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After defeating the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, the New Orleans Pelicans return to play the Sacramento Kings on Thursday during the first game of a back-to-back situation.
The Pelicans are right in the thick of the playoff race in the Western Conference, where all six teams alive are within 3.5 games of each other. The upcoming two-game stretch will be key for the Pelicans and the team is hoping to build off a strong outing from Zion Williamson during the win over the Grizzlies.
Williamson recorded 23 points and five assists in the 109-99 win after logging a season restart-high of 25 minutes. The team loosened some of the restrictions on Williamson in that game but with a back-to-back looming, the team will wait and see how he responds before laying out a plan against the Washington Wizards on Friday.
“First of all, we’ll see after the game what is going to happen,” Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said on Wednesday. “From the restriction of minutes standpoint, we’re just going to keep building up and we’re just going to keep playing and we’ll figure that out along the way.”
Williamson played in 5-6 minute bursts at the start of each quarter on Monday and even logged two separate appearances in the final period when he played 10 minutes, his most in any quarter during the restart. He looked to be gassed at times so the team will continue to monitor him on the floor before making a definitive decision on a minute count.
Williamson is averaging 14.3 points, four rebounds and two assists in 18.2 minutes during the season restart.
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