Both the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans enter tomorrow afternoon’s matchup at Footprint Center in must-win situations.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!A win over New Orleans could place Phoenix (46-31), who has handedly won the first two meetings between the teams, two games ahead of the Pelicans (45-30) for the sixth seed in the West, which would be out of the play in with only four games to go. The Suns also have the tiebreaker over New Orleans, so if the Suns win, they would have to lose all of their remaining games and the Pelicans win theirs to be surpassed, which is inherently pretty unlikely.
Currently, the Suns are on a three-game win streak, while New Orleans is on a four-game losing streak.
On top of all of these factors, the Pelicans will be facing even more of an uphill battle in terms of injuries.
Brandon Ingram (left knee bone contusion) will miss his ninth consecutive game tomorrow. Zion Williamson (left finger contusion) is questionable after missing yesterday’s 111-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Nnaji Marshall (left shoulder contusion) and Jose Alvarado (right oblique strain) are also questionable for the Pelicans.
Comparatively, the Suns only have Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) listed on the injury report as out tomorrow. Lee has missed the entire season with the injury and if he is to return this season, it won’t be until the playoffs.
Tomorrow’s game tips off at 3 p.m. MST. These two teams last met on Monday in New Orleans, a 124-111 Phoenix victory behind 52 points from Devin Booker, Booker’s third-straight game with more than 50 points against New Orleans.
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
