It is often said that the current NBA lacks real rivalries, and well know that there is one that is being built very seriously. The Pelicans and the Suns – opponents in the Playoffs last season – meet once more this evening at 9:30 p.m. in New Orleans, only two days following their confrontation which ended in a general confusion.
A smell of Playoffs from December, does that tell you? Because that’s exactly what awaits us tonight in Louisiana, which is moreover at a very affordable time for us French.
On Friday, for their second matchup of the 2022-23 regular season, the Pelicans got the better of the Suns behind a outstanding Zion Williamson, simply unplayable with 35 points (13/17 shooting), 7 rebounds and 4 assists. The excitement was palpable inside the Smoothie King Center, as the NOLA crowd decided to play their sixth man role to the fullest as they did in the great series of the first round of the 2022 Playoffs. Big atmosphere, big game, big win for the Pels, but also a big mess in the final seconds following Zion’s huge dunk that punctuated Willie Green’s men’s victory with authority.
ZION WINDMILL ????????????
THEN BOTH TEAMS GOT CHIPPY! pic.twitter.com/uLdZAwvDkQ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 10, 2022
The Suns did not appreciate Zion’s gesture, top haters Jose Alvarado and Chris Paul took the opportunity to send each other sweet words, and the two teams met this Sunday with the firm intention of fighting it out.
It is therefore in this context that Pels and Cactus meet tonight in a match that promises big sparks. Zion Williamson and his pals, on a series of six consecutive victories, will be keen to put another hammer blow on the head of Phoenix, currently in the tough spot with three losses in a row despite the return of Chris Paul. To make matters worse on the Suns side, they may well have to do without their top scorer Devin Booker, hit with a hamstring, but that’s no excuse knowing that New Orleans will once once more be deprived of Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones.
No matter who is absent in the end, we are in front of two teams that have started to have a real experience since last spring, two teams that are finding it increasingly difficult to manage each other, and whose each match is spiced up just right. In short, all the ingredients for a rising rivalry.
And for all that, you have to be there at 9:30 p.m.
