There were bound to be some complications and unforeseen obstacles for every NBA team during this unique 2020-21 season, but New Orleans has mostly been able to avoid them in the first three-plus weeks of the campaign. That is until Wednesday, when the Pelicans learned that they’ll be without their second-leading scorer due to inconclusive COVID testing results from earlier in the day.
Zion Williamson is one of three New Orleans starters who’ve appeared in all nine games but will not be on the Staples Center court for a national TV matchup against the Clippers. The 20-year-old remained in his Los Angeles hotel room Wednesday evening and did not join his teammates at the arena.