{"id":617289,"date":"2026-02-22T07:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T07:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/617289\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T07:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T07:14:08","slug":"milwaukee-bucks-vs-new-orleans-pelicans-preview-game-thread-forget-the-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/617289\/","title":{"rendered":"Milwaukee Bucks vs. New Orleans Pelicans Preview & Game Thread: Forget the pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the NBA trade deadline long gone and All-Star weekend now over with, it\u2019s officially the tail end of the season and the Milwaukee Bucks ramp it back up tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center\u2014God bless America! Last time these teams played, the Bucks were in the quandary of needing to win to protect their pick while teetering on tanking. After winning that one 141-137 in overtime, and unexpectedly winning three of the next four\u2014including road wins against the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder\u2014the Bucks are embracing winning again. Even better, new recruits Cam Thomas and Ousmane Dieng have been at the centre of the resurgence and look like potential long-term fits. So, with stakes now again on the line, can the Bucks live up to expectations? <\/p>\n

Where We\u2019re At<\/p>\n

As noted, Milwaukee is on a tear, bringing much needed joy back to Bucks fans\u2019 hearts. Thomas gives the team a bravado it\u2019s needed\u2014an unwavering confidence that it (he) can get a bucket when the opposition clamps down. In turn, Dieng fills a positional need and seems to be tapping into all that potential that made him the 11th overall pick in 2022. Of course, both bring youth too. So, giving up Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey, the Bucks got younger, filled a position of need, have upside, and are fun again. Kudos to you, Trader Jon.<\/p>\n

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Since losing to the Bucks, New Orleans has won two out of three, knocking off the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis and the Sacramento Kings at home before losing to the Miami Heat. It\u2019s been the usual suspects for the Pelicans, with Zion Williamson (24.0 PPG, 70% shooting), Trey Murphy III (22.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, 4.3 3PM), and Saddiq Bey (18.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG) leading the way in this stretch. The Pelicans have stuck with their unconventional lineup too, Herb Jones and Derik Queen joining the aforementioned three in a starting group where under 6\u20196\u201ds need not apply\u2014though bizarrely they don\u2019t start anyone over 6\u20199\u201d either. Roster-wise, New Orleans made just one move at the deadline\u2014much to the frustrations of their fans\u2014trading Jose Alvarado, the team\u2019s \u201cheart and soul<\/a>,\u201d to the New York Knicks for Dalen Terry and two future second-round picks. So, at least for the rest of the season, they\u2019ll ride it out with the group the front office still believes is a playoff roster<\/a>. You know, the one that\u2019s got them to a 15-41 record. Without the fallback of a pick in the coming draft. Yikes.<\/p>\n

Injury Report<\/p>\n

For the Bucks, Giannis (calf), Taurean Prince (neck), and Myles Turner (calf) remain out.<\/p>\n

For the Pelicans, Dejounte Murray (Achilles), Yves Missi (calf), and Micah Peavy (toe) are out, while Trey Murphy III (shoulder) is doubtful.<\/p>\n

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Player To Watch<\/p>\n

On a new team, one good game is expected. Two in a row raises eyebrows, but players are always juiced going up against the team that just traded them. Three in a row? Now that would smell like consistency. Does Dieng have it in him? While only he knows, what we do know is that he fits the desired archetype: size and length at the three, able to space the floor, some secondary ball handling, and activity on defence. That is a multidimensional player<\/a>. If you think it\u2019s too good to be true, it just might be. Or it might be transformational\u2014for Dieng and the Bucks. Facing a Pelicans team that is loaded on the wing\u2014including none other than long-time Bucks target Murphy\u2014Dieng has a very real shot at placing a stake in the ground and claiming the starting small forward position as his own. However, with Ryan Rollins returning and stalwart starters Kevin Porter Jr. and AJ Green available, Dieng might have to do so from the bench. Doc Rivers\u2019 rotation will be telling.<\/p>\n

How To Watch<\/p>\n

FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin at 7:00 p.m. CST.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the NBA trade deadline long gone and All-Star weekend now over with, it\u2019s officially the tail end…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3775],"tags":[2745,4040,7,103,959,406,15697,2878,803,4202,11053,365,189,3539,102,121,3871,152,367,6,2828,478,470,191,10906,475,179,76,6609,2763,477,1020,13066,281,361,6514,1259,814],"class_list":{"0":"post-617289","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-milwaukee-bucks","8":"tag-aj-green","9":"tag-amir-coffey","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-bucks","12":"tag-cam-thomas","13":"tag-cole-anthony","14":"tag-dalen-terry","15":"tag-dejounte-murray","16":"tag-derik-queen","17":"tag-herb-jones","18":"tag-jose-alvarado","19":"tag-kevin-porter-jr","20":"tag-miami-heat","21":"tag-micah-peavy","22":"tag-milwaukee","23":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","24":"tag-milwaukeebucks","25":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","26":"tag-myles-turner","27":"tag-nba","28":"tag-nba-trade-deadline","29":"tag-new-orleans","30":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","31":"tag-new-york-knicks","32":"tag-ok","33":"tag-oklahoma-city","34":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","35":"tag-orlando-magic","36":"tag-ousmane-dieng","37":"tag-ryan-rollins","38":"tag-sacramento-kings","39":"tag-saddiq-bey","40":"tag-smoothie-king-center","41":"tag-taurean-prince","42":"tag-the-bucks","43":"tag-trey-murphy-iii","44":"tag-yves-missi","45":"tag-zion-williamson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}