Pelicans officially announced: Zion suffered a left hamstring strain, reassessed in about two weeks, and will miss this Saturday's playoff game with the Kings. According to ESPN, Zion is not only reimbursed for the playoffs, but also for the first round of the playoffs, and he has basically said goodbye to this season. Of course, whether the Pelicans can make the playoffs or not is two different things.
Just two days into the play-offs, three players have already been injured: Zion with a hamstring strain, Butler with a medial collateral ligament injury in the knee, and Caruso with a severe sprain in his left ankle. The Pelicans may become the biggest victim of the play-offs, 49-33 in the regular season, but facing missing the playoffs, looking at the entire NBA history, it is also quite explosive!
In the first game of the play-offs, the Pelicans lost to the Lakers 106-110, Zion shot 17 of 27, slashed 40 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block! He was so annoyed that he left the pitch covering his face with his jersey and throwing his towel on the ground.
Zion's 40 points per game ranks third in playoff history, behind Tatum's 50 points and Kobe White's 42. He is also the first player in playoff history to score 40 points + 10 rebounds in a single game! This season, the Kings beat the Pelicans 0-5 (regular season + midseason), but with Zion's injury, many people are more optimistic about the Kings.
When Zion went out, the Pelicans and Lakers were tied 95-95. If he doesn't get hurt, the Pelicans have a chance to advance. James praised Zion: "He's a super-talented man and this play-off is the best proof of that. He's got an epoch-making talent, he's top on the ball and his finishing ability, and Zion will get better and better!"
In the regular season this season (not counting the play-offs), Zion played a career-high 70 games. He averaged 31.5 minutes per game, with 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 57% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range and 70.2% from the free throw line. He averaged 17.6 interior points per game, second only to Brother Alphabet!
Looking at another set of data, the NBA's average singles points per game and singles efficiency rankings this season: Doncic averages 7.3 points per game, which is the first in the league, with an average of 1.09 points per singles. Tatum averages 6.4 points per game and is second in the league, averaging 1.04 points per singles. Zion averages 5 points per game and is fifth in the league, averaging 1.05 points per single.
This is Zion's fifth season in the NBA and his only one in which he has played in 65 games. In the previous four seasons, Zion played in 24, 61, 0 and 29 regular season games. So far in his career, Zion has played a total of 184 regular season games, with Morant playing 257 games and Tanhua Barrett playing 329 games.
In the 2022 offseason, the Pelicans signed Zion to a five-year, $231 million contract extension, with a guaranteed amount of $193 million, and the contract includes weight restraint and injury clauses. Since he was not selected to the All-Star team last season and did not win any awards, he could only get a maximum of 193 million. Not only that, but Zion also has to pass the Pelican's regular weight checks.
Zion was born on July 6, 2000, under the age of 24. By the time his contract expires in the summer of 2028, Zion will be 28 years old and will be able to sign another big contract, but only if he stays healthy!In January 2023, Zion suffered a right hamstring strain, and now he has a left hamstring strain, and he must lose weight.
Final question: Zion has decided not to play, who do you think the Pelicans or Kings will make the playoffs?