New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction: An important game for both squads

The NBA Regular Season has hit the next gear and in this phase, a lot of ups and downs can be seen. For some squads, this is a matter of life and death because the window to make a deep run is closing in a quick manner. This holds true for both the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder which will meet here.

The Pels enter the game after defeating the Warriors 113:106 as CJ McCollum scooped up 32 points. This broke a two-game losing streak and they have just two wins in the last eight games. The slide extends back to early January when Zion Williamson got injured. They have 20 losses in the last 29 games because of which they have slumped to 34 losses and 32 wins. Zion is going to be missing even more weeks so the Pelicans' chance to make a deep Playoffs run seems like a dream at this point. Ingram also has been consistently injured which has affected things too.

The Thunder comes into the match after losing 101:132 against the Suns despite a 23 points performance by Lindy Waters III. This broke a three-game winning streak that came because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was present. Since All-Star Break, Shai has been injured and in his absence, the Thunder lost five out of their last six games. This has derailed their push for the Play-in tournament and they have been reduced to 35 losses and 31 wins. They still have time to make a deep run but they will need Shai back for that.

• Pelicans: OUT: Zion Williamson, Jose Alvarado, Larry Nance. QUESTIONABLE: Brandon Ingram;
• Thunder: OUT: Chet Holmgren, Aleksej Pokusevski, Kenrich Williams.

The Pelicans have taken a huge fall since Zion has been out. The Thunder also depend upon their ace Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a lot and his presence is needed to make the change. In this game, Shai and his second-in-command Josh Giddey are expected to play so the Pels will need Brandon Ingram too. Anyway, I slide towards the Thunder win here and predict a 127:121 win for them.