The New Orleans Pelicans remain winless after a quick two-game homestand and, to add injury to insult, they hit the road needing better health for their best player.
New Orleans was already without Kevon Looney, but might also be without Zion Williamson for Wednesday’s game at the Denver Nuggets. Williamson, who had a strong first two games to start the season, missed Monday night’s 122-90 loss to Boston with a left foot issue.
Williamson has dealt with injuries throughout his six-year career and has yet to play a full season. Last year, he was limited to 30 games, and his encouraging start to this year has hit a snag.
“Unfortunately, it’s part of the game,” said Pelicans head coach Willie Green. “Sometimes you deal with that as a team. The biggest thing you can do is be consistent as a leader.”
Without Williamson, who is officially listed as questionable, Green would need to look to others to pick up the scoring slack. Jordan Poole led New Orleans with 22 points in the loss to Boston, but no other player scored more than 12.
With Williamson in the lineup, the Pelicans were averaging 119 points and had an average point differential of minus-5. Without him, they suffered a 32-point home loss to the Celtics.
Green was upset with the overall effort.
“It’s one thing to not win a game. It’s a whole other thing to get kind of punked on your home floor,” he said. “I’m part of that. It’s not just our (players), it’s all of us.”
Things don’t get easier against a Denver squad coming off an impressive win Monday night at Minnesota. The Nuggets needed a positive result after losing six straight to the Timberwolves dating back to the 2024 playoffs, but it wasn’t all good news.
Starting small forward Cam Johnson left the game with a shoulder injury and may not play against New Orleans.
“I don’t think it’s extremely serious, but it was bothersome,” head coach David Adelman said Monday night. “To his credit, he came back out and tried to play.”
Injuries to starters were problematic for Denver last year because of its lack of bench depth. The front office addressed that over the summer, and the effort showed Monday night with Tim Hardaway Jr. (20 points, 4-of-6 on 3-point attempts) and Peyton Watson (12 points) making big contributions.
“It’s nice to have a guy like Tim off your bench,” Adelman said.
The Nuggets enter Wednesday’s game with plenty of confidence. Nikola Jokic has a triple-double in all three games this season and is averaging 20 points, 15.3 rebounds and a league-high 11.7 assists. Jamal Murray, who piled up 43 points Monday night, leads the team with 30.3 points per game while Aaron Gordon averages 25.3 points while shooting 57.9% from 3-point range.
Watson or Bruce Brown could move into the starting lineup if Johnson is unable to play, which could mean Julian Strawther will see more playing time.
