Zion day-to-day after tweaking ankle in Pels' loss

MIAMI -- New Orleans Pelicans guardant Zion Williamson understands the microscope he's nether erstwhile it comes to injuries.

It's wherefore erstwhile helium near Wednesday night's 120-103 preseason nonaccomplishment to the Miami Heat with near ankle soreness, helium knew what to expect connected societal media earlier helium adjacent looked astatine his phone.

"Twitter already did its thing," Williamson said jokingly. "They are the doctors apparently."

It was casual for Williamson to gag since helium avoided a superior injury. Both Williamson and Pelicans manager Willie Green said they expect the 22-year-old to beryllium day-to-day moving forward. He was removed from Wednesday's crippled for precautionary reasons.

Green said the squad does not expect Williamson to miss an extended play of time.

Williamson rolled his ankle with 9:30 near successful the 2nd 4th connected a thrust to the basket. When helium planted his near ft trying to get into the lane astir Heat halfway Dewayne Dedmon, Williamson tweaked the ankle.

He continued to play for astir different 3 minutes earlier checking retired for bully with 6:42 near successful the 2nd quarter.

Williamson had 11 points connected 3-of-7 shooting portion going 5-of-6 from the enactment successful conscionable nether 11 minutes of work. He added 4 assists and 2 rebounds.

"It was 1 of those things wherever it happened and I popped backmost up, like, 'Yeah, I'm straight,'" Williamson said. "Played a fewer minutes aft that, it felt fine. Then they sent maine to the backmost conscionable to treble check. We wanted to look astatine it, had a doc look astatine it, and helium conscionable said a small day-to-day soreness. And, but extracurricular of that, I personally consciousness fine. Wasn't atrocious quality from the docs."

The Pelicans decorativeness the preseason connected Friday successful Birmingham, Alabama, against the Atlanta Hawks. They extremity disconnected the regular play connected Oct. 19 successful Brooklyn against the Nets.

Asked whether helium gets the uproar surrounding his injuries, Williamson, who played successful 85 games implicit his archetypal 2 seasons earlier missing past twelvemonth with a breached close foot, said it takes him backmost to the Notorious B.I.G. medium "Ready to Die." Williamson said the medium "changed his life" and helped him absorption passim his rehab past season.

"I mean, you conscionable learned that you, that's conscionable however the satellite is," Williamson said. "There's thing I tin bash to alteration that. That's conscionable however the satellite is."

The Pelicans were hopeful to person their projected starting lineup successful enactment Friday, arsenic the radical hasn't played unneurotic yet this preseason. Brandon Ingram has yet to marque his preseason debut due to the fact that of near 5th toed soreness, portion CJ McCollum played successful conscionable his 2nd crippled of the preseason connected Wednesday.

Prior to Wednesday's game, Ingram told ESPN that helium "felt good" and was making progressions successful his rehab process to enactment him successful a presumption to play against the Hawks.