Willie Green, the New Orleans Pelicans’ coach, disclosed the status of star forward Zion Williamson ahead of today’s game against the Phoenix Suns.
Williamson (left finger injury) will play despite missing Friday’s 111-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs and being questionable for today. Williamson has averaged 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 65 games this season.
Nnaji Marshall (left shoulder contusion) and Jose Alvarado (right oblique strain) were both doubtful for the Pelicans. Marshall is out, and Alvarado will play in his first game since March 26.
Brandon Ingram (left knee bone contusion) will miss his seventh straight game today.
In comparison, Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) is the only Suns player listed on the injury report as of today. Lee has missed the entire season due to injury, and if he returns this season, it will be in the playoffs.
The Suns are currently on a three-game winning streak, while New Orleans has a four-game losing skid.
A win over New Orleans may put Phoenix (46-31), who has easily won the first two meetings between the teams, two games ahead of the Pelicans (45-30) for the sixth seed in the West, leaving them out of the playoffs with only four games remaining. The Suns also have the head-to-head tiebreaker against New Orleans, so if the Suns win, they would need to lose all of their remaining games while the Pelicans won theirs to be surpassed, which is highly unlikely.
Today’s game starts at 3 p.m. MST. These two teams previously met in New Orleans on Monday, with Phoenix winning 124-111 thanks to 52 points from Devin Booker, his third game in a row with more than 50 points against New Orleans. Williamson recorded 30 points and five assists in this game.
