Beijing time on March 22, now this season's NBA regular season has come to an end, and now from the Blazers and Pelicans official release of the news, Lillard and Zion two star players are due to injury season reimbursement, will miss all the rest of the season, which for the Los Angeles Lakers, more conducive to their entry into the playoffs.
The first is the official release from the Blazers, who announced Lillard's season reimbursement in a statement, saying that Lillard is currently going very well in the rehabilitation process and will continue to recover in the coming weeks, and he will also miss the rest of the season.
Lillard underwent abdominal tendon repair surgery in mid-January this year, when the recovery time given was 6-8 weeks. Now that there is little left in the regular season schedule, even if Lillard returns, he will not be able to lead the team to the playoffs, so it is better to let him recuperate and wait until the Blazers this summer to rebuild.
This season, Lillard has only played 29 games for the Trail Blazers, averaging 24 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, shooting only 40% from the field. It is worth mentioning that Lillard suffered from abdominal injuries in the offseason last year, but still participated in the Olympic Games with injuries.
Followed by information from the Pelicans, the team's core forward Zion's current injury has made some progress, not only shooting training, but also the feet are beginning to bear weight, but the Pelicans have only 11 games left in the regular season this season, and resuming confrontational training may be a bit tight for him. So the team management decided to reimburse Zion for the season and give it plenty of time to recover from his injuries.
Zion suffered a foot fracture last offseason, and his injuries have been repeated due to his excessive weight. Zion has entered three seasons in the NBA, with a total of 85 appearances, also all of which are champions, and Oden has played 82 games in the first three seasons of his career.
Considering that both the Blazers and pelicans are currently potential opponents in the Lakers' playoffs, Lillard and Zion have also greatly reduced their team's combat effectiveness after the season reimbursement, and the Lakers are currently ninth in the West with 31 wins and 41 losses, one win difference ahead of the Pelicans and 3.5 wins ahead of the Blazers.