What It Means:

Williamson has already been ruled out for at least the first week of the season and it sounds like he will miss more time than that. However, Pelicans head coach Willie Green did say that Williamson is making progress and there's supposed to be a re-evaluation scheduled for next week. Brandon Ingram will have a larger offensive role to start the season and there should also be more touches for Jonas Valanciunas and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Naji Marshall is another player expected to benefit from Williamson's injury.

numberFire's models currently expect Zion to average 29.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game this season. Per FanDuel Sportsbook, the Pelicans are 4.5-point underdogs at home on Wednesday.