On Saturday night, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder will meet in New Orleans for the right to advance to the play-in tournament of the Western Conference.
Thunder vs. Pelicans injuries: 1 Questionable, 7 Out
On Friday, the Pelicans were tied for ninth place with the Lakers, but one game back were the Thunder, who were also tied for ninth with the Blazers and were only a half game behind the 11th-place Jazz.
With the season series against Oklahoma City still undecided, New Orleans is looking to complete a sweep. The Pelicans have beaten the Thunder three times this season; on November 28 at home, 105-101; on December 23 in overtime, 128-125; and on February 13 at home, 103-100.
New Orleans head coach Willie Green said on Friday that the team’s second-leading scorer, forward Brandon Ingram, is questionable to return after leaving Wednesday’s home game against Dallas with a sprained ankle.
Without Ingram, the Pelicans still managed to beat the Mavericks 113-106.
Christian Clark of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that Ingram’s status for Saturday’s game against the Thunder due to a foot injury is up in the air.
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For the Pelicans, it was only their second win in their last eight contests. Green said the team’s focus is to “control the controllable” as leading scorer Zion Williamson (hamstring) remains sidelined indefinitely.
The Pelicans announced on Wednesday that Williamson is making progress with his strained right hamstring, but that he will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
While the most recent report from New Orleans also indicated that Williamson was making good progress, and an MRI reportedly showed improved healing, the team is still unwilling to commit to a precise target date for the big man to resume playing.
Williamson will be re-evaluated in two weeks, and even if he is given the green light to return to on-court activity, he won’t be at full strength until April at the earliest. Williamson didn’t play again until Jan. 2 and has only played in 29 games this year.
After missing Wednesday’s 132-101 loss to Phoenix for abdominal strain injury maintenance, Thunder All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is expected to return.
The Thunder previously said that they want to monitor the superstar guard’s minutes during the stretch run, but he played 36 minutes and scored 33 points Tuesday versus Golden State before resting Wednesday, so it’s safe to expect Gilgeous-Alexander to garner his usual usage versus the Pelicans.
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Injury reports Pelicans
| PLAYER | UPDATED | INJURY |
STATUS
|
| Zion Williamson | Wed, Mar 8 | Hamstring |
Expected to be out until at least Mar 23
|
| Brandon Ingram | Wed, Mar 8 | Foot |
Game Time Decision
|
| Jose Alvarado | Wed, Mar 1 | Leg |
Expected to be out until at least Mar 23
|
| Larry Nance Jr. | Tue, Feb 28 | Ankle |
Expected to be out until at least Mar 17
|
| E.J. Liddell | Sun, Aug 7 | Knee |
Expected to be out until at least Apr 1
|
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Injury reports Thunder
| PLAYER | UPDATED | INJURY |
STATUS
|
| Aleksej Pokusevski | Mon, Mar 6 | Lower Leg |
Expected to be out until at least Mar 14
|
| Kenrich Williams | Thu, Mar 2 | Wrist |
Out for the season
|
| Chet Holmgren | Thu, Aug 25 | Foot |
Out for the season
|
