It\u2019s still very early in the 2026-27 regular season, but New Orleans is facing what could be perceived as a critical stretch in pursuit of the team\u2019s stated goal \u2013 reaching the playoffs in the spring. At 4-7 overall, six of the next seven Pelicans games are against opponents that currently sport winning records, including four in the Smoothie King Center during a five-game homestand. Following this handful of games in the Blender, New Orleans visits Western Conference heavyweights Oklahoma City and San Antonio during a Nov. 20-21 back-to-back.<\/p>\n
A brief look at the five teams coming to the Blender over the next eight nights:<\/p>\n
Wednesday vs. Brooklyn (2-8), 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
Relying heavily on draft picks from the past two offseasons and a few proven veterans, the Nets are the only Pelicans opponent between now and Thanksgiving that has fewer than four wins.<\/p>\n
Friday vs. Memphis (7-3), 7 p.m. (NBA Cup)<\/p>\n
Arguably the league\u2019s biggest positive surprise, the Grizzlies started 6-0 before losing in OT to the Pelicans on Nov. 2. Memphis ended a three-game losing streak Monday at Toronto.<\/p>\n
Saturday vs. Denver (5-4), 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
An up-and-down Nuggets start \u2013 no winning streak longer than two games \u2013 has been boosted by a pair of victories over the Pelicans, including a big Oct. 24 second-half comeback in Ball Arena.<\/p>\n
Monday vs. Golden State (8-3), 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
The Pelicans should be looking to answer a 51-point defeat Monday in Chase Center to the Warriors, who\u2019ve won eight straight contests after an 0-3 start.<\/p>\n
Nov. 18 vs. Detroit (7-3), 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
Third in the East at this early stage behind only Boston and Philadelphia, the Pistons are 4-1 on the road, with the only defeat coming in Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n
Notes from Wednesday\u2019s morning shootaround:<\/p>\n
New Orleans sixth-year wing Herb Jones on the team\u2019s response to Monday\u2019s one-sided loss: \u201cFlushing it. Going back to the film, trying to find as many positives as we can and go on to the next (game).\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n
Five days ago, the Pelicans were riding a four-game winning streak and at .500 overall. As Jones noted, they then experienced one of the realities of the league when a team performs poorly. \u201cIt\u2019s the NBA,\u201d Jones said, referring to the Monday drubbing. \u201cSometimes you get got. I guess that was just not our night (at Golden State).\u201d<\/p>\n
Offensive efficiency (rank): 105.6 (28)<\/p>\n
Defensive efficiency (rank): 114.8 (22)<\/p>\n
Net rating (rank): -9.1 (25)<\/p>\n
Streak: Lost 2 (at Atlanta, at Dallas)<\/p>\n
Go-to guy: Michael Porter Jr. is Brooklyn\u2019s top scorer (21.5 ppg) and has led the Nets in point production in each of their last three games. The elite jump-shooter spent his first six NBA seasons with Denver, a key piece to the Nuggets\u2019 2023 championship team.<\/p>\n
On the rise: Second-year guard Egor Demin enjoyed a promising summer league and preseason, before sustaining a leg injury that sidelined him each of the last six games. However, Demin is listed as probable to return to action Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In the clutch: The Nets are 0-3 in clutch games, one of three NBA squads with no clutch victories (Clippers and Sacramento are the others). All three tight Brooklyn defeats were on the road against Eastern Conference teams coming off a playoff appearance (Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta).<\/p>\n
Three-point attack: Brooklyn is middle of the pack in perimeter marksmanship, ranking No. 12 in average makes (13.8) and No. 10 in average attempts (40.1), while 19th in percentage (34.4).<\/p>\n
Previous Game Starting Lineups<\/p>\n
Nolan Traore, Danny Wolf, Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, Day\u2019Ron Sharpe<\/p>\n
Notes: Demin (leg bone bruise) is probable. Traore (calf) and rookie guard Mikel Brown (illness) are questionable. \u2026 Brooklyn\u2019s victories were at Indiana and vs. Charlotte. \u2026 The Nets rank third in total points scored by second-year players with 261. The Pelicans, led by a pair of 2025 lottery picks, are second with 310. Dallas leads the league (343), thanks largely to star forward Cooper Flagg. \u2026 Brooklyn is 0-2 on its current four-game road trip. The Nets will have two days off from games before concluding this excursion Saturday at Memphis, which is also the Pelicans\u2019 next opponent.<\/p>\n
Monday loss at Golden State<\/p>\n
Jeremiah Fears, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey, Karlo Matkovic<\/p>\n
Notes: After being sidelined against the Warriors, Trey Murphy (patellar tendinopathy) is doubtful. Zion Williamson (rest at Golden State) is not listed on the injury report. \u2026 Starting center Yves Missi (knee) is out, most recently playing Oct. 23 at Utah. \u2026 Trendon Watford (ankle) provided the Pelicans with quality minutes during their four-game win streak, but is also listed as out Wednesday. Bennedict Mathurin (thumb) had his status changed to out this morning \u2026 Over the final three weeks of November, New Orleans only has two games scheduled against the East, including tonight and Nov. 18 vs. Detroit. \u2026 The Nets lead the Pelicans 26-24 in the all-time series, winning three of the last four matchups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s still very early in the 2026-27 regular season, but New Orleans is facing what could be perceived…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":881857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3796],"tags":[7,6,478,470,4073,4072,67,675,102323],"class_list":["post-881856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-basketball","tag-nba","tag-new-orleans","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-neworleans","tag-neworleanspelicans","tag-news","tag-pelicans","tag-shootaround-update"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117599246960887236","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=881856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/881857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=881856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=881856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=881856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}