Denver Owns the Series While Injured, Slumping New Orleans Searches for Answers

Denver arrives in New Orleans with nearly every piece of evidence pointing its way. The Nuggets have won all five completed meetings in this series, the Pelicans are on a four-game losing streak, and New Orleans had five players ruled out for its last game. The central question is whether a team in visible turmoil can stay competitive, and little in the evidence supports that.

The head-to-head record is lopsided in scores as well as in count. Denver won 104-91 in New Orleans on 2026-10-29 and 141-135 at home on 2026-10-25. Earlier meetings finished 122-88 in Denver, 125-118 in New Orleans and 122-116 in New Orleans. Three of the five were played in this building, and Denver won all three. Five games is a small sample, and rosters have shifted since the oldest of them, so this is context more than proof.

New Orleans' form is the bigger concern. The Pelicans are 4-8 and 12th in the Western Conference. They have lost four straight, most recently 145-111 to Brooklyn on Wednesday, and have also failed to cover the spread in four straight. Those runs describe what has happened and do not predict what comes next. Still, Zion Williamson publicly called the latest blowout loss "unacceptable" and said the team needed to look itself in the mirror, which points to a team under strain.

The injury picture adds to that. Dejounte Murray (ankle), Trey Murphy III (knee), Yves Missi (knee), Bryce McGowens (elbow) and Trendon Watford (ankle) were all ruled out for Friday's game against Memphis, the most recent statuses. That is a thin group of guards, forwards and a center to be missing. Separately, a report says Murray wants a trade and that his agent and team officials have started working on a resolution. It is a distraction layered on top of an ankle injury.

Denver's side is cleaner. Julian Strawther is out with a left knee sprain, with a re-evaluation set for six weeks after his October status, but nothing in the evidence suggests that absence changes this game much. The Nuggets beat Memphis 123-118 on Wednesday, so they come in with a recent win while New Orleans comes in off a rout.

The evidence agrees across the board: series history, recent results, the Pelicans' absences and the team's mood all favor Denver. The caveats are that the series sample is small, the streaks are descriptive, and the absences are tied to Friday's game, so Saturday's final availability is worth checking. Nothing here points the other way.