The New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson prepare to perform yet again in front of the nationally televised spotlight in a contest versus the Miami Heat, who are coming off of arguably the most momentous win of the season over Milwaukee earlier this week.
Miami begins a quick two-game road trip by heading down south to play New Orleans and then will head back up north to play Washington on Sunday night. This marks the first time that the likes of the defensively stout Heat get a taste of the bully-ball-savvy Williamson, who has averaged an absurd 24 points per game and has scored 20+ points in 13 straight games.
These teams both matchup well, and poorly with one another, further upping the interest factor in what might turn out to be a shootout down the stretch. Lonzo Ball and the now-healthy Kendrick Nunn will be a fun battle to witness during prime time, as will the duel between Jrue Holiday against Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic. For another game, however, Miami will have to coach around Tyler Herro’s absence as he will not be in attendance due to him rehabbing a lingering ankle injury.
And of course, what would this game be without Jimmy Butler and Brandon Ingram going toe-to-toe for the entire night, or whenever Pels coach Alvin Gentry and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra have them on the court simultaneously.
Expect a mix of different zone defensive coverages from both teams, since it’ll be difficult for a litany of skillful players at each position to guard their initial assignments 1v1 for the duration of the 48-minute contest. What’s for sure though, is that Williamson will be tasked with getting his shot and bumping down low with Bam Adebayo, this year’s Most Improved Player award frontrunner with his 16.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. He usually towers over ballhandlers who dare to enter his paint but will have his hands full with a rookie that packs a punch in Williamson.
Miami has won four in a row, all at home, and are looking to continue to create space between them and the Pacers as well as the Philadelphia 76ers, who are quite banged up at the moment. As for New Orleans, they’re fading quickly out of the playoff predictions as locks to make it to the April tournament, losing their last three games to the Lakers, Timberwolves, and Mavericks. These losses coming at the most inconvenient time, as they’ve dropped five of their last eight and are in danger of dropping to a one-game cushion ahead of Phoenix for the 12th spot in the West.
Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Recent Comments