It’s been just over 10 months since Zion Williamson’s freak shoe blowout and knee injury against North Carolina, which marked the end of a beautiful era where it was safe to be unabashedly excited about Williamson’s future in the NBA.
Since that incident that complicated the end of his college career, Williamson was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 Draft, but had barely made his Summer League debut before a blow to the knee knocked him out for the rest of the summer. Williamson returned for the NBA preseason, but a torn right lateral meniscus forced Zion to undergo surgery, and while we’ve seen footage of Zion taking practice shots in recent weeks, there is not a definite timeline for his NBA debut.
Williamson was not on the floor for what the NBA had hoped would be a showcase game on Christmas Day, but Williamson would already be on the floor if he were calling the shots in New Orleans, according to ESPN. Pelicans executive David Griffin has repeatedly refuted the widespread concerns over Williamson’s unique weight and size, but according to a new report, the Pelicans are changing the way Williamson walks and runs in an effort to keep him healthy.
Via ESPN:
“Williamson, 19, said the Pelicans are also trying to teach him how to walk and run differently — working on the kinetic chain of his body.
…. A source within the organization told ESPN that before Williamson makes his on-court return, the team would like him to undergo at least two or three practices doing full work. A source told Sedano the team is targeting just after the new year for those practices.”
What in the world is the kinetic chain? It’s an engineering concept that likens the body to a machine consisting of connected parts.
Via ISSA:
“Overall, the kinetic chain comes from the idea that our muscles and joints present a system, similar to an artificial machine, and is used to more effectively and professionally describe the movement processes of the human body. You can see why it would be used in physical therapy.
The kinetic chain is composed of interconnected and overlapping segments which produce force by pushes or pulls and are a prime component of muscle activation.”
[opinary poll=”which-nba-rookie-will-have-the-better-ca” customer=”forthewin”]