New Orleans @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 7, 2018 ) Chicago 98, New Orleans 107

Anthony Davis is the New Orleans Pelicans' star player for now, but his immediate future is very much in doubt. Davis has been cleared to return to practice after missing the last seven games with a sprained index finger but there is no word on whether he will take the court when the Pelicans visit his hometown Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

Davis, a Chicago native who was drafted No. 1 overall by New Orleans in 2012, demanded a trade late last month and is awaiting his fate with Thursday's NBA trade deadline fast approaching, and the team is in no hurry to rush him back into the lineup. "He's been cleared to practice, so he'll practice," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters before hedging on in if Davis will play Wednesday. "... I don't make those decisions. I was told that he was cleared to practice. That's what I know." The Bulls don't have the distraction of a big-time trade demand hanging over them and are just trying to get some positive things going as they dig into a rebuild. "I think we are getting better and trying to be on the same page," forward Lauri Markkanen, who is a key piece of that rebuild, told reporters after a 125-118 loss at Charlotte on Sunday. "We have to get the balance of guarding and preventing fast breaks and quality possessions on both ends of the floor. We are working every day and hope it's not for nothing and feel we are getting closer as a team; it's a process, for sure."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS New Orleans, NBCS Chicago

ABOUT THE PELICANS (23-31): The possibility of a Davis trade has been hanging over the entire franchise for over a week, but the players on the floor are still fighting. New Orleans dropped six of its last seven games but each of those setbacks came by single digits, including a 109-107 home setback against Indiana in the most recent outing on Monday. "Another frustrating loss," Pelicans center Jahlil Okafor, who has seen his playing time increase substantially with Davis out, told reporters. "You know we really were right there at the end. You know we had a couple mental lapses late in the game that pretty much costs us the game like a couple offensive rebounds we let up, we lost our man a few times. But in all, the effort is there. We're all playing the right way. We're all playing hard."

ABOUT THE BULLS (12-41): Chicago is trying to figure out how to pull out close games as well and dropped five of its last six, with four of those defeats coming by single digits. Forward Bobby Portis is doing his part and scored 26 points in a win at Miami last Wednesday before exploding for 33 points - 28 in the first half - on 13-of-23 shooting at Charlotte. "Obviously, my role on this team is to come in and score the basketball, rebound the basketball at a high level, compete," Portis told reporters. "I think I've been doing that the last two games and I have to keep that rolling for the rest of the season."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bulls PG Kris Dunn (pelvic contusion) sat out practice on Monday and is day-to-day.

2. Pelicans PG Elfrid Payton (ankle), SG E'Twaun Moore (quad) and PF Nikola Mirotic (calf) are all questionable for Wednesday.

3. New Orleans won the last three meetings, including a 107-98 home win on Nov. 7 in which Davis collected 32 points and 15 rebounds.

PREDICTION: Pelicans 109, Bulls 105