Every six-game NBA slate has some bangers, and I’d argue that the 11 p.m. ET Peacock matchup between the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the perpetual fringe contenders in the LA Clippers falls into that category, especially since Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander began his career with the Clippers.
On the other hand, the 8 p.m. ET contest between the Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans isn’t quite as intriguing to the neutral fan. The 0-6 Pelicans are one of two remaining winless teams, and while the Hornets have been more respectable at 3-4, they’ll be without LaMelo Ball for the second straight game because of an ankle injury. Zion Williamson will miss the next week with a left hamstring injury, and Yves Missi will be out tonight with an illness.
Even without Williamson and Missi, New Orleans is a 3.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook (-142 on the Moneyline), and the point total is set to 229.5. Charlotte has +120 odds of keeping the Pelicans winless for at least another night. Below, I’ll break down tonight’s clash and offer a prediction.
Charlotte Hornets at New Orleans Pelicans preview, prediction
The Hornets’ strong start has been driven primarily by Ball, who had been averaging 23.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game prior to suffering his latest injury, but they’ve demonstrated more depth this season than in seasons past. Veteran Collin Sexton, acquired for Jusuf Nurkić in one of the offseason’s less-heralded trades, has been effective between stints in the starting lineup and the bench, averaging 16.0 points and 5.3 assists per game on extremely efficient shooting. Charlotte did win without Ball at home against the Utah Jazz after going just 3-32 without him in 2024-25.
The Pelicans, meanwhile, are coming off of a blowout defeat against the Thunder, falling 137-106. New Orleans can’t even completely blame health for its travails, as Williamson has played in five of its six games, scoring 20 or more points in four of them. Jordan Poole has probably played better than C.J. McCollum, whom it traded to the Washington Wizards to acquire him. The Pelicans have played a difficult schedule — in addition to the Thunder, they’ve also faced the Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers on the road, as well as the San Antonio Spurs. They’ve nearly won twice, losing in overtime to San Antonio and falling to a Kawhi Leonard game winner.
Hornets at Pelicans pick, best bet
Last season, the Hornets were already bad with Ball on the court — a negative-5.4 net rating — but horrific with him off, losing by 12.0 points per 100 possessions. This season, Charlotte has still been better with its primary initiator, but it has only lost non-Ball minutes by 1.5 points per 100 possessions. In fact, the Hornets have had a better assist percentage and a higher rebounding percentage without Ball despite the point guard ranking second in assists per game and 35th in rebounds per game. They have been more efficient with him and have turned the ball over less frequently, but so far, they’ve survived enough on offense to properly take advantage of their improved defense.
While Charlotte has done okay without Ball, New Orleans has been utterly horrific without Williamson. So far this season, both its offensive and defensive ratings have dipped by nearly 10 points per 100 possessions, and what would already be one of the worst teams in NBA history becomes historically awful without him. Even with Williamson playing five games, the Pelicans are on pace to finish with the worst net rating in NBA history, and without him, they’ve been decimated by 28.3 points per 100 possessions. The same can be said of Missi, with whom New Orleans has been 15.8 points per 100 possessions better so far this season, though Williamson has been a net positive in all but one of his seasons and Missi was a net negative in 2024-25.
There’s basically nothing that the Pelicans do well: they’ve allowed the third-most points, fifth-most rebounds, fifth-most assists, and the most blocks while shooting the second-lowest percentage from the field, snagging the fifth-fewest boards, and dishing out the fewest assists. New Orleans does get to the free throw line at the sixth-highest rate, but that’s largely due to the ultra-physical Williamson, who leads the league in free throw attempts per game. The Pelicans did get to the free throw line 28 times in their lone game without Williamson, but they lost badly to the Boston Celtics. During Williamson’s two-month absence last season, New Orleans attempted the 13th-fewest free throws.
Sexton is a good player, and his team has been better with him on the floor in each of the past four seasons. Miles Bridges — who’s averaged 21.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game on 43-39-92 shooting splits this season — should be the best player on the floor. Bridges and Sexton have both averaged nearly four shot attempts per game at the rim, and the Pelicans have allowed the league’s second-highest shooting percentage in the restricted area. They’ve also been pretty exploitable on above-the-break threes, where fourth overall pick Kon Knueppel has connected at a 38.2% clip. If New Orleans continues to shoot itself in the foot by allowing the third-most wide open threes, it can’t expect to win any games.
To be clear, the Ball-less Hornets aren’t a good team, but without Williamson and Missi, the Pelicans simply have no teeth. To make matters worse, New Orleans doesn’t even own its own pick, having dealt it to the Atlanta Hawks to trade up for Derik Queen.
