New Orleans Pelicans schedule lookahead: Ranking Week 24’s games by level of importance
By Mat Issa
New Orleans Pelicans (37-37) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (32-41) – Monday, March 27th @ 10 PM Eastern Standard Time
Not only are the Pelicans five games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers in the win column, but it appears as though the team is mailing it in for the year. According to recent reports from NBA Insider Shams Charania, the team is leaning toward shutting down All-Star Damian Lillard for the remainder of the season.
Sources: The Portland Trail Blazers are leaning toward shutting down All-Star Damian Lillard for the season's final nine games. The franchise is seriously considering taking precautions as Lillard deals with calf injury and the team is 3.5 games out of Play-In Tournament race.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 25, 2023
On the year, the team has been 5-10 in the games Lillard has missed. On top of that, typical starters Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, and Jerami Grant are also listed on the team’s injury report. So, there’s a chance that the team will be missing four of its usual starters.
To further compound matters, the Pelicans have beaten the Blazers in two of their three meetings this year. This factoid, and the defeated state of the Blazers’ roster, make this game both the easiest and least important of the week for the Pelicans.