The New Orleans Pelicans will be playing against the San Antonio Spurs tonight. NBA fans will be aware that Zion Williamson has missed a lot of games for his team this season due to injuries. As a result, the team is struggling to remain in contention and holds a record of 34 wins and 37 losses.
They will be taking on the young and rebuilding San Antonio Spurs, a team with no real intention of contending in the NBA postseason. The Spurs currently hold a subpar record of 19 wins and 52 losses, making it one of the worst teams in the entire league this season.
As both these Western Conference teams get ready to play tonight, let us take a look at the injury reports and expected rosters for this matchup. After all, that will aid in the formation of an expert prediction regarding the outcome of this match.
Zion Williamson is listed out for the New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs game tonight
Unfortunately for Pelicans fans, Zion will not be suiting up for his team tonight against the Spurs. According to the injury reports, he is expected to be sidelined for at least two more weeks after reaggravating a nagging hamstring injury that he underwent when playing against the Philadelphia 76ers.
This injury has caused him to miss the majority of this season. In fact, he has only played in 29 games so far out of the 70+ games that his team took part in. Since he will not be playing tonight, the rest of his team will have to get the job done against the Spurs, assuming they are all good to go. That said, here are the injury reports and expected rosters for the New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs.
New Orleans Pelicans injury report
- Zion Williamson (out)
- Jose Alvarado (out)
- E.J Liddell (out)
New Orleans Pelicans expected roster
- CJ McCollum
- Herb Jones
- Brandon Ingram
- Trey Murphy III
- Jonas Valančiūnas
San Antonio Spurs injury report
- Charles Bassey (out)
- Devin Vassell (out)
- Jeremy Sochan (out)
- Zach Collins (out)
- Khem Birch (out)
- Devonte’ Graham (questionable)
- Doug McDermott (questionable)
- Tre Jones (questionable)
San Antonio Spurs expected roster
- Keldon Johnson
- Romeo Langford
- Tre Jones
- Malaki Branham
- Blake Wesley
While the Pelicans will be missing Williamson and Alvarado for this game, the number of injured players on the spurs can fill the starting rosters for two whole basketball teams. Therefore, this match really won’t be indicative of how these two teams compare. Nonetheless, here are the expert predicitions for this game.
The Pelicans are clear-cut favorites against the Spurs tonight
The injury reports alone should make it clear why the Spurs will not be expected to win this game. They have too many injuries to key starters and will not be at full strength tonight. Although the Pelicans will not have Zion, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum will still be considered the best and most experienced duo on the court.
This season certainly looks over for the Spurs and one could argue that it makes no sense to rush the major players back to the court given their current predicament. Although there is always a chance for the underdog to win, the Spurs simply won’t be favored over the Pelicans tonight.
