Pelicans and Jazz Both Desperate for Win No. 1

Two teams that opened the season with losses meet Friday night at Delta Center, each hunting for their first win before the 0-2 hole becomes a conversation. There's no model read to lean on tonight — this one gets decided on the floor.

Both the Pelicans and Jazz arrive at 0-1, which strips away any comfort zone and turns this into a genuine pressure game in week one. That's not nothing. Early losses have a way of exposing which rosters have the connective tissue to respond and which ones spiral. Tonight is a legitimate character test for both sides, and the Delta Center crowd will be watching closely to see if the Jazz can get their home fans something to celebrate.

For New Orleans, Dejounte Murray is the engine — averaging 23.0 points and 7.0 assists per game, he's the kind of two-way initiator who can take over a game when the offense needs a jolt. The Pelicans also have a legitimate interior presence in Yves Missi, who is pulling down 14.0 rebounds per game. That combination of a playmaking guard and a dominant rebounder gives New Orleans a structural advantage if they can keep the game physical and controlled.

Utah's answer is Keyonte George, who is putting up 22.0 points and 5.0 assists per game and is expected to start as the Jazz's primary offensive engine. He's a live wire who can generate his own shot, but the Jazz will need Lauri Markkanen — averaging 9.0 rebounds per game — to be a consistent presence on the glass and in the mid-range to take pressure off George. If Markkanen is passive, Utah's offense gets thin in a hurry. The honest truth is there's no validated model lean for this game, which means it's genuinely a toss-up on paper. What I will say: Murray versus George is one of the more compelling individual matchups of the young season, and whichever guard imposes his will on the other is probably going home with the win.