The New Orleans Pelicans reportedly are listing star Brandon Ingram as questionable for Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers with a right ankle sprain.
Ingram has missed New Orleans’ last two games with the injury.
Tuesday night’s contest is an extremely important one for both teams in the Western Conference playoff picture. Ahead of Monday’s action in the NBA, Los Angeles holds the No. 11 spot in the West with the Pelicans right behind it at No. 12.
Both teams have the same record as the Utah Jazz (No. 9) and Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 10), so a win could move them up considerably in the standings.
Ingram, a former Laker, was the prized possession for New Orleans in the Anthony Davis trade. While the Lakers will certainly take that trade any day of the week since they won an NBA title with Davis, Ingram has blossomed into quite the player in New Orleans.
However, this season, the former Duke University star has been slowed by injuries, appearing in just 31 games so far. In those games, Ingram is averaging 22.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from 3-point range.
The Pelicans have been crushed by the injury bug this season, and they have been without Zion Williams, Jose Alvarado and Larry Nance Jr. due to injuries as well.
Those injuries have put some added pressure on Ingram and C.J. McCollum to carry the team’s offense as of late.
Tuesday’s matchup will be the fourth and final time that the Pelicans and Lakers meet this season. The Lakers won the last meeting back on Feb. 15, and they currently have a 2-1 lead in the season series.
A win on Tuesday would give Los Angeles the tiebreaker over the Pelicans in the Western Conference, which could become huge given how close the standings are at this point in the season.
If Ingram is able to suit up, the Lakers are going to focus heavily on him on defense, and it’s possible that defensive wizard Jarred Vanderbilt will draw the assignment on him to start on Tuesday night.
The Lakers and Pelicans are scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. PST on Tuesday in New Orleans.
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