The New Orleans Pelicans are 0-2, and the story has started to repeat itself in a hurry.
For the second game in a row, New Orleans carried a lead into the fourth quarter and couldn’t finish it off, this time dropping a 120-119 decision to the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center. Dejounte Murray had a jumper at the buzzer to win it, but the shot didn’t fall.
Even after digging out of a 15-point hole, the Pelicans couldn’t complete the comeback. The Jazz built a 50-40 advantage when Yves Missi left with a left knee injury late in the second quarter, then held a 62-52 lead at halftime.
Missi’s injury was the biggest blow of the night. He had to be helped to the locker room after the play, which appeared to involve Zion Williamson falling into Missi’s knee.
Missi finished with 6 points and a blocked shot. That came after he opened the season Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers with 13 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocked shots.
After the game, head coach Jamahl Mosley said he had no immediate update.
"It's a left knee injury and we're going to get a look at it tomorrow (Saturday) in Denver," Mosley said.
New Orleans did find a spark in the third quarter, when Murray and Karlo Matkovic helped fuel a 38-24 stretch that swung momentum back toward the Pelicans. Matkovic turned in a useful burst with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in the quarter.
Williamson led the scoring effort with 23 points, while Saddiq Bey added 20.
Still, the Pelicans were undone by the same issue Mosley pointed to afterward: the glass. Utah controlled the early rebounding battle and piled up second-chance chances that kept New Orleans behind even when the margin looked manageable.
“They kicked our tails early on in the game on the boards,” Mosley said. “They had a lot of second chance opportunities.
It was still a 10-point game in a lot of those moments. We’ve got to make sure we’re cleaning up the glass.”.
The Pelicans now move straight into another challenge, facing the Denver Nuggets on the second night of a back-to-back Saturday. Mosley said the message is simple.
“We’ve got to bounce right back and take the lessons from this one,” Mosley said. “Obviously we’ve got a very good Denver team that we’ve got to make sure how we’re guarding, who we’re guarding, finishing possessions out.
Do it all without fouling down the stretch. I think those are big keys.
At the end of the game, just us being able to defend without fouling when the game is on the line.”
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Pelicans Suddenly Have A Bigger Problem Than Another Close Loss
The Pelicans latest gut punch came in a one-point loss to the Utah Jazz, and for once the margin felt like only part of the problem. New Orleans had a chance to steal it late before Dejounte Murrays last shot missed, but the bigger concern arrived much earlier when the teams interior defense took a hit and the rotation started to shift around the edges.
Yves Missi went down with a left knee injury in the first half and was ruled out soon after, leaving the Pelicans to navigate the rest of the night without their best inside presence. Saddiq Bey provided a welcome bright spot with 20 points, while Jeremiah Fears endured another rough outing that could put his starting role in question as the Pelicans look for answers after another game that slipped away. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Suddenly Have A Frontcourt Problem They Can't Yet Solve
Yves Missis early exit against the Utah Jazz left the Pelicans with an immediate frontcourt issue, and the initial update only added to the uncertainty. An MRI confirmed a left knee bone bruise after the hyperextension injury, and New Orleans ruled him out for the next game against the Denver Nuggets as the team waits to see how he responds.
Jamahl Mosley said the Pelicans will have to handle the center spot by committee while Missi is sidelined, which puts a spotlight on a rotation that was already short on stability. For now, the bigger question is how long New Orleans will be without one of its key interior pieces, because the team has not yet offered any timeline beyond that first absence. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Already Have A Lineup Issue Jamahl Mosley Can't Ignore
Jamahl Mosley is still sorting through combinations in the early going, and the first two games have already surfaced a rotation question the Pelicans cannot really afford to let linger. Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Zion Williamson have spent very little time on the floor together so far, even though each brings something the roster needs, from Murphys shot-making to Jones defense to Williamsons ability to bend the game. Murphys scoring and usage have dipped from what he has shown in recent seasons, while Jones has been used sparingly despite his value on the defensive end.
The encouraging part for New Orleans is that the fit is not untested. Lineups featuring Murphy, Jones and Williamson have produced positive results in previous seasons, which is why their limited shared minutes already stand out in a 0-2 start. Mosley is still experimenting, but the longer those three remain separated, the more the Pelicans are asking themselves whether a cleaner role distribution could unlock a more balanced group. [Read more 🡒]