The New Orleans Pelicans were in great form before the All-Star break, winning seven out of eight games. Once the season resumed, Willie Green’s boys kept their win streak alive, defeating the Houston Rockets. However, in Brandon Ingram’s absence, the Pels suffered an 11-point loss against the Miami Heat on Friday night. To prevent another loss and fall in the standings, the supporters of the franchise would want Zion Williamson to suit up against the Chicago Bulls tonight.
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NOLA fans will not be pleased to learn that the franchise has added three of their best players on the injury report. CJ McCollum will join Dyson Daniels as the player who will be missing out on the contest. Further, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson are listed as “questionable”.
Williamson has been dealing with the left foot contusions for the past several weeks. However, having participated in eight of the nine games in February, the 6ft 6” forward has been playing through the injury.
Similarly, the 23-year-old will be expected to don the jersey and help the Pelicans clinch a win and prevent the Dallas Mavericks from surpassing them in the standings.
Zion Williamson was fouled hard in the Pelicans’ previous clash
The New Orleans Pelicans’ 23rd February clash against the Miami Heat was as action-packed as fans expected it to be. To add drama to the well-contested matchup, Kevin Love fouled Zion Williamson hard which resulted in four players being ejected.
During the final quarter of the clash, Love grappled Williamson, resulting in the latter taking a hard fall. Coming to his defense, Nanji Marshall and Jimmy Butler got into a heated altercation that soon formed into a massive scuffle. Once things appeared to have cooled down, Jose Alvarado and Thomas Bryant got into a quarrel on the scorers’ table.
Despite Butler missing the final period of the clash, Zion was unable to lead his team to victory. Backed by Bam Adebayo’s 12-point, 4-rebound fourth-quarter heroics, the Florida side clinched a 106-95 victory.
Suffering their 23rd loss of the season, the Pelicans are now only 0.5 games ahead of the #6 Dallas Mavericks and 1 game ahead of the #8 Phoenix Suns. As the Western Conference race to the playoffs becomes much more competitive, the New Orleans Pelicans can’t afford to rest their players for the remainder of the season. If performed well, the Louisiana side could advance to the playoff without needing to participate in the play-in tournament for the first time since 2022.
