The New Orleans Pelicans were vastly expected to be rolled over by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. However, they have put up an unbelievable fight against the NBA’s best team in the regular season, and the added absence of Devin Booker has helped them tie up the series going into Game 5. And while there’s still a long way to go, there might be one thing that energizes the franchise even more during their current playoff run.
Zion Williamson, the franchise star, has missed the entirety of this season rehabbing from a foot injury where the timeline has repeatedly been pushed. This led to some speculation about why he wasn’t playing and that wasn’t helped by the videos Zion has released of him dunking in practice. However, now that things are rolling in New Orleans, another promising video of Zion looking good while playing has emerged.
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) April 24, 2022
The lay-up and the dunk both look quite promising from Zion and he looks more comfortable playing than he has in a long time. Considering that he now has two legitimate co-stars in Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum, there is no doubting that he likely wants to get back out there and help his team push their fantasy playoff run as far as they can.
It’s not just these videos that inspire confidence in Zion’s potential return, it’s the fact that he was also spotted doing 4 types of dunks. NBA fans already believe that if he comes back, the Pelicans might just win this series.
https://twitter.com/OlehKosel/status/1518361817176850436
“Just watched Zion Williamson conclude today’s pregame workout w/ 4 monster baseline dunks (power jam, two-hand reverse, windmill & 180). So starting in one 3PT corner, rim run, catch, jam, then sprint to the other corner, etc. Feels like his lift is improving. Looked more effortless.”
Williamson may have struggled with injuries a fair bit in his young career, but the fact that he averaged 27 points per game and over 7 rebounds per game in the one season that he was fit, shows he has what it takes to make it at the highest level. If he can come back locked in and ready somehow during this run, the Pelicans might just become a significantly scarier proposition in the Western Conference.
