Kyle Trimble is a licensed physical therapist here to provide NBA injury analysis on Zion Williamson’s left ring finger fracture.
New Orleans Pelicans PF Zion Williamson has been ruled out indefinitely with a left ring finger injury following New Orleans’ May 4 win over the Golden State Warriors. This injury occurred while going up for a rebound in the third quarter. While there is not a timetable for return which is a big concern as the Pelicans are fighting for the last playoff spot in the West. They are 1.5 games back of 10th place with 4 games to play.
Zion Williamson Injury Update: Left Ring Finger Fracture, Timetable for Return
Zion Williamson Injury: Left Ring Finger Fracture
Example of hand anatomy. Credit: Sportsinjuryclinic.net
According to research, finger or phalangeal fractures take on average 33 +/-29 days to return which equates out to 10 games +/- 7 games without surgery. The Pelicans record without Williamson is 2-5 this season which is not ideal when having to make up ground. In addition, losing 27 points per game for any team is difficult to suddenly overcome.
Zion Williamson NBA Betting & Fantasy Basketball Outlook
There have not been any reports of surgery at the time of publication indicating that Williamson may be resting and seeing whether they can qualify for the playoffs without him. If they make the play-in tournament, he will be two weeks removed from the injury, cutting the above-mentioned timeline in half, missing 6 games.
However, I believe that his shooting accuracy will suffer due to the pain and he may further injure the finger while in the paint. If Williamson returns, I’d consider betting them to win two games to secure the 8th seed as they are 2-0 against Memphis and split games against the Warriors and Lakers, with one game remaining against each team.
Even if they win the play-in games, I would still expect an early exit against Utah in the first round as Williamson will still not be 100 percent and possibly struggle. Currently, BetMGM has the New Orleans Pelicans at +15000 to win the Western Conference. I would NOT take that bet. It’s highly unfortunate that Williamson suffered this injury, but this was horribly timed and may lead to the Pelicans going home early.
Kyle Trimble is a licensed physical therapist who also works as an injury spotter for Dr. David Chao. Kyle has extensive experience in outpatient orthopedics, skilled nursing, acute care hospital, and home care. He’s also a member of Bills Mafia and runs the website Banged Up Bills.
Disclaimer from Kyle: My opinions are my own. Any thoughts I have on the injuries are based on media reports, my knowledge of the injury, and speculation based on the information currently available including video and print media. This information is subject to change based on the information released by the team.
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