Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Where to watch: BSNO, ATTSN-RM
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Jazz -10
BetMGM: Jazz -10.5
Caesars: Jazz -10
Season record
Jazz: 26-10 (3rd place, West)
Pelicans: 13-23 (14th place, West)
A good week for Al McMordie in the NBA, going 11-6-0 with that hefty $4,380 in net profit. What lies ahead with the uncertainty of the NBA schedule? As long as games are played, you can expect the best here. Catch Al’s plays available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.
Jazz - Pelicans preview and analysis
Recent form
Jazz: lost 123-116 vs. Warriors on Saturday
Pelicans: lost 136-113 at Bucks on Saturday
Despite a slight bump in the road, the Utah Jazz are still a top team in the Western Conference. They just found out they might not be at that level just yet.
The Jazz will take on the banged-up New Orleans Pelicans on Monday as they try to continue getting through life without Zion Williamson, among others.
Utah had its six-game winning streak end Saturday in a 7-point loss to the Golden State Warriors, but the Jazz were a quarter away from easily putting that streak to seven games. The Jazz have scored at least 110 in each of the last seven games and still put up 116 at home on the second night of a back-to-back against the top team in the NBA.
Four players had 20 points each for Utah, including Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Gobert had a Gobert-like night of 20 points and 19 rebounds while missing only one shot. Mitchell, on the other hand, went 4 of 19 but made up for it by going 10 of 11 from the free-throw line.
"I liked a lot of the looks," Mitchell said. "It's the same shots I hit not even 24 hours ago. ... I can't count many times the ball rolled in and out. Those nights are going to happen. It can't go in every night."
The Jazz have the top offense in the league at 116 points per game. Which is surprising because defense has always been their calling card with Gobert and Mike Conley leading the way. But that offense is what halted Utah's run in the playoffs last season. That's clearly changed, and will continue to evolve with Utah facing the 21st-ranked defense in New Orleans.
The Pelicans are coming off a 23-point loss to the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee shot 53.3 percent while holding the Pelicans to 41. Jaxson Hayes had 23 points off the bench in 28 minutes while no starter shot at least 50 percent from the floor.
"I thought we did a decent job in the first half," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "And in the second half, it got away from us a little bit."
Milwaukee outscored New Orleans 72-57 in the second half.
Prediction
Brandon Ingram has been nursing an Achilles injury but could find himself back in the fold as he's questionable. His return will surely help New Orleans, but it won't be the end-all, be-all against a deeper, more talened Utah roster. Jazz by 14
Betting trends
The Jazz are 1-7-1 against the spread in their last nine.
The Jazz are 1-6 ATS in the last seven after their opponent allows 100 points or more.
The Jazz are 11-4-1 ATS in the last 16 times in New Orleans.
Projected starting lineup
Jazz:
PG: Mike Conley
SG: Donovan Mitchell
SF: Bojan Bogdanovic
PF: Royce O'Neale
C: Rudy Gobert
Pelicans:
PG: Devonte' Graham
SG: Brandon Ingram
SF: Josh Hart
PF: Herbert Jones
C: Willy Hernangomez
Key injuries
Jazz: Hassan Whiteside (concussion, questionable), Eric Paschall (personal, questionable)
Pelicans: Jonas Valanciunas (COVID, out), Zion Williamson (foot, out)
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Utah Jazz - New Orleans Pelicans prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NBA projections and previews.