Oklahoma City has the sweet advantage of having a fully healthy squad for this series, unlike the Pelicans.
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Apart from the obvious gap in seeding, Oklahoma City has the sweet advantage of having a fully healthy squad for this series, unlike the Pelicans, who are moving forward with a big question mark.
Zion Williamson needs another two weeks before they can reassess his hamstring injury. If not for that, this wouldn’t be your typical 1 vs. 8 matchup, and there’d be a lot more drama in the mix. That’s how crucial Williamson is to the Pelicans, and you just can’t fill his shoes.
Instead, from the get-go, this series might have us pondering “what if” and could leave us feeling somewhat let down. But that doesn’t mean Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Trey Murphy won’t step up and give Oklahoma City a run for their money. It’s playoff time, after all — anything can happen.
But realistically, it’s unlikely that the Pelicans, who are missing key players and only managed to win one out of three meetings this season, will have OKC shaking in their boots unless something really bizarre goes down.
For the Thunder, Sarr, and for the Pelicans, Williamson will be missing the game due to injuries.
Oklahoma City is the scariest offensive team in the playoffs. Shai could easily drop 30 points a game, while Chet Holmgen and Jalen Williams could each put up 20 in this series and any others OKC might find themselves in.
That’s a bunch of guys who can put the ball in the hoop. But if there’s any team that can make the Thunder sweat for their points, it’s the Pelicans. Even without Zion, their defense, which ranked in the top 10 this season, boasts a handful of pesky defenders.
So, brace yourself for some serious hustle from Herb Jones, who’ll likely be tasked with guarding Williams, and Jose Alvarado, who’ll be on Shai. It’s no easy task. OKC has multiple scoring options, and the Pelicans will need to figure out how to protect McCollum while also preventing Shai from constantly driving to the free-throw line.
The Pelicans snagged wins in tough spots like Minnesota, Golden State, Philly, Phoenix, and yep, even Oklahoma City, racking up a 28-14 record. That shows just how hard it is to rattle this team when they’re facing hostile crowds, and it speaks volumes about their mental strength. That resilience will come in handy for the Pelicans in this series, especially with Zion sidelined. They’ll need every advantage they can get.
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