Kings vs. Pelicans: Zion Williamson injury; Brandon Ingram’s comeback; scouting reports

The Kings lost all five games they played against the New Orleans Pelicans during the regular season, but it will only take one win to send them back to the NBA playoffs for the second year in a row.

They will have that chance when they play the Pelicans in a play-in tournament elimination game that will tip off at 6:30 p.m. PT Friday at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The winner will secure the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and go on to face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a first-round series beginning Sunday.

The Pelicans received unfortunate news Wednesday when an MRI revealed that 6-foot-6, 284-pound forward Zion Williamson suffered a left hamstring strain in Tuesday’s 110-106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the play-in tournament. Williamson had 40 points and 11 rebounds before leaving a tie game with 3:13 remaining.

Brandon Ingram recently returned from a knee injury, but the Pelicans won’t be the same without Williamson. The 23-year-old bulldozer powered his way to a team-high 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting 57% from the field. this season while playing a career-high 70 games.

The Pelicans went 7-5 in 12 games without Williamson this season. Those wins came against the Kings, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers. The losses came against the Minnesota Timberwolves (2), Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.

The Kings stayed alive in the play-in tournament with a 118-94 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, but they can take nothing for granted after suffering a 133-100 loss to the Pelicans on Jan. 7 in Sacramento with Williamson out due to a right quad contusion. CJ McCollum scored 30 points in that game, going 11 of 16 from the field and 7 of 10 from 3-point range. The Pelicans outrebounded the Kings 51-25 while holding them to 41.8% shooting.

Ingram is back after missing 12 games with a left knee injury. He has appeared in only two games since his return — both against the Lakers — and has yet to reach top form.

Ingram had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting with five rebounds in 23 minutes in a 124-108 loss to the Lakers in Sunday’s regular-season finale. He had 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting with four rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes in Tuesday’s play-in loss to the Lakers.

Ingram, who came out of Duke as the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA draft, is averaging 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists in his eighth season. He appeared in four of the five regular-season games against the Kings, averaging 24.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while making 36 of 68 (.529) from the field and 10 of 18 (.555) from 3-point range.

Scouting Sacramento

Kings coach Mike Brown has been demanding physicality and defense for two years. The process has been a struggle at times, but the Kings are finally answering his call with strong buy in from De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray and the recent emergence of Keon Ellis and Davion Mitchell.

The Kings have been forced to make adjustments after losing Kevin Huerter, who is out with a torn labrum, and Malik Monk, who is out with a sprained MCL. The bulk of their minutes are now going to Ellis and Mitchell, who are more defensive-minded players.

The Kings ranked No. 18 in in defensive rating before the All-Star break (116.1). They ranked No. 9 after the break (110.9) and No. 5 over the last 10 games of the regular season (108.1).

Fox averaged 26.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 46.5% from the field and 36.9% from 3-point range this season. He tied Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for No. 1 in the NBA in steals and led the league in deflections.

Sabonis averaged 19.4 points this season with career highs of 13.7 rebounds, 8.2 assists while shoot 59.4% from the field and 37.9% from beyond the arc, although he attempts just 1.1 3s per game. Sabonis led the league in rebounding, double-doubles (77) and triple-doubles (26).

Murray averages 15.2 points and 5.5 rebounds in his second season out of Iowa. His 3-point percentage dipped from 41.1% to 35.8% this season, but he went 8 of 13 from long distance while scoring 32 points against the Warriors on Tuesday.

Harrison Barnes is averaging 12.2 points while shooting 38.7% from 3-point range. He put up 17 points against Golden State, going 3 of 4 from the 3-point line. Trey Lyles is a 38.4% 3-point shooter who averages 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Now look at Ellis and Mitchell, who are giving Sacramento something offensively while still doing what they do defensively.

Ellis, an undrafted player from Alabama who was still on a two-way contract in early February, is averaging 5.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.7 steals in 17.2 minutes per game. Mitchell, who has been in and out of the rotation, averages 5.3 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.2 steals in 15.3 minutes per game.

Things have changed in recent weeks. Over the last 15 games of the regular season, Ellis averaged 9.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 47.2% from the field and 44.6% from 3-point range. Mitchell averaged 8.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists while making 46.8% from the field and 45.7% from beyond the arc.

Ellis had 15 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocked shots in 39 minutes in Tuesday’s win over the Warriors. Mitchell had five points, five rebounds and three assists in 16:30.

Scouting New Orleans

New Orleans is No. 11 in the NBA in offensive rating (116.5) and No. 6 in defensive rating (111.9).

The Pelicans rank ninth in field-goal percentage (.486) and fourth in 3-point shooting (.383). They are ninth with 22.8 free-throw attempts per game, but Williamson accounted for 7.1 of them. Ingram is second on the team in free-throw attempts (4.8), but he has only been to the line twice in two games since returning to the lineup.

McCollum is third on the team in scoring behind Williamson and Ingram. He is averaging 20.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 45.9% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range on 8.4 attempts per game.

Trey Murphy III averages 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds. Jonas Valanciunas averages 12.2 points and 8.8 rebounds while converting 55.9% of his field-goal attempts.

Herbert Jones, who could be an All-Defensive Team selection for the first time this season, averages 11.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 49.8% from the field and 41.8% from 3-point range.

Larry Nance Jr. is averaging 5.7 points and 5.0 rebounds, but he is still capable of putting up bigger numbers. He had 13 points, six rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes against the Lakers on Sunday. He followed that performance with 10 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes in Tuesday’s play-in game.

Kings at Pelicans

When: 6:30 p.m.

Where: Smoothie King Center

TV: TNT

Radio: Sactown Sports 1140

Odds: Kings -1.5

Over/under: 214.5

Injury report

Kings: OUT — Kevin Huerter (shoulder); Malik Monk (knee).

Pelicans: OUT — Zion Williamson (hamstring).