The San Antonio Spurs are young and hungry and they’ll meet their hungry like in the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference 9-10 NBA Play-in Tournament game on Wednesday night. It’s a matchup that promises to be as fast and furious as a Vin Diesel sequel. (Note: Both team rosters are below the league average age.)
The Pelicans were 1-12 to start the NBA season, flailing while wondering when their franchise player and leading scorer, the injured Zion Williamson, was going to come to the rescue. Alas, Williamson never healed, but the Pelicans did, producing a winning record from that point forward and showing the kind of grit that imprints itself on fans and skeptics alike.
A February trade for veteran CJ McCollum solidified the Pelicans push, which is personified by young Brandon Ingram, an instinctive scorer who averaged 22.7 ppg this season.
But there is only one current NBA All-Star in the game, and that’s Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray. Murray, perhaps the best rebounding guard in the league, averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He’s complemented by Keldon Johnson, who won an Olympic gold medal this summer with the triumphant USA Men’s Basketball team.
On the sidelines veteran coaching legend Gregg Popovich, #1 on the all-time wins list, will face Pelicans first-year head coach Willie Green.
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