New Orleans Pelicans vs Sacramento Kings: Injury Update and Line-Up Predictions

New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings have both seen their bubble season end. Both the teams were in the race for the eighth seed and became the first two teams to be eliminated from contention. The Pelicans have gone a very disappointing 2-4 in the bubble, while the Kings have been worse going 1-5.

This will be the first game either team has played since their elimination and it coincidentally comes against each other. The game has no impact on the bubble. However, it could have a slight impact on the 2020 Draft Lottery odds. The Kings are currently below the Pelicans in the standings.

Both teams can be expected to field players that don’t usually feature for them. The Pelicans have already announced that Zion Williamson, Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram will be rested for the Sacramento clash. The Kings will be without De’Aaron Fox and Richaun Holmes. Kent Bazemore may play but is still questionable.

New Orleans Pelicans vs Sacramento Kings: Who wins?

Despite the complete lack of relevance of this game, we predict that the Pelicans will come away with the win. Even if they are missing their three best players, the team has good young depth. The team is better constructed than the Kings team which falls apart without Fox running the point. Without Fox, the responsibility will fall to someone like Cory Brewer or Yogi Ferrell.

The Pelicans still have a reliable ball-handler playing in Lonzo Ball. While Lonzo has had a horrible time in the bubble, he can still be relied on creating offense for the Pelicans. With rim-running center Jaxson Hayes possibly playing, we might see a fair few lobs from Ball to Hayes.

The Kings were riding a wave of momentum prior to the bubble which they couldn’t sustain here. The Pelicans had the easiest schedule in the restart, but have suffered due to their indecision with playing Zion Williamson. The team could never find their chemistry and have made a quicker exit than most had anticipated. Both teams will be looking ahead to the Draft Lottery in a few weeks and see if they can add better pieces to their underperforming teams.

Source: CBS Sports, NBA.com