The New Orleans Pelicans will be taking on the Boston Celtics tonight. Thanks to Zion Williamson, the Pelicans have started off the NBA season strong and currently hold a record of 25 wins and 16 losses. On the other hand, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics currently hold a record of 29 wins and 12 losses.
Zion’s health and availability status for this game will certainly play a huge role in the Pelicans’ chances of beating the team with the best record in the entire NBA, the Boston Celtics. As both these teams are set to face off, NBA fans might be interested in knowing the complete injury reports and expected rosters for this match tonight. That will help in forming a prediction on which team could potentially win this game.
Zion Williamson is listed out for the New Orleans Pelicans vs Boston Celtics game tonight
Unfortunately for Pelicans fans, Zion is listed as out for this game and is not expected to play against the Boston Celtics. Fans might remember that he strained his hamstring while dribbling the ball up the court in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He has been sidelined since and is expected to be reevaluated in about three weeks.
Therefore, it will fall upon CJ McCollum and the rest of the Pelicans to try and get this win against the Boston Celtics despite being shorthanded. That said, here are the injury reports and expected rosters for the New Orleans Pelicans and Boston Celtics.
New Orleans Pelicans injury report
- Zion Williamson
- Brandon Ingram
- Herbert Jones
- EJ Liddell
New Orleans Pelicans expected roster
- Jose Alvarado
- CJ McCollum
- Larry Nance Jr
- Trey Murphy III
- Jonas Valančiūnas
Boston Celtics injury report
- Marcus Smart
- Robert Williams III
- Danilo Gallinari
Boston Celtics expected roster
- Jayson Tatum
- Jaylen Brown
- Al Horford
- Derrick White
- Grant Williams
As we can tell, Marcus Smart is on the injury report for the Celtics. He is listed as questionable for this game against the Pelicans due to knee issues. Finally, let us take a look at the expert predicitions for this matchup tonight.
The Celtics are favored over the Pelicans tonight
Considering that both Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are listed out for this game, the New Orleans Pelicans will be the underdogs in this matchup against the Boston Celtics. Jayson Tatum and his squad appear to be on a revenge season after falling a few games short of an NBA title last season.
The Celtics are relatively healthy and experienced and also have a better record heading into this match. Therefore, we are siding with them over the weakened New Orleans Pelicans for this game tonight.