Shaquille O’Neal gets dragged through the mud after saying new Pelicans are “cooked” without Zion Williamson

Without Zion Williamson, the New Orleans Pelicans suffered greatly in the 2022-23 season. They failed to advance through the play-in tournament when they lost in the second round of play. Williamson just played 70 games in his healthy season during the 2023-24 campaign. NOLA looked like a designated playoff team, however, the Phoenix Suns dropped them from sixth and went straight to the first round.

NOLA faced the Los Angeles Lakers during their first game in the play-in tournament. Unfortunately, Williamson injured himself after scoring 40 points against LA. The Pelicans had no choice but to remove him from the game and took a heavy beating from the Lakers. Nola faced the Sacramento Kings for the 8th and final spot in the playoffs. Despite Williamson’s absence, they managed to pull out a win.

Shaquille O’Neal’s comments about Zion Williamson and the Pelicans are very old

Ahead of the Pelicans vs. Kings matchup, Shaquille O’Neal made a bold prediction claiming that NOLA can’t make it without Zion Williamson. he said “I think the New Orleans Pelicans, they’re playing very well. Sion had the best game of his career. With him being out, I don’t know how long he’s out, I think it’s going to be a big blow… Sacramento is out there saying, ‘You guys are not getting Zion. We know you’ll beat us like this. But not all of you get Zayn. You all cooked.’

Shaq said Pelera is not a good defensive team.

He doesn’t say anything about any squad not named the LA Lakers with a grain of salt.

— srburris (@srburris) April 20, 2024

Shaq said Pelera is not a good defensive team.

He doesn’t say anything about any squad not named the LA Lakers with a grain of salt.

— srburris (@srburris) April 20, 2024

After the game, NOLA walked away with an impressive victory and fans did not spare Shaq on social media. A fan said, “Shak don’t know I’m afraid to say.” Another fan added, “Shaq said Pelera is not a good defensive team. Don’t take anything he says about a squad known as the LA Lakers with a grain of salt.” From Shaq’s perspective, he didn’t believe Nola would handle the pressure despite going 5-0 against the Kings in the regular season.

Zion Williamson will be evaluated next week as the Pelicans prepare for OKC

Unfortunately, Zion Williamson has suffered a hamstring injury, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. It won’t take long for the 2x NBA All-Star to recover but his absence will still be a significant loss in the first round of the playoffs. NBA insiders revealed that the Pelicans will reevaluate the injury in the coming weeks as the team prepares against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

ESPN source: Pelicans F Zion Williamson (left hamstring) is out for Friday’s play-in tournament elimination game vs. Sacramento and will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks. Huge blow for New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/rMc1IC2RtY

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 17, 2024

Williamson is averaging 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5 a*sists per game while recording 1.1 steals per game. The Pelicans managed to make the playoffs for the 2021-22 season without him, so this is familiar territory. But they could not pa*s the first round.

NOLA has a legitimate chance to win against OKC if Williamson is available. However, players like C.J. McCollum and Brandon Ingram will have to step up in his absence. NOLA has more experience that could be leveraged against OKC, but it won’t be much use without their young forwards.