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Andrew LopezESPN
New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson is a game-time decision for the opening game of the NBA restart on Thursday, coach Alvin Gentry said Wednesday afternoon.
Gentry said the medical team will decide whether Williamson, who was out of the team for 12 days due to a family medical emergency and his four-day quarantine, is ready to play against the Utah Jazz.
“Obviously, as a coach, you want it as much as you can,” Gentry said. “We have guys who are better equipped to make those decisions than I am from the point of view of health and from the point of view of the minutes played. It will be collectively something that is done by sitting down and talking about it and finding out if it ends up playing.” “
Williamson addressed the media for the first time on Wednesday since he left Orlando on July 16 and said he only wants to play, but acknowledges the risk in question. “I think my team and I will see what’s best for me, my future and being safe,” said Williamson. “If you know me, I want a hoop. This is who I am; I’m never going to change. I’m going to want a hoop, it’s that simple.”
Williamson declined to elaborate on the family medical emergency, simply saying it was something he discussed with his parents and family about the decision to leave and the time to return. Once she returned to Orlando, she was quarantined in a hotel room for four days as she tried to balance herself to prepare to play while she had to stay in her room.
“I was able to do some body workouts, just to keep my muscles running,” said Williamson. “While I was away, it’s hard to do things. I was dealing with a family emergency, so it’s God first and the family. So basketball wasn’t really there; I was dealing with something serious.”
Williamson and the team are cautiously approaching taking time away from basketball and then getting back to playing so fast in the NBA. “The NBA is not something you can normally jump into directly, especially in things like that,” said Williamson. “So I think my team and I are going to see what’s best, and if I’m ready to go.”
Williamson said his body feels good after two practices with New Orleans, although he did not participate in 5-on-5 drills on Tuesday and Gentry said Wednesday was a calmer day.
Pelicans forward Derrick Favors has a unique perspective on Williamson’s timing. In November, Favors’ mother passed away and he took a few weeks out of basketball before joining the team in mid-December. Favors said it is important to realize that family must come first and that the team understands that.
“You have to find that middle ground in everything,” Favors said. “But sometimes you just have to put your family first. If there is something drastic that happens with your personal life or with your family, everyone understands that you have to go and run your business with your family. But when the opportunity comes back to play basketball , we all welcome each other with open arms. We just try to support each other. Sometimes you just have to remember that it is a game. You still have life outside of this game. It is important to take care of your personal business and your family, first of all. Sometimes you have to put basketball second. “
Favors also understands that even if Williamson plays the Jazz on Thursday, it may not resemble the explosive phenomenon that swept the NBA this season right away.
“I just can’t just throw him in the fire right away and expect great things from him right away,” Favors said. “So it will probably take him a while. Hopefully it won’t be too long, but it will probably take him a week or so to get his legs back under him, remove some of the rust and get back into the game. Shape.
“He’s been doing a lot of exercise since he came back, he’s been injecting himself, he’s been doing a lot of cardiovascular stuff. So I hope I don’t know when, but I hope that when he gets back on the court, he can be his regular. Dominant again.”
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