How to watch Pelicans vs. Jazz: See key matchups, more for Orlando restart opener

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The last time the Pelicans played the Jazz, Brandon Ingram exploded for 49 points.

The Pelicans’ 22-year-old forward hit a new career high largely by driving the basketball right at Rudy Gobert. In the third quarter, Ingram dunked directly over the two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Ingram never took his foot off the gas pedal as New Orleans beat Utah 138-132 in overtime.

Six months later, the Pelicans and the Jazz finally meet again. They’ll face each other in the first game of the NBA’s restart. The league’s efforts to finish the season inside the Walt Disney World bubble required months of planning and massive resources (reportedly $150 million). 

The Pelicans were chosen to play on national TV in the first game of the restart. In October, they also were picked up in a national TV slot for the first game of the regular season. Zion Williamson, who’s played in just 19 games, is already one of the NBA’s biggest draws. But his status is in doubt Thursday. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said Wednesday he’d be a game-time decision. 

Here’s what you need to know as we dive head-first back into basketball.

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Tipoff: 5:30 p.m.

TV: Fox Sports New Orleans, TNT

Radio: 100.3 FM

WHERE THEY STAND?

The Jazz (41-23) are in fourth place in the West. They are trying to hold off the Thunder, Rockets and Mavericks for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, though home-court advantage isn’t nearly as important inside the fan-less bubble. The Pelicans (28-36) are in 10th place. They must finish in eighth or ninth place to earn a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament. 

For most teams in the NBA bubble, the mission is simple: Play eight games to determine the 2020 playoff field.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

Brandon Ingram vs. Jazz’s drop defense

The last time New Orleans and Utah played, Gobert, one of the game’s premier shot blockers, hung out in the paint in pick-and-roll coverage. That meant there was open space in the mid-range zones on the floor. Ingram exploited this with patience and his smooth in-between game. He knocked in a number of jumpers from the 10- to 15-foot range. Eventually, Gobert had no choice but to start playing up more, at which point Ingram began to snake inside.