The Houston Rockets will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night at Toyota Center. With under 24 hours until tipoff, what’s less clear is whether many of the biggest marquee names will play.
The Pelicans (21-27), who enter coming off two straight losses, have three big names who are listed as questionable to play on the official injury report: Zion Williamson (right thumb sprain), Brandon Ingram (right toe inflammation), and Lonzo Ball (right hip flexor strain). Ingram was an NBA All-Star in 2020, while Williamson earned the honor this year.
Meanwhile, the Rockets (13-35) — who have lost their last three straight — will be without John Wall (left knee effusion) for a third consecutive game. Christian Wood is not listed on Houston’s injury report, which indicates that he will play despite limping off late Friday in Boston.
The Pelicans are 1.5 games behind Golden State for the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference, which is the final berth in the West’s play-in tournament to qualify for the 2021 playoffs. Thus, they should be highly motivated to snap their recent slide against a weaker opponent on paper.
The projected lineups below assume that “questionable” names will play. Here’s when you should tune in to see Sunday’s game:
- Date: Sunday, April 4
- Time: 7:00 p.m. Central
- TV Channel: AT&T SportsNet Southwest Alternate (SW2)
- Live stream: fuboTV (watch for free in Houston markets)
Probable starting lineups
Houston Rockets (13-35)
- Guard: Kevin Porter Jr.
- Guard: Sterling Brown
- Forward: Danuel House Jr.
- Forward: Jae’Sean Tate
- Center: Christian Wood
New Orleans Pelicans (21-27)
- Guard: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
- Guard: Eric Bledsoe
- Forward: Brandon Ingram
- Forward: Zion Williamson
- Center: Steven Adams
It’s the first game of a back-to-back for the Rockets, who host Phoenix on Monday night. That could be why Wall is listed as out, rather than the “questionable” designation that he received before missing the previous two games. In short, if Houston was to bring Wall back, it likely wouldn’t make sense to do so with two games looming over a 24-hour span.
In addition to Wall, Houston’s injury report includes Eric Gordon (groin), David Nwaba (wrist) and Dante Exum (calf), who all remain sidelined by longer-term injuries. Besides the questionable names, New Orleans is listing Josh Hart as out (right thumb sprain) and Kira Lewis Jr. (right calf strain) as doubtful for Sunday night at Toyota Center.
Note: This post first appeared on Rockets Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
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