Magic and Pelicans Showdown in the Big Easy

The Orlando Magic are currently sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference and in a Play-In spot while the New Orleans Pelicans know the playoffs are out of reach. With the Magic coming off a loss from Monday against the Rockets, let's see if they can bounce back on the road against the Pelicans. This matchup with Zion Williamson vs. Paolo Banchero is a matchup that can go either way with both superstars averaging over 24 points per game. The Pelicans have had some struggles this season losing a lot of close games with Zion being injured and then traded superstar Brandon Ingram. Despite their struggles, Zion is healthy, averaging good numbers, but they only have over a dozen games left in their season. It will not get any easier with a young Orlando Magic team coming to town on Thursday night.

The New Orleans Pelicans are currently 14th in the West, but with players like CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson, and Trey Murphy III, they can still beat any team on any given night when all of those guys are healthy and making plays. On the other side with Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, and Cole Anthony making plays the Magic can win by double digits. The Magic are 1-6  in their last seven games and in half of them, they had the lead in the fourth quarter and still ended up losing the game. The Magic are a team that can score but also depends on its bench players to help them through tough games.

Overall, this should be a good matchup in the Big Easy on Thursday with the Pelicans coming off a win against the Clippers and the Magic coming off a loss. Zion has been in a zone his last few games and hopefully, he can keep it going on Thursday night. The Magic should be healthy for the matchup as they try to move up in the East to avoid the Play-In Tournament. The energy in the Smoothie King Center should be good enough for it to be a good game.