Jamahl Mosley has seen this movie before.
During his final three seasons in Orlando, his Magic held opponents under 100 points 53 times and won 48 of those games. That kind of defensive baseline became a habit. In New Orleans, he’s still searching for it, but Saturday’s 121-99 win over the Hawks gave him a clearer look at how the Pelicans might get there.
The biggest piece is disruption. New Orleans piled up 15 steals and forced 19 turnovers against Atlanta, extending a preseason trend and keeping the Pelicans atop the NBA in steals per game.
Zion Williamson also sat at the top of the individual steals leaderboard entering the game. The activity hasn’t fixed everything - New Orleans opened 0-4 - but it did fuel the team’s most complete defensive effort so far.
It also fed the offense in ways this roster badly needs.
The Pelicans have long struggled to create enough three-point volume, so the pressure defense has to do some of the heavy lifting. Against Atlanta, New Orleans took only 17 threes and made seven, but it still shot 56.6% overall, scored 66 points in the paint and added 19 fast-break points. When the Pelicans force a live-ball turnover, they can get downhill before the defense has time to load up, and that’s where Williamson becomes especially dangerous.
Not every steal turns into a sprint the other way, but the ripple effect was obvious Saturday. New Orleans scored 34 points off Atlanta turnovers, a major boost for a team that hasn’t found a steady perimeter attack.
The catch is that the Pelicans gave plenty back. They turned it over 23 times themselves, which undercut some of the gains from all that defensive pressure. If New Orleans wants this formula to hold, the ball security has to tighten up.
Mosley has also gotten a fresh look at his roster over the last two games. With Dejounte Murray and Jordan Poole out, Bryce McGowens and Trendon Watford have stepped into rotation minutes, bringing length and activity. Herb Jones, after being limited earlier in the season, is back in the starting lineup.
Jones remains New Orleans’ most reliable defender, capable of handling multiple positions. Against Atlanta, McGowens finished with two steals and a block in 15 minutes, Saddiq Bey added four steals off the bench, and Williamson had three of his own.
The steals were already there before the lineup changes. What Mosley is trying to figure out now is how to turn that disruption into something more stable and more complete.
That becomes the real decision when Murray and Poole return. It’s not just about who deserves minutes. It’s about which groups can keep the defensive pressure high without dragging down the offense.
Saturday’s result offered a promising glimpse, though Atlanta’s 8-for-46 shooting from three makes it hard to treat the game as a perfect template.
The broader numbers tell the story of how rare these nights have been in New Orleans. In the 2023-24 season, when the Pelicans won 49 games, they held opponents below 100 points 11 times.
They did it five times in 2024-25 and four times last season. Add Saturday, and New Orleans has only 10 such performances in the last two-plus seasons since its last winning campaign.
Mosley’s Orlando teams produced that kind of defensive night far more often. Last season, the Magic held opponents below 100 eight times and won every one.
The season before, they went 19-3 in those games. The year before that, they were 21-2.
Of course, keeping a team under 100 isn’t the whole story. Pace and shooting variance matter, and Atlanta’s rough night from deep - 38 misses in 46 attempts - showed that clearly. The Western Conference also presents a different test, with a heavier dose of elite offenses on the schedule.
Even so, Mosley’s track record says this standard is possible. His Orlando teams proved year after year that they could keep opponents out of triple digits. The Pelicans haven’t done that nearly enough.
The steals give Mosley a starting point. Against the Hawks, they helped produce the kind of defensive night he knows can travel. Now the task is finding the right combinations in New Orleans to make it happen again.
In Other News...
Pelicans Sent A Message In That Scuffle And The NBA Noticed
The fallout from the scuffle in New Orleans carried beyond the final whistle, with the NBA stepping in after tempers flared between the Pelicans and Hawks. What started with contact between Atlanta guard Kingston Flemings and New Orleans guard Bryce McGowens quickly spilled into a broader confrontation, drawing players from both sides into the moment and putting the league office on notice.
For the Pelicans, the sequence also offered a glimpse of the edge Jamahl Mosley has been trying to build into this group. Mosley praised the teams camaraderie afterward, and even in a brief, messy exchange, New Orleans showed it would not be pushed around without a response. The leagues discipline only underscored how fast a routine game can turn into something more consequential. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Unbeaten Start Faces A New Concern Before Pelicans Game
The Pelicans head into their matchup with Memphis already navigating a familiar early-season injury report, with Trey Murphy III listed as probable despite dealing with bilateral patella tendinopathy. New Orleans is also expected to be without Yves Missi and Jordan Poole, leaving the rotation a little thinner as it prepares to see how it stacks up against a Grizzlies team that has started unbeaten.
Memphis has a few concerns of its own, with Scotty Pippen Jr. doubtful and Quinten Post questionable because of injuries. For the Pelicans, the bigger immediate question is how much Murphy can give them and how the rest of the available group fills in around him, especially with both teams carrying enough uncertainty to make this one feel less predictable than a typical early-season meeting. [Read more 🡒]
Young Grizzlies Put Early Momentum To The Test Against Pelicans
The Pelicans head to FedExForum on Monday night with Memphis riding a hot start and a young core that has already shown it can handle pressure. The Grizzlies have been sharp enough to beat Sacramento in their most recent outing, and the matchup offers New Orleans a first real look at a team that has quickly retooled around a new wave of talent while still playing with the edge of a club that expects to win now.
For New Orleans, the challenge is as much about pace and composure as it is about matching up on the floor. Memphis has leaned into a different identity after reshaping its roster, and forward Jerami Grant has already pointed to the way the group is competing as a sign of where it is headed. The Pelicans will need to slow that momentum early, because this one has the feel of a test that can tell you a lot about both teams before the calendar even turns deeper into November. [Read more 🡒]