New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson made his NBA debut last night and finished with 22 points (FG 8-11, 3PT 4-4) seven rebounds, three assists, and five turnovers in the 121-117 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Williamson hasn’t played since preseason which was back on Oct. 13 because he had surgery on his knee to repair his torn meniscus.
Williamson started the game and played a total of 18 minutes. For the majority of the game, head coach Alvin Gentry had Williamson play in 4-5 minute increments. Williamson was very passive in the first half and didn’t look to score. He was rusty and his movement around the court was sluggish. Through the first three quarters, Williamson only scored five points and was struggling to get into a flow of the offense. On a few possessions he was fumbling the basketball which led to turnovers.
Gentry put Williamson in to start the fourth quarter and he caught fire. Williamson became scorching hot scoring 17 consecutive points for the Pelicans including four three-pointers. He looked confident attempting shots from behind the arc and his jumping ability looked decent when catching Lonzo Ball’s alley-oop pass.
One flaw that Williamson has is his lack of an outside shot. San Antonio dared him to shoot and Williamson made them pay giving New Orleans a 107-106 lead with 6:18 left in the fourth quarter. Gentry allowed Williamson to stay in longer than he anticipated until he was eventually subbed out at the 5:32 mark. He tried his best to rally his team to a comeback but he was on minutes restriction and the Pelicans want to ease his body back into shape.
During the Pelicans’ press conference, Williamson was asked how it felt to be in a rhythm to then be subbed out to enable him to play long term.
Williamson said, “It’s very hard. You know, I’m 19. Honestly, in that moment I’m not thinking about longevity, I’m thinking about winning that game. It was very tough.”
There’s no news on when Williamson will play next but be on the lookout as he progresses throughout the season.
New Orleans’ next game is at home against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 24 at 8:00 p.m. ET.