The New Orleans Pelicans turn to face a must-win showdown against the Kings without Zion Williamson, and while they're familiar with the scenario, that won't make his absence any less jarring.
The star forward suffered a left hamstring injury as he scored his 40th point in a 110-106 loss to the Lakers in Tuesday's play-in game and has been ruled out for at least two weeks.
"Your heart just hurts for him," teammate Larry Nance Jr. said at Thursday's practice. "That moment in time is a really tough one to stomach for all of us, but for him especially. You just hurt for him.”
His absence on Friday in a do-or-die play-in showdown with the Kings will be his third consecutive season missing postseason action due to injury, but that's not how his season should be remembered, Nance said, regardless of what happens the rest of the way. Williamson played in a career high 70 regular season games, answering questions about his fitness as he averaged 22.9 points. 5.8 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
His 40-point night on Tuesday marked the third-highest scoring total in any play-in action since the format was established.
"It’s a shame for him, truly," Nance said. "He had an unbelievable year, and just because this happened at this time doesn't make it not a success. It was a success. My man was healthy."
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If there's a silver lining to be drawn from the situation, it's that this Pelicans group does have a good understanding of how to win without Williamson. They fought through the play-in in the 2021-'22 season and pushed the Suns to 6 games in the first round. The Pelicans other stars like CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram will have to step up after struggling in the loss to the Lakers.
Ingram was on the bench for the closing stretch of the game due to his struggles as he continues to work back from an injury that cost him much of the final month of the season.
Pelicans head coach Willie Green gave Ingram a vote of confidence on Thursday, and added that the pair have had discussions about the decision to sit him during the closing stretch on Tuesday.
“He’s knocking off some rust," Green said. "He’s been out four weeks or so, but he looked great today and he was playing with force, he had a really good practice, sharp and we look forward to him getting back on the floor tomorrow and getting after it.”
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In the matchup with the Kings, who dismantled the Warriors in the other play-in game earlier this week, the Pelicans get a familiar opponent they've had plenty of success against. New Orleans beat Sacramento five times this season, including in the newly established in-season tournament, but they had Williamson in four of those games. Green wouldn't tip his hand, but said the team has a "recipe" for what they believe will work and has worked against Sacramento in the past.
Nance made a clear and important distinction as he looked at the matchup.
"I think there’s a difference between confidence and cockiness. We’re going to go into it confident ... because we deserve to and we’ve earned the right to go in feeling confident," Nance said. "But we ain’t going in cocky. We recognize where we’re at.”