Last season, the Utah Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans spent most of the season languishing near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, as the Pelicans dealt with significant injuries and the Jazz were hoping to improve their draft positioning. This season, both teams could be much more competitive.
These young squads will face off for the first time this season tonight in Utah’s home opener, with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.
Only New Orleans’ three two-way players (Malik Dia, Jaron Pierre Jr., and Julian Reese) will miss tonight’s game, while Jusuf Nurkić (foot) joins two-way players Trey Alexander and Harrison Ingram on the sideline for the Jazz. Tony Bradley (quad), who did not play in Utah’s season opener, is questionable.
DraftKings Sportsbook considers this game to be effectively a toss-up, as the Jazz are -112 on the Moneyline and the Pelicans -108. The point total is set to 239.5.
Below, I’ll break down tonight’s intra-conference clash and offer a prediction.
New Orleans Pelicans at Utah Jazz preview, prediction
New Orleans effectively ran back the same team that finished 26-56 with the 20th-ranked offense and the 23rd-ranked defense in 2025/26, as nine of the 10 players who saw minutes in its season-opening defeat against the Indiana Pacers played for the team last season, with free agency signing Bennedict Mathurin the only exception. The Pelicans could improve organically, since Dejounte Murray (who tied for the team lead with 22 points on Wednesday) played just 14 games last season and youngsters Jeremiah Fears and Yves Missi are only getting better.
The Jazz had much more roster turnover. In addition to returning starters Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George, Utah is fully integrating Jaren Jackson Jr. into the team after he played just three games after last season’s trade deadline, and second overall pick Darryn Peterson and center Jaxson Hayes are new to the starting lineup as well. Though the Jazz lost 123-103 to the Memphis Grizzlies, showcasing some of the same defensive struggles that plagued last season’s 22-60 team, Peterson demonstrated some flashes in his NBA debut and 2025 fifth overall pick Ace Bailey continued the strong form that he ended his 2025/26 season in.
Pelicans at Jazz pick, best bet
New Orleans lived in the paint last season, attempting 2.9 more shots in the restricted area than any other team, but it wasn’t particularly efficient on its looks, making them at the second-lowest rate. The Pelicans also went just 20-for-38 (52.6%) in their season opener on Wednesday. However, they allowed among the most attempts in the restricted area and limited opponents to a league-average rate, while Utah did a good job preventing close-range looks but allowed opponents to convert efficiently. It’s too early to glean much of anything, but I’d expect the Jazz to be the better rim-protecting team in the long run, given that Jackson is a two-time block champion and 2022/23 Defensive Player of the Year. New Orleans should remain the better driving and worse finishing team.
Last season, the teams were nearly equivalently bad on the glass. However, the Pelicans won the rebounding battle in their opening game, with both Missi and Derik Queen hauling in double-digit rebounds, and Utah allowed the Grizzlies to record more defensive rebounds than it had total boards. Although the Jazz have plenty of height, starting a trio of near-seven-footers in Jackson, Markkanen, and Hayes, Jackson is a notoriously poor rebounder for his size. Given its superior chemistry, I trust New Orleans slightly more in transition, and its physical play should naturally lead to it attempting more free throws than Utah.
Neither of these teams had good perimeter defense last season. In fact, they allowed the most and second-most wide-open threes per game, although the Pelicans got substantially luckier that opponents converted at a lower rate. New Orleans was slightly better than Utah at producing uncontested looks, with both ranking near the middle of the pack. Neither team had many good shooters last season, but I like the hosts better in the long run. I’m skeptical that Zion Williamson, a complete non-shooter for the vast majority of his career, will shoot two-for-four from deep again like he did on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Markkanen and reserve forward Brice Sensabaugh both proved themselves capable of hitting difficult shots last season, and Peterson shot 38.2% from deep in college but missed his only triple attempt on Wednesday.
Overall, I think the Jazz have the higher ceiling and are well-suited to finish above the Pelicans in the standings at the end of the season, but New Orleans’ continuity should pay dividends here. Paint play is the Pelicans’ Plan A and Utah’s Plan B, and despite Jackson’s arrival, both teams are still figuring out their rim protection, which should benefit the visitors. The altitude at the Delta Center could give the Jazz significant home-court advantage, but New Orleans’ physicality could put Utah’s less experienced players on the back foot. The Pelicans swept the season series last season, and I expect them to start off with a win tonight.
