Rockets vs. Pelicans game preview: we’re all just here for Zion and Isaiah

When the New Orleans Pelicans fired Alvin Gentry and hired Stan van Gundy, they basically announced they were kicking the can down the road for an extra year. That’s basically been what happened, as a team that was on the doorstep of making the playoffs when the Bubble started are now sitting at 21-27, a game and a half out of the play-in tournament.

At the moment, New Orleans is facing an injury crisis. For their game Friday night, the team was missing four starters as well as Josh Hart, who will miss a few weeks. The other injuries are Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Steven Adams, and Lonzo Ball.

Williamson has some wild streak of like 50 straight games shooting over 50% and scoring 20 or more points. That streak will likely continue if he plays today. Ingram is the Pels’ other big scorer, and with both of those two out, New Orleans struggled to keep up with Atlanta’s scoring on Friday.

To combat the injury bug, the Pelicans signed Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract. His return is much-heralded because everyone wants to see him back and healthy. He is eligible to play tonight.

Tip-off is at 7pm CT on AT&T SportsNet Southwest