NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans hope they’ve finally hit the right switch.
Coming off their most impressive performance of the season, a blowout victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, the Pelicans will look to duplicate that effort when they face the Denver Nuggets tonight.
At 9-2, the Nuggets are tied for the best record in the NBA and remain undefeated in group play in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
The Pelicans have split their first two tournament games, falling to the Houston Rockets before beating the Mavs, and need another win tonight to keep their chances of advancing to the quarterfinals alive.
In the first meeting between the Pels and Nuggets this season, New Orleans surrendered a 20-point lead as Denver battled back behind a triple-double from two-time MVP Nikola Jokic (35 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists).
While the Nuggets are a perfect 7-0 at home, they are just 2-2 on the road this. Unfortunately, while the Pelicans have played the Nuggets close in the Smoothie King Center, Denver has won five of the last six games at The Blender.
Keys to Victory
Start with defense. The Pelicans played outstanding defense against the Mavericks, and it began with the pressure provided by Dyson Daniels and Herbert Jones. The Pels harrassed Dallas and collected season highs in steals (17) and total turnovers forced (20). Every starter had at least one steal and in turn the Pels played with pace and energy as they built an insurmountable lead. That’s the identity the Pelicans have to get back to if they want to be contenders.
Move the basketball. Defense leads to transition opportunities, and when the Pelicans are in the open court they are much better at sharing the basketball. New Orleans collected 33 assists on 49 shots Tuesday night, six more than they’d averaged in either category over the season’s first 10 games. When everyone is involved, the Pelicans are a much more dangerous team.
Bench production. With Herb Jones back in the starting lineup, rookie guard Jordan Hawkins gets to play the role of second-unit sniper. Hawkins, along with Matt Ryan and Naji Marshall, will have critical roles against a Nuggets second unit that has struggled to not be a net negative for the team for years.
Probable Starting Lineups
| Dallas Mavericks | New Orleans Pelicans |
| G – Reggie Jackson (10.7 pts, 3.6 ast) | G – Dyson Daniels (8.5 pts, 4.8 reb, 3.3 ast) |
| G – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (9.6 pts, 1.7 stl) | G – Herbert Jones (11.1 pts, 2.0 stl) |
| F – Michael Porter Jr. (16.3 pts, 7.9 reb) | F – Brandon Ingram (22.9 pts, 5.8 reb, 5.0 ast) |
| F – Aaron Gordon (14.3 pts, 7.0 reb) | F – Zion Williamson (21.3 pts, 6.6 reb, 4.2 ast) |
| C – Nikola Jokic (30.0 pts, 13.9 reb, 8.4 ast) | C – Jonas Valanciunas (11.7 pts, 8.2 reb) |
Injuries
New Orleans Pelicans: CJ McCollum (right lung), Trey Murphy III (left knee partial meniscectomy), Larry Nance Jr. (right rib fracture) and EJ Liddell (G League) are OUT; Jose Alvarado (right ankle sprain) is DOUBTFUL
Denver Nuggets: Vlatko Čančar (left knee surgery), Jamal Murray (right hamstring strain), Jay Huff (G League), and Hunter Tyson (G League) are OUT
Who: Denver Nuggets (9-2, 2-0) vs New Orleans Pelicans (5-6, 1-1)
Series history: Nuggets lead all-time 42-31
- Nov. 6: Nuggets def. Pelicans 134-116
- November 17, 2023
- January 12, 2024
Where: Smoothie King Center
When: November 17, 7:00 PM CT
Where to watch: Bally Sports New Orleans
Where to listen: WRNO 99.5
READ MORE
- Pelicans Start 6-Game Home Stand By Trying to End 4-Game Losing Streak
- Defending Champion Nuggets Present A Major Road Test for the Pelicans
- After Big Comeback in OKC, Pelicans Come Back to The Blender to Host Pistons
- Pels Host Knicks Seeking First Home Opening Win Since 2020-21 Season
- Brandon Ingram: Can He Elevate From All-Star to All-NBA?
- Matt Ryan: Great Story of Perseverance Now Also Pelicans’ 3-point Back-up Plan
- A Lot On Herb: Jones Remains Keystone of Pelicans Defense
- Dyson Daniels Needed For More Than Defense In Year 2
Seeing Jose listed as doubtful instead of out must mean he is getting closer to return. Need same defensive intensity and ball movement we had Tuesday night
I love to watch p*ssed off Zion… Dyson is rapidly approaching Herb status as both an on-ball and off-ball defender.
13 dimes on 15 FG first quarter. They must have played Herbs post game interview other night.,
Still seems weird to root for a guy named Matt Ryan
See BI you can pass and good things happen.
Zion on a mission tonight and that block by Herb was amazing.
Hopefully no 2nd half woes this game. Seen that movie too many times.
23 assists in a half is an amazing stat
Why can’t this team believe in itself…It does things the right way, and they look unstoppable. Then they stop trusting each other, start playing one on one, and look like crap. I really just don’t get it.
Braun has been impressive
Big win with no CJ, Trigga, Jose, Bunny
Game balls to
Dyson Daniels
Naji Marshall
Herb
Zion
Scar
BI
Hawk and Ryan also contributed. 8 man rotation. Hope they can ride tomorrow off an emotional high and not have tired legs.
With ball movement this team can be very good. When we get away from ball movement we are like that Boban commercial: he bounce, he bounce, he bounce, he bounce again, he bounce, he bounce…
GEAUX PELS!!!