10/27 Utah at New Orleans
5:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass
Opponent record: 2-0
Season series: Tied 0-0
After DeMarcus Cousins went down to injury last season, the New Orleans Pelicans went on to flourish to close out the year. That was largely thanks to the solid addition of Nikola Mirotic, who since his arrival in New Orleans has looked like a much better fit alongside AD than Cousins ever was.
He’s continued to showcase that in full force through the season’s first two games this year as Mirotic has thus far averaged 33 points on an amazing 61 percent from the field and 64.7 percent from deep to go along with 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Meanwhile, Davis has been spectacular as well, putting up averages of 28.5 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists per contest.
New Orleans’ new additions such as Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton have been solid as well. I know it’s early in the season, but I would not be surprised if the Pelicans ended up being a surprise team in the West. If Davis continues to be an MVP-caliber player and Mirotic and the rest of New Orleans’ role players keep up their prolific pace, you can bet that the Pelicans will be a tough out all year long.
Utah will most certainly find that out when they visit AD and Co. next Saturday. And although the Jazz have matched up pretty well against New Orleans in years past (they won three of four meetings last season), in this early road bout, I expect the Pelicans, who have looked superb so far, to narrowly edge out the Jazz.
My Prediction: Pelicans Win
Final Score: New Orleans 122, Utah 118