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Pelicans Make Major Zion Williamson, C.J. McCollum Injury Decisions Ahead of Suns Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Nathaniel Holloway | Last updated Feb 28, 2025 3:45 PM ET

The Phoenix Suns are set to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday as the second game of a back-to-back.

On Thursday, the Suns were defeated by a shorthanded Pelicans team 124-116. This was Phoenix’s third consecutive loss and their eight loss in their last 10 games.

Phoenix will now look to bounce back on Friday as they will face off against the Pelicans again, and New Orleans will once again be shorthanded.

Ahead of Friday’s game, the Pelicans have ruled out two of their star players. Zion Williamson will miss Friday's matchup due to return to play reconditioning and C.J. McCollum will be held out due to rest. New Orleans has also ruled out Brandon Boston Jr., Herbert Jones and Dejounte Murray.

Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum are both out for tonight’s game against Suns.
Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk are available after missing last night.
It’s second game of back to back .
— Rod Walker (@RodWalkerNola) February 28, 2025

This is a major blow for the Pelicans, but it is not super surprising. With New Orleans’ season already over due to them being one of the worst teams in the NBA, they have taken precautions with Zion this season, sitting him out of back-to-backs. Of course, Zion dominated in Thursday’s game as he recorded his first career triple-double in the Pelicans win.

While Zion and McCollum have been ruled out, the Pelicans did announce that Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown will return to their lineup on Friday. This is great news for New Orleans and both players could end up starting with Zion and McCollum out of the lineup.

On the other side, the Suns enter Friday’s matchup with an almost fully healthy roster. They have ruled out Monte Morris, Cody Martin and Bradley Beal and have listed Grayson Allen as questionable.

Of course, Beal missed Thursday’s matchup in New Orleans due to a calf injury and he will miss his second consecutive game on Friday. With Beal out, expect Tyus Jones to remain in the Suns' starting lineup.

Fans can catch Friday’s matchup between the Suns and Pelicans at 9:00 p.m. EST.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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