Upcoming Match-ups
Tmrw
4
May
7:00 PM
MIN
DEN
+4
-4
208
Monday
6
May
7:30 PM
IND
NY
+6
-6
215.5

Pelicans Odds to Make Playoffs Lengthen to +250 Following Zion Injury

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in NBA Basketball

Updated Apr 21, 2020 · 10:49 AM PDT

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday talking to Wizards guard Bradley Beal on the court.
Veteran Jrue Holiday was always going to be key to the young Pelicans' success this season, and that's even more true now that Zion Williamson is out with a knee injury. Photo by Keith Allison (flickr).
  • The odds on the New Orleans Pelicans making the NBA playoffs are now +250
  • #1 pick Zion Williamson is out 6-8 weeks after undergoing knee surgery
  • New Orleans was +200 to reach the postseason prior to Zion’s injury

The health of Zion Williamson’s knee is connected directly to the NBA playoff hopes of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Williamson, the top player chosen in the 2019 NBA Draft and the NBA Rookie of the Year favorite, is expected to miss the first 6-8 weeks of the season due to a knee injury. Williamson underwent surgery on a torn right lateral meniscus.

That development has caused oddsmakers to reassess the Pelicans’ chances of reaching the postseason. The sportsbook has extended the line on New Orleans to +250 in the 2019-20 NBA Playoff Odds.

New Orleans Pelicans 2020 NBA Playoff Odds

Team Yes Odds No Odds
New Orleans Pelicans +250 -300

Odds taken on 10/22/19.

The Pelicans were at odds of +200 prior to the Williamson injury.

Zion’s Knee a Worrisome Development

This is the fourth knee injury suffered by Williamson since high school, which is raising concerns that perhaps his body is simply too heavy for his legs to carry the load.

Last season at Duke, he suffered a knee injury when his shoe exploded as he planted his foot on the hardwood.

At 284 pounds, Zion is the NBA’s third-heaviest player. But the two players ahead of him – Tacko Fall (7-foot-5) and Boban Marinovic (7-foot-4) – are both skyscrapers. Williamson is a stout 6-foot-6.

Couple that with Williamson’s all-out style of play, and some NBA pundits are beginning to question whether this will be an ongoing issue during his playing career.

Williamson was also held out of a portion of the NBA Summer League due to knee issues.

The #1 Generally Doesn’t Get It Done

Selecting first-overall and making next season’s playoffs rarely coincide.

Nine of the last 10 teams to select first overall in the NBA Draft have missed the postseason, that includes the Pelicans in 2012, when they chose Anthony Davis with the #1-overall selection. New Orleans finished 14th overall in the Western Conference in 2012-13.

It should be noted that the lone team to select first overall and make the playoffs the following season comes with a significant caveat. That would be the 2017-18 Philadelphia 76ers, who drafted Markelle Fultz first overall in 2017.

Fultz was limited to 14 games that season due to a shoulder injury.

Pelicans’ Hopes Dashed

During the preseason, Williamson displayed the tools that made him the most-hyped rookie to hit the NBA since LeBron James.

Zion was averaging 23.3 points per game and shooting 71.4 percent from the field. He displayed poise and a high level of basketball IQ to go with his awesome physical attributes.

2024 NBA MVP Award Odds Tracker
Read More

Even as greatly as King James has ruled over the NBA during his outstanding career, after he was selected first overall by Cleveland in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Cavaliers went 35-47 and finished ninth overall in the Eastern Conference.

Minus Zion, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram (acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in the Davis trade) along with underrated veteran Jrue Holiday will need to pick up the slack.

Looking at the West, you’d have to think that the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Jazz, Rockets, and Warriors are playoff locks. That leaves two spots up for grabs.

Getting to the postseason with Zion was going to be a challenge for the Pelicans. Without him – even for a couple of months – it will be nearly impossible.

Pick: No (-300)

Author Image