New Orleans vs Denver Prediction: the Nuggets are More Consistent

Another NBA game day begins with a matchup between New Orleans and Denver, who currently share second place in the Western Conference. The Nuggets defeated the Pelicans three times last season. Will the Colorado club win again?

The Pelicans have won 5 of their last six regular season games, though C.J. McCollum and Brandon Ingram have played 2 and 3 games, respectively, during that stretch. The missing stars were filled in nicely for Trey Murphy, who averaged 21 points. Zion Williamson is still New Orleans' offensive leader and a big part of the reason why the team is in the top 3 of the Western Conference. Ingram is still on the injured reserve list, and Herb Jones, an essential part of the Pelicans' defense, may not be on the floor but is not very efficient on offense, even with his low shooting percentage. The starting five includes rookie Dyson Daniels, who is also good on defense but has only scored at least 10 points a game.

Last year Willie Green's team defeated San Antonio 117-99 on the road in the regular season. The big men made the game that night. Zion Williamson hit 12 free throws and made 9 of 14 shots to become the most productive player of the game. Jonas Valanciunas shot over 70 percent from the field for a game-high 21 points, and Trae Murphy made three-pointers for the team. The sophomore made five shots from beyond the arc. New Orleans missed a lot of open three-pointers, which would have made it much easier for the Pelicans. Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall stood out from the reserves, while Devonte Graham had a bad game.

The Nuggets haven't had the most challenging schedule lately, so it's unclear how to evaluate their recent four-game winning streak. Denver has taken turns beating Oklahoma, the Clippers, and Houston (twice), with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George missing from Los Angeles. Nikola Jokic is in great shape, averaging 27 points and 8.8 assists in 6 previous games. Jamal Murray is also slowly getting into the season and becoming a full-fledged 2nd offensive option, while Michael Porter Jr. is in the infirmary. Aaron Gordon has been even more useful offensively this regular season. Bones Hyland is hitting over 40% of his three-pointers, and there's also Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who have fit right in with the new team. Thanks to the players above, Denver leads the NBA in three-point shooting (40.3%), just slightly behind Boston. The Colorado club was short on snipers, and their contribution to the Nuggets' success is significant.

Denver's winning streak came to an end on the road against Atlanta. Michael Malone's team was slightly worse in many statistical areas, which resulted in a final score of 109-117. Jokic had another excellent game, Murray and Gordon didn't have much to complain about, but Caldwell-Pope and Brown were disappointing. The defense was also lacking under the basket, as the Nuggets did not commit a single block the entire game. Bones Hyland was once again productive off the bench, and of the other role players, Vlatko Cancar was worth mentioning with 12 points.

New Orleans has been impressive of late, but without two players in their starting five, there will be a slump sooner or later, primarily when the defense is held together by two or three players. The Pelicans recently had a tough game against the Spurs, even though they were without several important players. Jokic will be difficult for the home team to hold under the basket, and there will also be plenty of problems at the arc. The head-to-head matchups also look in Denver's favor. Last season without Porter Jr. and Murray, the Nuggets were stronger, and in 4 of 5 home games, the Pelicans could not defeat their current opponent.

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