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Pelicans
The Pelicans finally got a bit of good news. Zion Williamson has been cleared for full-contact, on-court work, the team announced.
He’s been out since November 2 with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, and while New Orleans hasn’t offered a target date for his return, this update signals he’s trending in the right direction.
The Pelicans badly need the lift, as they’ve stumbled out of the gate and haven’t looked like anything close to themselves without their franchise forward.
Celtics
Jordan Walsh went from closing games to opening one. After earning crunch-time minutes in Boston’s last two outings, the second-year wing drew his first start of the season on Wednesday and helped the Celtics roll Memphis.
Walsh finished with seven points, six rebounds and two blocks in just 18 minutes, posting a +19 in a blowout win.
Teammate Payton Pritchard suggested that Walsh’s jump comes down to maturity.
“He’s been more professional,” Pritchard said, via Brian Robb of MassLive. “He’s ready for the moment. Just telling him not to take it for granted. Stay hungry every day and keep pushing.”
The Celtics are deep, and Walsh carving out real rotation minutes this early is notable.
Bulls
Noa Essengue wasted no time making noise in the G League. The Bulls rookie forward scored 28 points in 29 minutes in his Windy City debut, as relayed by The Chicago Tribune’s Julie Poe.
It was an impressive burst of scoring… but it won’t change Chicago’s approach.
Head coach Billy Donovan indicated that Essengue will stay on the long-term development path.
“Sometimes you can get preoccupied with the scoring aspect,” Donovan said, via The Chicago Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley. “I know he had a big night, but we need him getting out in transition, getting to the backboard, cutting.
“The shooting needs to develop, his body needs to develop. Can he bring the things into the game we’re going to need from him?”
Essengue isn’t in the Bulls’ frontcourt rotation yet, but performances like Tuesday’s suggest the upside is real.
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