Prior to departing on a flight to Phoenix, New Orleans players were happy to see an All-Star teammate back on the practice court Monday. Zion Williamson is not yet cleared for full practice participation and 5-on-5 play, but he joined the Pelicans in other portions of their Monday workout. First-year head coach Willie Green said scans on Williamson’s right foot have been completed and show that the 21-year-old forward is making progress.
“Doctors are encouraged by what they see,” Green said of the scans. “He is progressing to do on-the-court work, 5-on-0, 1-on-0. He’s still not (cleared for) 5-on-5 competitively yet, but he’s progressing pretty well right now.
“He’s cutting, doing explosive work, running, so he’s getting closer and closer. But it’s one of those injuries where we want to be really diligent, especially with the foot. We want to be careful with when we put him back on the floor at full go.”
Green said the next step for Williamson will be to undergo another round of scans in 2-3 weeks. Green: “We’ll know more after that. But he’s progressing. It’s a good sign for us. We want to continue to keep him going in that direction.”
Williamson traveled with the team to Arizona, the start of a four-game road trip for New Orleans (1-6), with stops at Phoenix, Sacramento, Golden State and Dallas.
“We need him,” center Jonas Valanciunas said of the third-year pro. “We’re waiting every day for him to come back. It’s going to be a different look to our team. He’s a huge piece for our team and we need him. Then we’re going to see what everything is going to look like.”
“Having the team at full strength shows you where you actually are,” rookie forward Trey Murphy III said. “It will be great when he’s back out there, I know that for sure. He’ll be able to weaken the defense, because I feel like we’re not getting into the paint as much as we can. With Z there, that’s automatically 20 paint points. So I’m really excited for that.”
Meanwhile, 2020 All-Star forward Brandon Ingram did not fully participate in practice due to the right hip contusion that sidelined him for Saturday’s game vs. New York.
“He’s still sore, still questionable,” Green said of Ingram’s status for Tuesday’s game. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow after shootaround (in Phoenix).”