The Pelicans’ first road trip of the season opens with two games that ask very different questions, and both come with a familiar kind of pressure.
New Orleans heads to Salt Lake City on Friday still looking for its first win, then turns around 24 hours later for a trip to Denver, where Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets have beaten the Pelicans in four straight meetings at Ball Arena. The schedule alone makes this a tricky stretch. The opponents make it even more revealing.
Utah is rebuilding, but it is not a soft landing spot. Lauri Markkanen has been a real problem for New Orleans in their head-to-head meetings, averaging 20.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in 10 career games against the Pelicans.
Jaren Jackson Jr., who won Defensive Player of the Year, brings another layer with his ability to score, protect the rim, and stretch the floor. That kind of frontcourt mix can pull a defense apart if rotations get loose.
New Orleans, though, has answers of its own. Zion Williamson has typically done damage against the Jazz, putting up 22.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 14 matchups. Trey Murphy III has also had his moments, including a 21-point average in three games during the 2024-25 season.
There should be room for the Pelicans to work inside, especially with Utah missing center Jusuf Nurkic after getting outrebounded 55-38 in its opening loss to Memphis. Yves Missi is coming off a 13-point, 14-rebound, three-block night against Indiana, and that kind of presence around the rim could matter here.
On the perimeter, New Orleans has size and athleticism that can make Utah uncomfortable. Murphy, Dejounte Murray, Bennedict Mathurin, and Saddiq Bey give the Pelicans multiple ways to score if they keep the ball moving and stay away from rushed, contested jumpers. Utah has enough talent to punish mistakes, but this is still a game New Orleans should expect to win.
Denver is a different beast entirely.
Jokic is the center of everything the Nuggets do, and his scoring, passing, and control of the offense force opponents into constant tradeoffs. With Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and DeMar DeRozan alongside him, Denver can make every possession feel like a problem that has no clean answer.
Jamahl Mosley knows the grind that comes with facing the Nuggets. In five seasons coaching Orlando, he went 5-5 against Denver, but his teams won only once in five visits there.
The Pelicans have had some individual success against the Nuggets, especially Murphy. He scored 41 points in Denver in February 2025 and averaged 26 points against them last season.
Williamson, by contrast, was limited to 12.3 points in three meetings last season.
Murphy’s shooting can help open space for Williamson, but New Orleans has to do more than that. The Pelicans need steady offense, solid defensive rebounding, and control in transition, because Denver will punish mistakes in the open floor and on the glass.
The timing makes Friday even more significant. New Orleans has three days off after the Denver game before coming home to face the Nuggets again on Wednesday and Sacramento on Thursday. That means the first stop of the trip could set the tone.
A split would give the Pelicans something real to hold onto. Dropping both would send them home at 0-3, with the same old doubts already hanging over Mosley’s first season.
That pressure is already lurking after the opener against Indiana, when New Orleans blew a 101-93 fourth-quarter lead and lost control during a 15-3 Pacers run. Missi, Murray, and Queen gave solid efforts, but the Pelicans could not close the game out.
Friday in Utah offers a chance to stop that pattern. Denver offers a chance to break one. Neither matchup will decide the season, but both will say a lot about where this team actually stands.
In Other News...
Warriors Linked To A Risky All-In Move For Steph's Window
A speculative trade idea making the rounds has the Warriors chasing Zion Williamson in a deal that would send a major veteran package back to New Orleans. The proposed framework is the kind of all-in swing that would force both sides to weigh talent, availability, and long-term flexibility, especially with Zions contract and injury history always sitting at the center of any conversation about his value.
From the Pelicans side, the appeal would be in reshaping the roster rather than simply chasing a like-for-like replacement. Any move of that size would signal a willingness to alter the timeline and build around younger pieces, while Golden State would be betting that Zions ceiling is worth the risk for a team still trying to maximize Stephen Currys window. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans 0-2 Start Just Got More Concerning After Missi Scare
The Pelicans rough opening stretch took another hit in a 120-119 loss to the Jazz, a defeat that again saw them enter the fourth quarter with a lead and fail to finish it off. New Orleans has now let a game slip away in the same way in back-to-back nights, and the frustration only deepened when center Yves Missi went down in the second quarter with a left knee injury and was helped to the locker room.
With no further update after the game, Missis status looms over an already uneasy early-season picture for New Orleans. Jamahl Mosley pointed to rebounding problems and the need for better defensive discipline, two issues that have become impossible to ignore with Denver up next and the Pelicans still searching for their first win. [Read more 🡒]
Zion Trade Idea Puts The Pelicans At A Franchise Crossroads
Zion Williamsons future keeps hovering over New Orleans, and every hypothetical trade package seems to say as much about the Pelicans direction as it does about the player himself. One recent proposal from the Golden State side imagines a swap built around veteran help and long-term flexibility, with the kind of salary matching and roster balancing that usually comes with a star of Williamsons caliber.
For the Pelicans, the appeal would be less about the names coming back than the chance to reset around a new structure and a cleaner financial picture. Any move of this size would force the franchise to weigh health, contract value and timeline all at once, which is why these conversations keep circling the same uncomfortable question: is New Orleans still building around Williamson, or has it reached the point where exploring a different path makes more sense? [Read more 🡒]