The New Orleans Pelicans had a few days to sit with the way things fell apart against the Denver Nuggets, and now they get the same opponent again on Wednesday night in New Orleans.
Denver is arriving off a loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday, so both teams come into this rematch carrying the sting of a bad result. The Nuggets sit at 1-2, even with championship expectations hanging over them. The Pelicans still don’t have a win, but they also know they had Denver on the ropes once already.
That first meeting in Denver showed what New Orleans can do when things are clicking. The Pelicans built a 23-point lead on the road before the finish turned ugly.
Even in the collapse, there was enough good film to point to. The trick now is avoiding the same late-game breakdowns.
One of the biggest priorities is keeping Trey Murphy involved. For three quarters, Denver had no real answer for him.
Murphy attacked early and often, taking 14 shots in those first three periods and finishing with 26 points. Then came the fade: only three shots in the fourth quarter and overtime, and just one attempt in 17 minutes of clutch time basketball.
If New Orleans wants its offense to stay dangerous late, one of its best scorers can’t disappear.
The ball also has to keep moving. When the Pelicans were playing their best basketball in that game, they were sharing it, finding open shooters, and making the right read.
Once the closing stretch hit, the offense bogged down and the ball got sticky again. That’s when the structure fell apart.
They need to avoid slipping back into that pattern.
Then there’s the turnovers. The Pelicans not only stopped generating clean looks, they started giving possessions away.
They went more than four minutes without a field goal and never even got a shot off on what should have been the final possession. New Orleans finished minus-6 in turnovers, 18 to 12.
Against Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, handing over extra chances is a problem at any point. In a game that went to overtime, it was even worse.
The final adjustment is a familiar one for the Pelicans: don’t let a role player steal the night. Trevon Brazile has scored 10 points total in Denver’s other two games, but he erupted for 17 points against New Orleans, added nine rebounds and forced his only three turnovers in that matchup. That kind of outlier performance can’t be the story again if the Pelicans want to flip the result on Wednesday.
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New Orleans is not exactly at full strength either, with Yves Missi sidelined again and Jordan Poole still on the report, but the opportunity is real enough to notice. Nikola Jokic will still be the fulcrum for Denver, yet the Pelicans can look at this one and see a chance to press a thin opponent in a game that already proved the matchup can get tight late. [Read more 🡒]
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One possible fix has emerged from the way the guards have fit together, with Jordan Poole giving New Orleans a different kind of offensive pressure when paired with Dejounte Murray. The current setup has left room for debate about who belongs in the first group and who might better serve the team in a different role, and that kind of adjustment could become harder to ignore if the Pelicans keep grinding through these early struggles. [Read more 🡒]