Is Zion Williamson playing tonight vs Rockets? Exploring two-time All-Star's status for Pelicans' preseason finale (Oct. 15)

On Tuesday night, Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans will play their final preseason game. Seeing that he isn't listed on the injury report, the All-Star forward is expected to be in action.

This will be only the third preseason game for the Pelicans, as their October 11th matchup against the Orlando Magic was canceled due to a hurricane in Florida.

Williamson played in each of their first two matchups, which is why he's expected to be in the lineup for the finale against the Rockets. Seeing that it's their final game before the regular season, Williamson likely won't play much.

New Orleans opened the preseason with a 106-104 win against the Magic on October 7th. Zion Williamson put together an impressive performance in this game, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

The last time the Pelicans were in action was over the weekend against the Miami Heat. They found themselves in another nail-biter but were unable to come out on top this time.

Williamson was not as productive in the 101-99 loss, posting a stat line of 13 points, two rebounds and two assists.

With the Pelicans having one less preseason game than other teams, getting reps in the finale on Tuesday could be beneficial ahead of the regular season.

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Zion Williamson is back with viral dunk against Miami Heat

Leading up to his arrival in the NBA, Zion Williamson's athleticism was one area of his game that stood out the most. After injuries have derailed the early years of his career, the former No. 1 pick seems to be getting back.

Dating back to midway through last season, there have been countless reports that Williamson has put an emphasis on losing weight.

This has been an issue for him since entering the pros, but the young star might finally be getting it under control.

During the Pelicans' matchup with the Miami Heat on Sunday, Zion Williamson showed the world that he is feeling good physically. The star forward threw down a massive alley-oop slam from CJ McCollum that looked like his younger self.

It goes without saying how important it is for the Pelicans to have a healthy Williamson. As the focal point of the roster, they can't operate at their best without him being on the floor consistently.

After only playing in 29 games across two seasons, Williamson bounced back in a big way in 2024.

He appeared in 70 games during the regular season, the highest amount for any single year of his career thus far. In that time, Williamson averaged 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals.

Seeing that he's throwing down dunks like this in preseason, Williamson will definitely try to change the injury-prone narrative around him.