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For the second time in two weeks, the New Orleans Pelicans will face the Golden State Warriors’ B-team.
There’s honestly two polar opposite ways to look at this from the local fans’ perspective.
Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson were ruled out earlier today, and Andrew Wiggins’ name was added to the unavailable list only minutes ago.
The Pelicans should undoubtedly be able to add another W to the win column, moving them three games above .500 again to remain in the top eight of the Western Conference.
Helping those odds will be the return of Zion Williamson, who is back in the starting lineup after missing the last three games.
Trey Murphy III, though, will not play after still having some soreness in his right foot. He stepped on Sam Hauser’s foot in the matchup against the Celtics.
On the downside of four regular starters sitting for Golden State, New Orleanians and those from surrounding areas will not see one of the best players in the league and other key components on the reigning championship squad during the 2022-23 regular season in the Crescent City.
Load management is a growing problem for the NBA. Stars are the main attraction and it’s obvious that too many franchises/players are unserious about an 82-game schedule. Fans pay good money, especially for premium tickets against such teams as the Warriors, yet there are times they are forced to settle for watching understudies.
Man, there was a family that drove in from Destin because Steph is their kids favorite player. They got a room at a 4 star hotel & they have club seats for 4 tonight. I saw the moment they got the news about the lineup & the kid just started crying his eyes out. Rough stuff.
— Kevin Barrios (@kevinbforbounce) November 21, 2022
In addition, there are a lot of merits to the argument that load management has not decreased the amount of injuries. If that’s the case, what’s the point in allowing for this disappointing trend to continue?
An easy solution doesn’t appear to be available though. One has to believe that the league would have already enacted a plan to prevent largely healthy players from skipping games to rest.
For more on tonight’s matchup, please give our preview a read.
Who: New Orleans Pelicans (9-7) vs Golden State Warriors (8-9)
When: November 21, 2022, 7:00 p.m. CT
Where to watch: Bally Sports New Orleans, NBA TV, League Pass
Where to listen: WRNO 99.5
For more Pelicans talk, subscribe to The Bird Calls podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @OlehKosel.
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