Zion Out Indefinitely

[Rondo9]

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1390776249535156226

[liam]

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1390776249535156226

That sucks. He's so much fun to watch!

[SHAQATTACK]

I was holding my breath ,  when 275 pounds go flying 40 inches off the ground too often ,  I was expecting a fractured leg.

Whew ....just a finger

[Atzar]

At least a busted finger isn't a long-term concern.  So that's good.

[liam]

"New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson is out indefinitely with a fractured left ring finger, an injury that executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said was "avoidable" if the league did a better job officiating his franchise superstar."


You could say the same for Brown in every game. He just gets hammered and hardly gets any calls.

[gouki88]

Does anyone have footage of the incident?

What a bummer for New Orleans

[nickagneta]

Does anyone have footage of the incident?

What a bummer for New Orleans

It was a pretty innocuous rebound attempt.

[cons]

The GM of the pelicans trying to blame this on the league or the refs is pretty pathetic.  I’d be embarrassed if I was Zion hearing that.

[gouki88]

Does anyone have footage of the incident?

What a bummer for New Orleans

It was a pretty innocuous rebound attempt.

Weird that Griffin is complaining about officiating then, but I guess he's probably ma about his star asset being damaged

[hwangjini_1]

nm

[ozgod]

The GM of the pelicans trying to blame this on the league or the refs is pretty pathetic.  I’d be embarrassed if I was Zion hearing that.

They're going to take advantage of the opportunity to advocate for their dude.

Griffin said he believes the injury was likely the result of an accumulation of hits.

"I believe he probably suffered the injury over a period of time," Griffin said. "It's a striking injury. It's a blunt-force injury. He was being beaten on the hand over and over and over again. For me to tell you one time, I don't think I can do that. I don't think he knows one time."

Griffin's comments came during a striking 13-minute news conference Friday in which he went after the league for the way Williamson has been officiated this season.

"I'm really frustrated because this was avoidable. We told the NBA through every means available to us, through sending in film, through speaking to everybody in the officials department and everybody in basketball operations, that the way they were officiating Zion was going to get him injured," Griffin said. "And, quite frankly, he's injured because of the open season that there's been on Zion Williamson in the paint.

"He has been absolutely mauled in the paint on a regular basis to the point that other players have said to him, 'I'm going to keep doing this to you because they don't call it.' There is more violence encouraged in the paint than any player I've seen since [Shaquille O'Neal]. It was egregious and horrific then, and the same is true now."

Entering Friday, Williamson was second to Giannis Antetokounmpo in total free throw attempts and behind only Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Trae Young in free throw attempts per game this season. Still, Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said his star should be shooting even more.

"He certainly takes a lot of hits. We've been on the referees hard. I know I have been every game," Van Gundy said. "I get the response that, 'Well, how many free throws has he shot?' and my response is always, 'Not enough.'

"The guy gets hit all the time. ... In my opinion, he should easily lead the league in free throw attempts. The swipe-downs, the guy on both hands is just getting killed every night. The referees let it go too often. This is what you're going to have."

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31406267/zion-williamson-indefinitely-fractured-left-ring-finger