5280 Above Sea Level as the Pelicans Head to Denver
The New Orleans Pelicans are traveling to take on the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Each team has taken a win over each other this year. The Pelicans are 12-37 and have lost five straight while the Nuggets are 30-19 and are 3-2 in their last five. Denver is looking to stay in the top four of the Western Conference while New Orleans will likely head towards the lottery this year.
The key to the Nuggets’ offense will be their pick-and-roll game. When Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray run a two-man action, there are not many coverages to counter them. On top of that, the Pelicans do not have the personnel to match up to guard Jokic and Murray. New Orleans’ best bet will be to stay home on shooters, take away cuts, and live with Jokic and Murray scoring in single coverage. The duo of Jokic and Murray are an elite combo because they can score from any spot on the floor. Jokic helps screen for Murray to get wide-open shots. Jokic has an elite touch on the roll to score in the paint as well.
Trey Murphy will be the man to watch for the Pelicans. He’s averaging a career-high 22.1 points. The sharpshooter has excelled at dribbling with patience. He’s seeing more double teams which means he has drawn an advantage for his team. The growth of Murphy will be key and seeing him be the primary scorer for the Pelicans. Jordan Hawkins will be another key player to keep an eye on as he scored 25 points in the last game against Denver. He has also scored in double figures in five of his six outings.
New Orleans will also be without Dejounte Murray. Murray tore his Achilles in the last game against the Boston Celtics. Murray was averaging 17.5 points per game, the first he averaged under 20 since 2020-2021. Murray shot a career worst 39.3 percent from the field. He also shot a career worse 29.9 percent from deep. The veteran recorded 7.4 assists per game, the most since 2021-2022. He also had a career high of 3.4 turnovers per game. New Orleans will certainly miss his playmaking in the pick and roll game. They should shoot better from the field without Murray and take care of the basketball better since Murray would have a few head bonking turnovers each game. New Orleans plays Denver tomorrow night at 9 p.m. EST.
