On April 16, Beijing time, after entering the sixth year of the NBA, Ingram finally broke the spell and led the team to the playoffs. The team's mid-season reinforcement trade proved to be very correct, and the arrival of CJ gave the team an additional offensive strength point, and he effectively shared the pressure on Ingram. In these two key games, Ingram played the style of a star, the last game beat the Spurs, Ingram's savior in the last quarter, the whole field bombarded the 27+5+5 data, this game, the same plot was staged again.
However, this time the Pelicans are facing the more powerful Clippers, Ingram only to play more explosive data, in order to beat this competitor, he did not disappoint, 14 of 21 in the game, cut 30 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, the mid-range killing heart in the last quarter, successfully took away the game. Although the Pelicans have advanced to the playoffs after many years, their first-round opponent is the sun ranked first in the league, as the league's top seed this season and last season's finals team, the suns have been reborn again this season, and their strength has reached a higher level.
The Pelicans wanted to perform the Black Eight Miracle on the following grams, which was almost impossible. Still, a message from after the game gave them a glimmer of light. According to Pelicans reporter Andrew Lopez, the team's striker Zion Williamson will return in the first round of the series, Zion may make his debut at G3 or even G2, and if things go well, he may even be able to make a debut in G1. A few days ago, Zion showed off a big windmill dunk with a 360-degree turn, and it is believed that he is recovering well from injury, but for safety reasons and to avoid damaging the team's chemistry, team coach Willie Green did not choose to let him play.
However, entering the playoffs is different, from the strength point of view, the current Pelicans are not the sun's opponents at all, so only by returning to the Zion fireline, the Pelicans have the hope of winning. So far this season, Zion has not played a game, but last season, he can average 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 61.1% from the field, Zion's personal ability needless to say, if he can still maintain a good state, the Pelicans dare not say that they can definitely stage the Black Eight miracle, but at least it is difficult to be swept.
For the Pelicans, once Zion returns, they will have three interior lines, Varan, Nas and Zion, which can compete with the Suns' three interior lines. The Pelicans' few strengths may lie in their front line, the Suns will form a crush on the Pelicans in both the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, it looks like the Pelicans are under a lot of pressure, but Zion's return will have a huge impact on the Suns' interior line.