New Orleans was playing without key contributors Tuesday in Chicago, but the Pelicans had more than enough firepower on the United Center floor, scoring 70 first-half points in a 129-125 victory over the Bulls. The squad will again be missing at least one starter – and perhaps more – Friday when it hosts Detroit in the Smoothie King Center (7 p.m., Bally Sports New Orleans, WRNO 99.5 FM).
CJ McCollum (right ankle soreness) and Kira Lewis Jr. (right knee ACL recovery) were listed as out on Thursday’s official injury report. Listed as questionable are Brandon Ingram (left fifth toe soreness), Herb Jones (rib contusion) and Trey Murphy (right foot soreness).
Jones left Tuesday’s game at Chicago due to his rib injury after playing 12 minutes, but participated in practice Thursday. “He looked fine in practice,” head coach Willie Green said of Jones. “(But) we’ll continue to monitor where he is (physically). We just want to make sure we’re being safe based on how he feels after a practice day.”
Murphy also practiced Thursday, after being a DNP during Tuesday’s game. Ingram did not practice. “Brandon is dealing with some soreness in his toe,” Green said of the 2020 All-Star forward.
PREVIOUS GAME STARTING LINEUPS
DETROIT (0-1 in preseason)
Tuesday loss at New York
Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Saddiq Bey, Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Stewart
NEW ORLEANS (1-0 in preseason)
Tuesday win at Chicago
CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Naji Marshall, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas