What to Watch for in Brooklyn Nets vs. Pelicans

The Brooklyn Nets will face off against the New Orleans Pelicans for the second time this season, this time on the road.

The Nets blew out a Zion Williamson-less Pelicans squad 119-101 on Dec. 14 in the midst of Brooklyn's turning point of the season, a month in which they won seven games in 11 tries.

The Nets are coming off a 113-105 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, as they've lost seven of their last eight games.

The Pelicans have lost 11 of their last 12 games, a bad sign for a team that doesn't have the luxury of tanking since they don't own their first-round draft pick this season.

For all the pro tankers among Brooklyn's fanbase, a loss is far from guaranteed here, especially with how the Nets have managed to stay within striking distance against some of the better teams they've had to face in recent games.

The Nets will be getting Cam Thomas and Egor Demin back in the lineup after a one game absence.

Brooklyn should continue to make Michael Porter Jr. the focal point of its offense as long as he remains in a Nets uniform, as he's been mentioned in several trade rumors.

New Orleans allows its opponents to shoot nearly 66% within six feet of the basket, which is incredibly good news for Porter and Nic Claxton, who both like to get downhill and put pressure on the rim.

This could also be a good opportunity for Demin to step out of his comfort zone and attack the basket. At the very worst, he could rack up the assists and kick it to the corner if it forces Pelicans' interior defenders to collapse.

The Nets' interior defense also has a tall task at hand, as they'll have to stop Williamson from attacking the paint and getting free through off-ball cuts to the rim.

An underlying narrative heading into this contest is Demin vs Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen.

Fears was drafted one spot ahead of Demin, and Queen was drafted five spots after Demin.

Queen looks like he can become the next Nikola Jokic-lite type of player, given his all-around skill set, and Fears has some similarities to Kyrie Irving, given his ball-handling skills and ability to shoot off the dribble.

With the Nets largely healthy heading into this game, this should present the team with a golden opportunity to close out the road trip on a high note.