
Williamson amassed 40 points (16-21 FG, 8-11 FT), four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 28 minutes during Saturday's 123-118 loss to the Kings.
Sacramento simply had no answers for Zion when he was on the floor. He only played 27 minutes in this game, making this the ninth time in NBA history that a player scored at least 40 points while playing 27 or fewer minutes. It was an impressive night from Williamson, but it wasn't enough for the Pelicans to end this losing streak, which has now reached eight games. They have three more games before the All-Star break, including a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday. Managers should expect Zion to sit out one of those games.
Alvarado moves into the starting lineup, as the Pelicans will go with a true point guard to account for Dejounte Murray (Achilles) being done for the season. Rookie Karlo Matkovic heads to the bench but should play rotation minutes off the bench. Unfortunately, he loses whatever streaming value he possessed with this lineup change.
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The Pelicans are going big for Wednesday's rematch with Denver, which won Monday's meeting comfortably. Williamson shifts to the three, with Matkovic replacing Javonte Green in the starting lineup. Given the opportunity, Matkovic is worth streaming, and he'll have added value the rest of the way after the Pelicans traded Daniel Theis to Oklahoma City.