Zion Williamson will miss Thursday's play-in tournament game vs. the Kings with a hamstring injury he suffered vs. the Lakers on Tuesday.
It is unclear how long Williamson will sit with the ailment. The former No. 1 overall pick had 40 points and 11 rebounds before suffering the injury late into the fourth quarter in an eventual loss to the Lakers.
The Pelicans had opened as 2-point home favorites for this win or go home contest, but the odds at FanDuel are now +1.5. That's a 3.5-point swing — fair given his impact on the offensive end.
My colleague and NBA expert Matt Moore considers this injury "disastrous" in the longterm for the Pelicans.
"Williamson has had more seasons end in injuries than playoff berths, and there has to be a real question of whether he will ever be in a position to play in a postseason run given his size and the toll it takes on his lower body," Moore said. "The big plus for Williamson this season was his conditioning; he looked to be in the best shape of his career. And yet he'll still miss this game and further games due to injury. There's no good path forward for the Pelicans. They struggle to make lineups work with Brandon Ingram (who was benched in the loss to the Lakers) and Zion, and if you commit to Zion, you don't know if he'll be available. If you commit to Ingram, your ceiling is probably capped."
In the short-term, the Pelicans' odds to win the NBA Championship and Western Conference fell slightly, too. The Pelicans had been roughly +4700 across the market to win the West prior to the news. Now, they're slotted in at +5000 at FanDuel.
And their NBA Finals odds dropped from +10000 to +12000 on the news, swapping places with the Kings in the process.
