Latest injury setback with Zion continues frustration for Pelicans, fans

Everyone is beyond the point of frustration.

You feel for David Griffin.

You feel for Willie Green.

You feel for Zion Williamson.

I feel for New Orleans Pelicans fans.

Lord knows Zion Williamson wants to play basketball.

He simply cannot do so, at least not enough to help his team enough to be what it is capable of being.

The news Sunday that Williamson will now miss multiple weeks after the All-Star break after aggravating his right hamstring injury in a recent workout is so disappointing on so many levels but to so many, it is not a huge surprise.

As brilliant as Williamson is when he plays, he simply cannot stay healthy long enough to play enough.

For the last few years, we have talked about what the Pelicans can be if they can ever get all of their assets on the floor at the same time for an extended period of time.

The only thing that has happened over an extended period of time is that the best players, the real assets, have been unable to play together.

Consider that Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, the three stars of the team, have played in just 10 games together this season.

Is there a breaking point when the Pelicans say enough is enough with Williamson?

That is hard to fathom, considering how the franchise has invested in him and considering how talented he is.

Consider what the Pelicans are with Williamson and what they are without him?

In 29 games played this season, Williamson is averaging 26.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 60.8 percent from the field.

In his young career, Williamson is averaging 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists while shooting 60.5 percent from the field.

The numbers do not lie.

Neither do the other ominous numbers.

In four seasons, Williamson has played in 114 games while missing 169 games. Williamson has played in 40.3 percent of Pelicans games while missing 59.7 percent of those games. Those numbers are about to get a lot worse.

When you pile that on top of Ingram’s record of missing games, it presents a huge problem, a true dilemma for a team invested in two very talented but often unavailable players.

Since joining the Pelicans in 2019, Ingram has played in 200 games while missing 83 games.

While that is nowhere near the level of Williamson’s missed games, Ingram has played in 70.6 percent of games while missing 29.4 percent of New Orleans games.

Ingram is back now and playing well.

In the jumbled, highly competitive Western Conference, the Pelicans could finish anywhere from third to 12th.

To make the playoffs and to even avoid the play-in level, Ingram must remain healthy with Williamson out and he must play at a high level.

Of course, we have not seen Williamson since Jan. 2.

At this point, we will be lucky, perhaps very lucky to see him again by Mar. 2. That might be an accurate statement when talking about Apr. 2.

New Orleans is 6-14 since Williamson went down.

After Williamson went down, the Pelicans went down.

When Williamson gets up again, the Pelicans are likely to go up.

The question remains when that will be?

Until then, the see-saw ride will continue with ups and downs.

The frustration continues.