New Orleans hasn't had the Kings' blowouts. It has had near-misses. As of Tuesday the Pelicans were 0-3, losing by 3 to Indiana and by 1 at Utah. In Denver they blew a 23-point lead and lost 141-135 in overtime while Nikola Jokic put up 35, 15 and 10. Trey Murphy led them with 26 that night. The offense is clearly working. Closing out games is the open question.
The Pelicans have one game left before this. They host Denver on Wednesday in a rematch of that overtime game, and it settles two things. First, whether New Orleans is still winless when Sacramento arrives. Second, how much the Pelicans have left in their legs. This game is the second night of a back-to-back for New Orleans. The Kings' last game was Tuesday in San Antonio, so they get Wednesday off and only a short trip east.
New Orleans has its own hole in the middle. Yves Missi has a left knee bone bruise and is listed as out for an extended stretch. Jordan Poole was day-to-day with an illness heading into the Denver game. Both teams are short on bigs and both defenses have leaked points, so expect a fast game that turns on who defends the paint better. Tipoff is 7:00 PM CT at the Smoothie King Center.