November 11, 2026 at 8:34 AM UTC
Pregame AnalysisShorthanded Pelicans Host Struggling Nets in a Battle of Flawed Rosters
New Orleans is missing its top options, but Brooklyn's offense may be too limited to take full advantage.
This page is the pregame analysis. The box score is the main page for the game, and the matchup history collects every meeting between these teams.
The Pelicans arrive at home badly depleted. Trey Murphy III is out with bilateral patellar tendinopathy, one day after scoring 26 points, and Zion Williamson is sitting for rest. Yves Missi and Trendon Watford are also out. That removes New Orleans' hottest scorer and its biggest star in the same game, which leaves the offense short on creation and puts extra weight on whoever fills the starting spots.
That lineup question is already a storm cloud. After a blowout loss to the Clippers, the starting unit has drawn heavy criticism, and there is a growing feeling that nothing changes until the starting five does. Pressure is building on coach Jamahl Mosley, and the bench has to give more. Injuries may force the shake-up anyway. This 4-6 team has swung from an 0-4 start to four straight wins and now two straight losses, so its identity is still unsettled.
Brooklyn is not well positioned to exploit that. The Nets rank 28th in scoring at 106.6 points per game and 28th in field goal percentage at 42.8%, and they have been held under 100 in three of eight games. Michael Porter Jr. leads them at 21.4 points per game, but he hits just 31.1% of his contested threes, so his tougher looks can turn into empty possessions. Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. are out, and Grant Nelson is questionable, which thins the backcourt on the road after a loss to Atlanta.
Both teams are compromised, but New Orleans still has more players available to run a competent home offense, and Brooklyn's shot-making problems are the more reliable trend. Expect an ugly, low-rhythm game in which the Pelicans grind out a narrow win.
Prediction: Pelicans 108, Nets 103.