Pelicans Look to Exploit Nurkic-Less Jazz in Salt Lake City

The Pelicans roll into Salt Lake City on Friday night catching plus-money against a Jazz squad that's already dealing with rotation chaos. New Orleans opened +110 on the moneyline, and frankly, that number feels generous given what we saw in Week 1.

Utah's biggest problem? Jusuf Nurkic is shelved for at least a month, and their opener was an offensive slog—103 points on 46.7% shooting won't cut it against a Pelicans team that projects to run at 114.0 offensive efficiency. Meanwhile, New Orleans boasts the kind of roster depth that should overwhelm a compromised Jazz frontcourt: Dejounte Murray orchestrating, Zion Williamson bulldozing, and rookie Yves Missi already looking like a monster on the glass with 14 boards per game in limited sample.

Sure, it's early-season small-sample theater, but the talent gap is real. Both teams had two days rest, so no situational edge to lean on—this comes down to personnel, and the Pelicans simply have more of it. The Jazz need to prove they can score without their starting center anchoring things, and nothing from their opener suggests they're ready.

DarkHorse likes the Pelicans ML at +110 with moderate confidence. Road underdog, superior firepower, opponent missing a key piece? That's a recipe worth backing.