Pelicans Face Tough Road Matchup Against Defending Champion Denver Nuggets

The New Orleans Pelicans (23-15) face the Denver Nuggets (26-13) Friday night in Colorado. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, marking the second straight game the Pels will appear on national television. New Orleans has won its last seven road games, one shy of tying the franchise record. Health concerns for the Pelicans will make it even tougher to reach that mark.

Brandon Ingram (Achilles soreness), Zion Williamson (quad contusion), CJ McCollum (ankle sprain), and Trey Murphy III (knee tendonitis) all appeared on the injury report as questionable ahead of Friday's matchup. Williamson had the same injury designation on Wednesday but played in the Pels blowout victory against Golden State.

Regardless of who suits up for the Pelicans, one of the prime focuses will be contending with all-world Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. The Pelicans defense is near the top in many defensive statistical categories but has struggled to stop Jokic in the past. In the two games versus the Pelicans this season, Jokic is averaging 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists.

Jonas Valanciunas will try to contend the Jokic in the paint. Valanciunas has been one of the Pelicans most consistent players all season long. Jonas has played in all 38 Pelicans games this season and leads the team with 20 double-doubles, which is the tenth most in the NBA.

New Orleans hopes its recent three-point success continues to carry over in games. The Pelicans have the best shooting percentage from beyond the arc (42.7%) in the league since the In-Season Tournament ended in early December. Rookie sharpshooter Jordan Hawkins is finally seeing more playing time and is producing. Hawkins has played 20 or more minutes in three of the last five games. He's scored in double-figures in four of those five games.

If the Pelicans will be without some of their top guys on Friday, Hawkins expects to get big minutes in the lineup. He had his career-high in points (31) the last time these teams played in Denver on Nov 6. New Orleans must be focused defensively as the Nuggets share the basketball well and do not make many mistakes. Denver ranks No. 3 in the NBA in assists (29.6), and they commit the third-fewest turnovers (12.3).

The Nuggets have the third-best home record in the Western Conference, while New Orleans has the best road record in the West. The Pelicans have lost five of the last seven games in Denver to the Nuggets. Regardless of the outcome, New Orleans won't have much time to reflect. They travel to Dallas on Saturday to face the Mavericks on a back-to-back game.