Shameka Nixon/Pelicans Contributor

New Orleans,LA – The New Orleans Pelicans are gearing up for the restart of the NBA Season, after Covid-19 stopped it cold earlier this year. The Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry received news that he was cleared to travel with the team to the NBA’s “Bubble City.” During the cut off, several Pelican players were working hard and keeping in shape. The team kept it’s collective eye trained on the NBA Policymakers for the next step in the process.

Once the word came down and the NBA made all the necessary measures, it’s back to business for New Orleans. The Pelicans have an interesting stretch of games  remaining before the playoffs start. The July 30th match against Utah will be intense and different. The NBA isn’t allowing fans to attend and one can only wonder what the environment on the court will resemble.

New Orleans is taking it one step at a time as several players have worked on their games and their bodies.  We’ve seen pictures of Pelican Star Zion Williamson bulked up and ready to compete. The rest of the team has also changed a bit according to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes.

Zion Williamson not only member of New Orleans Pelicans whose body has gone through a transformation during hiatus. League sources say rookie Nickeil Alexander-Walker is now 3/4 of an inch taller, Brandon Ingram added weight/strength and JJ Redick at his lowest weight since Duke.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 10, 2020

Below are the 2020 stats for the aforementioned players:

Zion Williamson 19 games 29.7 mpg 23.6 ppg 6.8 reb

Nickeil Alexander Walker 41 games 12.2 mis 5.1 ppg 1.8 ast

Brandon Ingram 56 games 34.3 min 24.3 ppg 6.3 reb 4.3 ast

JJ Redick 54 games 26.4 min 14.9 ppg 2.6 reb 2.0 ast

The team has already practiced in the bubble today and according reports looked hungry.  We all are eagerly and cautiously witnessing a unique time period in American sports, which is playing during a pandemic. Stay tuned…

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