Milwaukee Bucks vs. New Orleans Pelicans Preview: Bayou battle

Milwaukee Bucks v New Orleans Pelicans — Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images

Can the Bucks halt the suddenly surging Pelicans?

The Milwaukee Bucks take their show on the road tonight to the wonderful state of Louisiana, where they will face the New Orleans Pelicans… who are now competent. Just Bucks fans’ luck! Nonetheless, it should provide a good test for the Bucks, who are playing their best basketball of the season. This game will be the first between the two teams this season; they split the series last year.

Where We’re At

Milwaukee has won seven of its last eight games. Over that span, they rank second on offence and seventh on defence; their net rating is fourth. The Bucks also sit atop the league in defensive rebound percentage and true shooting percentage. Over their last three games, they have beaten the Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers. Granted, the 76ers game wasn’t as impressive as the other two, but who could blame Milwaukee? They had the tough task of motivating themselves to defeat the “Blue Coats,” as Liberty Ballers’ Seth Gupwell put it in his extended recap of the game.

After a rough start to the season that had many pondering if they’d enter the tanking sweepstakes, New Orleans is now hooping, winners of seven of their last 10 games. Most recently, they have beaten the Utah Jazz (twice) and the Dallas Mavericks. This winning period has coincided with them becoming somewhat healthy for the first time this season, as well as beating a few bad or injured teams, it must be said. At the same time, they did push the Boston Celtics to the brink; that shouldn’t be lost on anyone.

Injury Report

With this being the first night of a back-to-back, the Bucks have listed Khris Middleton as probable (bilateral ankle surgery management), meaning he will likely be out tomorrow against the Heat. Giannis is also probable (right patella tendinopathy), as is MarJon Beauchamp (non-Covid illness). AJ Green is out (left quad strain).

For the Pels, Dejounte Murray (right elbow bursitis) is probable, while Zion Williamson and Yves “Miss(i)ed Opportunity” Missi are questionable (non-Covid illness). Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain) and Herbert Jones (right shoulder strain) are both out.

Player To Watch

Since December 27, CJ McCollum is averaging 25.5 points and 3.5 assists on 43% from three. He dropped 46 points against Utah in their last game. If the Bucks want to win, they must be up to scratch on their gameplan against McCollum.

How To Watch

FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin at 7:00 p.m. CST.

Playback Streaming

We are streaming the game live on our Playback and YouTube channels. And tonight, we have our Managing Editor Van Fayaz joined by special guest Eric Balkman for the stream! Read on to find out how you can get NBA League Pass on us!

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