Pelicans Meet Bulls Ahead Of NBA In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals
The New Orleans Pelicans (11-9) travel to the Midwest to take on the Chicago Bulls (6-14) at the United Center in Chicago. New Orleans is coming off a victory against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday evening. Unlike previous back-to-back games for the Pelicans, Zion Williamson expects to play on Saturday. Coach Willie Green previously held Williamson out on the second of these back-to-back games, but that looks like it's changing now.
While Zion is scheduled to play against the Bulls, guard CJ McCollum is not traveling with the team to Chicago. The move is a precautionary one as he is working his way back from a collapsed lung that sidelined him for a few weeks. McCollum will travel to Sacramento on Monday for the Quarterfinals of the NBA In-season Tournament. Since returning from injury, CJ has averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 assists.
Nov 16, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) fights for the ball against New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) during the third quarter at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago may be without some key firepower against the Pelicans. Zach Lavine will miss his second straight game with a sore foot. His running mate DaMar DeRozan is a game-time decision with an injured ankle. If DeRozan can't play, that's 42 points a night combined between the two that will miss the game against New Orleans. That's a tough blow for a Bulls team, which already is No. 28 in the league in scoring with 106.9 points per game.
Five of the six Bulls wins this season have come at home, including a 120-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. There appears to be uncertainty about the future of these Bulls as currently constructed. Trade rumors are circulating around both DeRozan and Lavine. If the Bulls' poor play continues, Bulls' management may look to offload the veterans and get assets to start a rebuild.
The situation may prove ripe for the Pelicans to get their first back-to-back victory on the season. Currently, New Orleans is 0-2 on the second game of back-to-back. To do so, New Orleans must play a stingy Chicago defense. The Bulls are second in the NBA in opponent points per game and rank third in opponent turnovers per contest. New Orleans has done a much better job of late in reducing turnovers, although they average more turnovers on the road than they do at home.
Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram looks to bounce back from a struggling shooting performance in the Spurs game. Ingram shot just 3/14 from the field and scored 14 points, his lowest-scoring output of the season. B.I. averages nearly 21 points per game against the Bulls as a member of the Pelicans. Getting Ingram back on track offensively would be a huge boost for New Orleans moving forward.
