Depleted Grizzlies Still Hold the Edge Over Shorthanded Pelicans

By NBA Stat Desk How we produce articles

Both teams are thin, but Memphis's unbeaten start and home floor tilt a close one its way.

NOP @ MEM Nov 3, 2026 at 1:00 AM UTC

The Grizzlies are the surprise of the young season. They won their first five games and were the only unbeaten team left in the league. Now they host a New Orleans team that is short on bodies, and Memphis has its own problems.

Start with the Pelicans' backcourt. Dejounte Murray is listed out for personal reasons. He missed the Kings game for the birth of his child, then sat against Atlanta for rest, and Memphis was his next chance to return. Jordan Poole is nursing an ankle sprain and has already missed consecutive games, with no clear timeline. Yves Missi has been out since the second game with a knee injury, so New Orleans has lacked its starting center and rebounding size for most of the season. That puts real pressure on the Pelicans' remaining ball handlers and interior defenders.

The lineup data points toward what New Orleans should do. The original starting five was minus-38.8 over 24 minutes. The Fears-Jones-Murphy-Williamson group posted a plus-78.6 net rating, though only across 11 minutes. That sample is small, but it suggests the Pelicans' best path runs through Williamson with more spacing and less of the original structure.

Memphis is not healthy either. Ty Jerome, the team's leading scorer at 25.8 points per game, and Scotty Pippen Jr. are out with back injuries, and Quinten Post is out with an ankle injury. That removes scoring, depth and frontcourt options, and it keeps this from being a comfortable night for the home side.

Still, the Grizzlies have been winning, and the Pelicans are missing more of their core, especially at center and guard. I expect a tight game that Memphis controls late through home-court familiarity and a more stable rotation, even with its own losses.

Prediction: Grizzlies 112, Pelicans 107.

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