The New Orleans Pelicans travel to Texas to face the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Sunday.

The Pelicans (7-18) just got some devastating news on Friday, with Zion Williamson suffering a setback in his recovery from foot surgery. The superstar forward was expected to help this team compete, but they've really struggled without him. They currently have the fifth-worst record in the NBA right now, despite winning four of their last six games. That recent run directly correlates with the health of Brandon Ingram, and it's far from surprising that they struggled with both of them out of the lineup. This most recent setback with Zion has some people wondering if he'll play at all this year because the Pelicans playoff chance has been plummeting since day one.

The Rockets (6-16) have one of the worst records in the NBA, but they've been playing much better recently. In fact, Houston enters this matchup in the midst of a five-game winning streak. That's obviously their best stretch of the season, grabbing just one win through their first 17 games before that. It's hard to understand why a team with so much young talent got off to such a poor start, but this recent run is hopefully giving them some momentum for the second half. What's also interesting is their home-road splits. They have a 5-5 record at home and a 1-11 record outside of Toyota Center. That's common with such a young team, and as long as guys like Kevin Porter Jr and Christian Wood continue to grow, it could be a successful season no matter what the record says.

These teams played three times last season, with New Orleans winning the season series, 2-1.