New Orleans Pelians Aim For Playoff Position In Last Match In Western Territory

Jonas Valanciunas is one of the keys to the game of New Orleans Pelians (photo: x @PelicansNBA)

JAKARTA - New Orleans Pelians will face three games in a row against the Western Region teams as they finish the regular season, starting with a visit to Sacramento to face Kings on Thursday night, April 11 or Friday morning WIB.

Pelians (47-32), who have won two games in a row, have moved up to sixth in the Western Region. However, each remaining opponent has the opportunity to pursue New Orleans until the end of Sunday's match, April 21.

Jonas Valanciunas cs. will play away against the Golden State Warriors on Friday, then finish the season at home to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Kings (45-34) have the best chance of catching up to Pelicans as they will start Thursday with a better record than the Lakers and Warriors. Sacramento has lost this season's draw against New Orleans, losing four in a row, two on each site.

Tim belum bertemu sejak 7 Januari, ketika Pelicans meraih kemenangan 133-100 saat bermain tanpa Zion Williamson.

Brandon Ingram scored 15 points and eight assists in the win. However, Ingram will not play on Thursday, missing their eleventh consecutive game due to a bruised left knee injury.

It is possible that Ingram, which recently received the green light to resume training on the pitch, could return on Friday against Golden State.

CJ McColllum, who scored 29 points against Portland on Tuesday night, believes Pelicans is looking up in the table, not down.

"The goal is always to get into the playoffs, try to get 50 wins, and give us a chance to rest for a few days while other teams compete with each other," he said. "I would love to be able to watch the Lakers and several other teams (in play-in matches) while drinking wine and eating popcorn. It would be an ideal day for me."

Kings' chances of winning the final draw of the season against Pelicans and then potentially past them in the standings involve more than Ingram status. Sacramento has a much more profitable remaining schedule, with three consecutive home games against Pelians, Phoenix Suns on Friday, and Trail Blazers on Sunday.

However, Sacramento also had an injury problem, with Kevin Huerter suffering from a torn labrum on his left shoulder which ended his season in mid-March, and Malik totaled a torn right MCL which is expected to keep him out until May.

Kings squandered a chance to stay one game behind Pelians in record defeats as they wasted a 20-point lead in their 112-105 defeat at Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Sacramento has won only one in four games on their journey which also includes defeats against the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.

Kings coach Mike Brown was delighted that his team played pretty well for a 20-point lead on the road against one of the top teams in the Western region.

"I think in the first half, our ball movement was great," Brown said of Tuesday's defeat. "I think we were bored with that in the second half... It's hard when you have a success formula, to leave it."