Nine-Year NBA Veteran Shares Harsh Reality for Western Conference Team

The New Orleans Pelicans have had a nightmare season

Nov 8, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) looks on from the bench against the Orlando Magic in the third quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans' season is in a tailspin. They've started the year 3-8, including five straight losses. Many of the issues can be attributed to the lack of health for their best players. This includes star forward Zion Williamson, who the team announced late last week is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury.

Williamson has a lengthy injury history, specifically with hamstrings. The two-time all-star injured his hamstring last season during the Play-In Tournament against the Los Angeles Lakers, ending his year and preventing him from playing in his first postseason. The season before that saw the former No. 1 overall pick play in just 29 games before injuring his hamstring in January and missing the remainder of the season.

Former NBA player Chandler Parsons recently appeared on the Run It Back show on FanDuel TV to discuss whether the Pelicans window is closing with the latest Zion injury.

"New Orleans is in a tough spot," Parsons revealed. "3-8 in that Western Conference, that's a big hole that they've dug. Now two of their best three players are out, it's gonna be a tall task for them to have a chance."

"It feels like (the Pelicans') window is closing... Zion's one of those guys like Wemby, you just need him on the floor." - @ChandlerParsons

Without Zion Williamson, there's not much hope in New Orleans 😖

▶️ https://t.co/0uOlFHrzkv pic.twitter.com/toEeJ2VnCa

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) November 12, 2024

The injuries put even more pressure on head coach Willie Green and his staff to devise solutions to win games with so much firepower on the bench. In addition, Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones, CJ McCollum, and Jordan Hawkins are all sidelined for a period. On Tuesday, the team announced that guard Jose Alvarado is now sidelined for at least six weeks with a hamstring injury.

The Pelicans begin a tough stretch of games, including the Thunder, Nuggets, and Lakers this week and a matchup with the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers early next week. New Orleans looks to make the postseason for the second straight year.