Zion Williamson is out indefinitely with an injury to his finger and it couldn't have come at a worse time. With the Pelicans looking to get a play-in game spot, they need their young superstar more than ever although now, they will likely have to just ride it out and see if they can get by with the current roster.
After news of Williamson's injury broke this week, Pelicans VP David Griffin came out and slammed the NBA's officiating by saying that they have been purposely treating Zion unfairly and that their inaction led to his finger issue. Well, as we all expected, the NBA did not take kindly to this and promptly handed Griffin a $50K fine.
"He's injured because of the open season that there's been on Zion Williamson in the paint," Griffin said. "He has been absolutely mauled in the paint on a regular basis to the point where other players have said to him, 'I'm going to keep doing this to you' because they don't call it."
The NBA has always fined executives and players when it comes to criticism involving the officials, so this latest fine comes as no surprise. It's quite shocking the NBA cares more about protecting the refs than the players, but in 2021, common sense seems to be a scarce resource.
