Gentry explains benching Zion late: We used the minutes 'given to us'
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry opted not to play rookie phenom Zion Williamson down the stretch Thursday against the Utah Jazz, as New Orleans lost the first game of the league's return by just two points.
Gentry explained postgame that he benched Williamson because the team has opted to curb the 20-year-old's playing time.
"Of course we wish we could've played him down the stretch, but we used the minutes that were given to us and that's the way it is," he said, according to ESPN's Rachel Nichols. "The medical people said we played them in the minutes that were allowed for us to play him, and just move on."
Williamson, who left the Orlando campus earlier this month for a week due to a family emergency, was listed as a game-time decision for the opening contest. Though he was named a starter, he was set to play only a "short, quick burst," according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.
The big man checked out for the final time with 7:19 remaining in the fourth quarter and New Orleans up 93-89. The Pelicans then extended their lead with a 3-pointer from E'Twaun Moore, but the Jazz responded with a 13-3 run as Williamson watched from the bench.
Jazz center Rudy Gobert iced the game with a pair of free throws with 6.9 seconds remaining.
When asked if his benching had to do with conditioning, Williamson said he was still trying to get back into rhythm.
"It's not even just conditioning; it's just getting my flow to the game back," he told ESPN's Andrew Lopez. "This is the NBA, this is the best players in the world and you want to feel comfortable. I don't want to hurt my team more than I helped them in a sense, if you understand me."
The rookie forward finished with 13 points and one assist but was also a minus-16 in 15 minutes.
With the loss, New Orleans is now four games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Memphis will play its first game of the resumption on Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers.