January 2nd - New Orleans Pelicans @ Philadelphia 76ers - 23-13

[As I See It]

Tomorrow might be painful to watch. But this team has surprised me many times. This might be more of a toss up on the road, but at home they always seem to find a way.

They'll need to find a way again tomorrow.

Zion Williamson (right hamstring strain), Brandon Ingram (left great toe contusion) and Larry Nance (right shoulder soreness) are all listed as OUT for tomorrow's game vs Houston.

Nance's injury switched from a neck spasm to shoulder soreness in the latest injury report.

— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) January 3, 2023

I'm taking the high road and believe that someone will step up and show himself worthy of that 4th/5th option we sorely need. I'm hoping for a staring lineup of:

DD
CJ
JV
Naji
JAX

...but I'm sure Herb will be in the starting lineup and not DD and likely it will be 3M3 and not Naji.

I want to see DD, Kira, Naji, and Billy get plenty of run. Now before the board goes nuts, I think, like many have said, Alvarado needs to sit (load management) and we all know what DG and GT are all about.

MOST IMPORTANT, THOUGH: I don't want the FO to panic and make an ill-advised trade to put a bandaid on this 'merry-go-round'.

[Pelicanidae]

Yeah I think I'm taking a step back from the NBA for a little while. I'll still catch some of the games but I'm not going to go out of my way to watch every single one and listen to the podcasts and read the articles. It's funny, I can watch the team be terrible for years and expect nothing but as soon as the team finally looks like it's heading the right way, everyone gets injured in increasingly frustrating ways to ensure we can't really sustain any kind of momentum and it just feels like spite from the universe at this point. I suppose it's easier when you expect failure.

[luckyman]

So Zion is out for at least 3 weeks. Who the hell knows when BI will be back.

Here's some feel good news? Willie probably ain't in the mood.

[hornetsrebirth]

My theory is that CJ does better when he can be "the guy" so i guess that theory is going to be put to the test now. Im going to keep watching because i want to see how the rest of the cast responds

[Pelicanidae]

Are you trying to say that because he plays around the basket, that led to his hamstring injury? Please explain the medical reasoning.

If that is the logic it seems especially strange now given how the injury has happened during a stretch where his game has been visibly diversifying game by game. It's now typical to see him hit jumpers from 8-15 feet in a game at least once, or to shoot 8 foot floaters/hooks. His very obviously making efforts to expand his range and anyone watching knows that, so it would seem strange to argue that his rim-attacking style has led to this injury now when he's doing less of that than ever.

[hornetsrebirth]

....and if CJ doesn't come through, there's always "ice cold" (your words...not mine) Jose' Alvarez ready to come in.

Dude, you are becoming very close to being the first person that Ive blocked on this site. Yes I said that Jose Alvarado has been cold from three point ever since we played the Suns. Because its true. And what? It doesnt mean that he sucks, and it definitely doesnt mean Kira is better than him. CJ has been through a pretty significant shooting slump as well this year so maybe we should just bench CJ for Kira am I right?