Jeremiah Fears has already given New Orleans something real to work with this preseason, and Friday night gives the Pelicans one more chance to see how that pops when the whole machine is moving.
Washington comes to Smoothie King Center for the final exhibition, with New Orleans sitting at 2-1 after a 101-97 win in Dallas. That result brought encouraging stretches, but it also exposed the kind of slippage that can turn a comfortable night into a chase - especially when late possessions and free throws start to matter.
The Pelicans have already run through a preseason mix of wins over Oklahoma City and Dallas with a loss in Miami in between, so this one is less about the record than the habits. What actually carries over? What survives when the lineups change?
Fears is one of the clearest answers so far. Against Dallas, he put up 16 points, five assists and three steals in a little more than 20 minutes.
He shot 6-for-11 from the field and 2-for-3 from deep, which gave New Orleans scoring and playmaking from the same spot on the floor. Now the bigger question is how quickly he reads the defense - whether he can get downhill, spot the second defender and move the ball before the edge disappears.
That matters because New Orleans still has moving parts in the backcourt. Dejounte Murray missed the Dallas game because of a toe issue, and his availability - along with Friday’s starting five - still needs to be confirmed. For Mosley, the finale is a clean chance to keep sorting through guard combinations without pretending an exhibition lineup is some kind of final verdict on opening night.
The frontcourt brings its own set of tests. Yves Missi protected the rim, Derik Queen controlled the glass and Karlo Matković gave the offense some spacing in Dallas.
Missi finished with six points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Queen had six points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Matković added 11 points and hit 3 of 4 from three.
That mix gives New Orleans options, but it also creates a balancing act. Mosley has to find stretches where the group can rebound, defend and still keep enough floor spacing to function.
Queen’s line included 1-for-9 shooting, while Zion Williamson was perfect from the field - 5-for-5 - but missed all four of his free throws. Those numbers tell the story of the work still in front of the Pelicans: cleaner interior finishing for Queen, better conversion at the stripe for Williamson.
The wings have a role in making all of that fit. Trey Murphy III can force a help defender to choose, and Herb Jones can clean up mistakes with his positioning behind the play.
If the offense is working, the next pass should open. If the defense is locked in, the rotations should become more predictable.
Washington brings a different kind of examination. Its frontcourt mix includes Alex Sarr, Anthony Davis and Deandre Ayton.
Sarr has been working back from offseason surgery, and Washington’s combinations remain part of its preseason evaluation, according to Roundtable’s Friday report. Actual minutes and availability still need confirmation.
That gives the Pelicans a useful target area. They can check how they handle contact on the glass, how clearly they communicate when a big switches onto a ballhandler, and how disciplined the help is once the ball gets into the lane. If the Wizards play multiple bigs together, New Orleans should get another look at whether its spacing can force openings before the defense gets set.
The Dallas game also left a couple of obvious benchmarks. New Orleans missed 13 free throws and gave up 34 points in the fourth quarter, which is why a game that looked manageable got tighter than it should have.
The Pelicans also shot 45.3% from the floor, 29.6% from three and went 25 of 38 at the line, while Dallas finished 35.7% overall, 20.4% from deep and 27 of 32 on free throws. New Orleans had 19 assists, 14 steals and seven blocks in that one.
So the checklist for Friday is pretty straightforward: value the ball, finish defensive possessions with rebounds, and keep the structure intact no matter which group is on the floor. If Mosley can see that from one lineup to the next, the finale does more than close the preseason. It gives the Pelicans something they can actually take with them.
The regular season is right there now, with Indiana waiting on October 21. That’s why every clean possession, every sharp rotation and every useful minute from Fears matters just a little more than it did a week ago.
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