Zion Williamson's Final Injury Status For Pelicans vs Trail Blazers

The Pelicans reveal Zion Williamson's final injury status for Monday night's game against the Trail Blazers.

Nov 3, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) during warmups before the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans face the Portland Trail Blazers at home on Monday night, and the team listed star forward Zion Williamson as questionable before the game. Williamson missed Sunday's game against the Atlanta Hawks with hamstring tightness. It was the first game he missed this season after playing a career-high 70 games last year.

New Orleans announced a couple hours before tip-off that Zion would miss his second straight game because of hamstring soreness. Williamson has had hamstring injuries in the past, missing the postseason last year after injuring his hamstring during a Play-In Tournament game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

HC Willie Green says Jordan Hawkins and Zion Williamson are both OUT tonight vs. Portland

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) November 5, 2024

The season before that, the former Duke standout played only 29 games after suffering a hamstring injury in January against the Philadelphia 76ers. He would miss the remainder of the season.

Injuries are piling up for the Pelicans, who already are playing without Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III. That puts even more pressure on forward Brandon Ingram to score with so much of the Pelicans firepower on the bench. Ingram has three 30-point games this season.

Coach Willie Green and his staff must get creative to muster up some offense until some of their best players return to the court. New Orleans will rely on role players like Jose Alvarado and Brandon Boston, Jr. to jumpstart the offense alongside Ingram. Sharpshooting guard Jordan Hawkins is also out of Monday night's game.

Portland and New Orleans have already played twice this year, splitting a two-game set in Portland. The Pelicans are 2-1 at home this season.