction in his right tibia, and Larry Nance Jr. dealt with a number of injuries throughout the year, including an ankle sprain that kept him out of the game.
“What I don’t want is the story of our team being, ‘Oh my God, they have to fix the medical situation.’ No, we had to fix a lot of things,” Griffin said. “We have to do a lot better. That’s just part of it.
“I really don’t like the conversation about player availability, player availability. It’s also, ‘Let’s do the right thing with the available players. Let those people do the things. right every day. And let’s build the right culture where we can criticize each other in the ways that we need to be.’ I failed miserably at that. We have to do better in many ways.”
