After two impressive road wins against Eastern Conference opponents, the New Orleans Pelicans are heading home to play the Utah Jazz.
Heading back home to the Smoothie King Center, the New Orleans Pelicans will get to have their first home crowd of the preseason. If it’s anything like the team’s sold-out open practice, it could be a tough night for the Utah Jazz to come into the building.
After Nickeil Alexander-Walker played high-level basketball, scored 13 points and logged 7 assists to keep them alive, propelling the Pels to a 127-125 comeback victory against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, they’re ready to face one of the elite teams in the league.
Unlike the last two teams the Pelicans matched-up with, Utah made their way into the playoffs a season ago, going 50-32 on their way to a first-round exit.
Last season, the team went 1-2 against the Jazz, capturing their lone victory on Utah’s home floor.
Donovan Mitchell will be the biggest factor for any opposing team to try and contain this season. He averaged 23.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists last season, shot 36.2% from three-point range.
Mitchell was also pegged to be the star of the ill-fated Team USA run in this year’s FIBA World Cup. Fortunately, the Pelicans can combat him with Jrue Holiday, an All-NBA defender who can provide the game’s star players a daunting defensive match-up.
Much like the Pelicans, Utah enters the 2019-2020 season with a lot of new, key pieces to their roster. The most important two are Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanović, a pair of All-Star-level players who Utah believe can turn them into a Finals contender.
Conley will give Lonzo Ball an interesting test. Both captivating defenders, Conley and Ball might try to take each other’s scoring impact off the table.
Ball struggled to score against Chicago, adding just 2 points, but 9 assists in the team’s win.
They’ll also get a chance to see their former teammate, Trevon Bluiett, who is on a two-way contract with Utah after spending a few seasons with the Pelicans’ G-League squad.
Finding ways to beat Utah’s blistering defense is key for New Orleans
Utah will certainly be the best team the New Orleans Pelicans have faced so far this preseason and is probably the best team they’ll see before the start of the regular season.
Entering his sixth season as the head coach of the Utah Jazz, Quin Snyder has cemented himself as a defensive guru among his peers. He does, however, benefit from having two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert.
Gobert will give the Pelicans’ bigs a test tonight, a test that’ll be most interesting for Zion.
Tonight will really show us what Zion’s offensive impact looks like when he’s playing a world-caliber defender like Gobert. It could be a great indicator of success, though the rookie has already banked 19 and 29 point games in his first two preseason appearances.
They’ll also be able to put Ed Davis on the floor, Utah’s high-value, low-cost free agent addition who had a 105 defensive rating and averaged 17.3 rebounds per 36 minutes a season ago.
It’ll be interesting to see if Jaxson Hayes sees more action tonight against a super-sized and formidable Utah frontcourt. Hayes is a 7-footer who could give the New Orleans Pelicans extra burst against their bigs.
However, we’re mostly watching Derrick Favors in tonight’s battle of the bigs. Once sharing a backcourt, playing the power forward to Gobert’s center, Favors spent almost 9 seasons in Utah before requesting a trade to the New Orleans Pelicans in July.
Favors averaged 11.8 points and 7.4 points for Utah one season ago.
How much impact Favors has against Utah could be interesting, after scoring 9 points with 9 rebounds on Monday against Chicago. His match-up with Gobert might not be too epic tonight, but it might be exciting when the teams clash in Utah later this season.
Tonight marks the halfway point of what’s been an impressive preseason for the New Orleans Pelicans, who currently hold a 2-0 record in their exhibition matchups. While tonight’s game might have less scoring, the quality of their opponent gives them a chance to knock-down a true Western Conference contender.