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Andrew LopezESPN
Miami — New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson When it comes to injuries, he understands the microscope underneath.
When he left Wednesday night with a sore left ankle in a 120-103 preseason loss, he knew what to expect on social media before he even looked at his phone.
“Twitter is already doing its job,” Williamson joked. “They are doctors, obviously.”
Williamson escaped serious injury, so it was easy to joke. Williamson and Pelicans coach Willie Green said he expects the 22-year-old Williamson to move forward each day. He was ruled out of Wednesday’s game for precautionary reasons.
Green said the team doesn’t expect Williamson to be out for long.
Williamson rolled his ankle on a drive to the basket with 9:30 left in the second quarter.When he stepped out with his left foot trying to get into the lane around Heat Center. Dwayne DedmonWilliamson tweaked his ankle.
He continued to play for almost three more minutes before checking out completely with 6:42 left in the second quarter.
Williamson scored 11 points on 3/7 shooting while going 5/6 from the line in less than 11 minutes of work. He added 4 assists and 2 rebounds.
“It was one of those things that happened and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m straight,'” Williamson said. and i felt better.then sent me in the back for a double check.we wanted to see it so i went to see the doctor.he said he took the daily pain a little bit That said, and other than that, I’m fine personally. It wasn’t bad news from the docs.
The Pelicans wrap up their preseason against the Atlanta Hawks in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday.
Williamson, who appeared in 85 games in his first two seasons and missed last year with a broken right leg, said that when asked about the injury turmoil, he recalls The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready to Die album. Williamson said the album “changed his life” and helped him focus through rehab last season.
“I mean, you just learned that’s the way the world is,” Williamson said. “There’s nothing I can do to change that. That’s the way the world is.”
The Pelicans hoped to run a scheduled starting lineup on Friday, as the group has yet to play together this preseason. Brandon Ingram He has yet to make his preseason debut due to pain in his left fifth toe. CJ McCallum Played in his second game of preseason on Wednesday.
Ahead of Wednesday’s game, Ingram told ESPN that he was “feeling good” and is going through the rehabilitation process so he can face the Hawks.
