Pelicans' Zion Williamson: Could miss first round of playoffs

The Pelicans don't believe Williamson (hamstring) is close to returning to game action, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

Williamson has already been ruled out for the Play-In Tournament, and there's been no indication from the Pelicans that he'd be able to suit up during the first round of the playoffs if the team advances. The 22-year-old recently progressed to low-intensity 3-on-3 scrimmaging, but he's had some trouble translating his conditioning into basketball shape, per Charania. Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said Friday that the "best possible outcome" would be Williamson returning to full practices during the first round of the playoffs, so it seems highly unlikely that the Duke product would be available for game action unless the Pelicans go on a postseason run.