New Orleans Pelicans vs Utah Jazz Picks and Prediction: Markkanen Out, Murray Out, and a Total Priced Like Neither Team Checked the Injury Report
The New Orleans Pelicans (18-42) make the short trip back to Delta Center on Saturday, February 28 for a rematch against the Utah Jazz (18-41), tipping off at 9:30 PM ET, with Lauri Markkanen confirmed out after a practice injury and Keyonte George questionable with an ankle issue that has already cost him six straight games, while Dejounte Murray sits this one out for New Orleans after playing Thursday for the first time since January 2025, as two of the Western Conference's worst teams run it back 48 hours after the Pelicans won 129-118 in this exact building, with the market opening New Orleans as a 6.5 to 7-point road favorite and a total of 245 that sits 12 points above what these rosters actually average together on a given night.
OC Staff - February 28, 2026, 12:00 PM EST
3 Minute ReadNew Orleans Pelicans vs Utah Jazz Picks and Prediction: Markkanen Out, Murray Out, and a Total Priced Like Neither Team Checked the Injury Report
Pelicans vs Jazz Recent Performance
New Orleans is quietly one of the more motivated lottery teams in the league right now. With their 2026 first-round pick out of their hands, the Pelicans have genuine incentive to win basketball games, and it shows. They have taken five of their last seven, including wins over Golden State, Philadelphia, and Thursday's comfortable victory in Salt Lake City. Zion Williamson has carried the offense since the All-Star break, averaging 26.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists over that stretch. The revamped starting lineup with DeAndre Jordan at center and Herbert Jones back in the rotation has given James Borrego a defensive identity that was missing for most of the season. ATS, they sit 5-4-1 over the last ten, not a blistering number but built on competitive efforts rather than tank-mode collapses.
Utah is in a different universe. The Jazz have dropped four straight and ten of their last thirteen, and the roster situation reads like an injury report that fell down a flight of stairs. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic are done for the year. Vince Williams Jr. tore his ACL last week. Cody Williams tore his ACL earlier this season. Now Markkanen, who averaged 26.7 points and 6.9 rebounds as Utah's entire offensive plan, is out after getting hurt in practice. George, who puts up 23.8 points and 6.5 assists per game, has not played in six straight. The bench showed up Thursday with Brice Sensabaugh (20 points) and Ace Bailey (23 points) keeping it competitive, but a team averaging 118 points per night does not suddenly flip the script when it loses another 27-point scorer from the top of the rotation.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Utah Jazz Head to Head
These teams have already played twice this season, and New Orleans has won both. The Pelicans took the first meeting and followed it up with Thursday's blowout that reached 27-point territory before Utah closed the gap. Saddiq Bey went for 42 on 14-of-20 shooting with Murray controlling the pace, and New Orleans led by double digits through most of the game's middle stretches. The Jazz are 0-2 ATS in those two matchups, and New Orleans is 2-0 ATS against Utah this season.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Utah Jazz Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026
- Time: 9:30 PM ET
- How to Watch: KJZZ, Jazz+, Gulf Coast Sports, Pelicans+, NBA League Pass
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Pelicans vs Jazz Odds
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Pelicans vs Jazz Team News
Murray sitting out Saturday changes the math for New Orleans. He scored 17 points and dished out nine assists in Thursday's win, showing immediately why the Pelicans missed him for 13 months after his Achilles rupture. Without him, ball-handling falls to Jeremiah Fears, who has averaged 13.1 points and 3.2 assists this season but is still a rookie operating without a playmaking safety net. Yves Missi is questionable with a calf issue, which is why Jordan is in the starting center spot to begin with. Trey Murphy III (shoulder) remains sidelined. Bey, Zion, Jones, and Fears are all available, giving New Orleans enough firepower to compete, and Zion at 58.5% from the field is the most efficient scorer either roster has to offer tonight.
Utah's injury situation has moved past concerning and into cartoonish territory. Markkanen's absence removes the one player who could consistently create his own shot and put up 27-point performances against any defense. George's availability is listed as questionable but his six-game absence and the proximity to the end of the season make a return uncertain at best. Bailey (11.9 PPG) and Sensabaugh (12.9 PPG, five straight home games over 17.5 points) will carry the offensive load, with Kyle Filipowski adding 10.0 points and 6.6 rebounds. The Jazz are playing their second-fastest pace in the league this year, which generates possessions, but possessions do not score themselves, and Utah is operating without the three players who made that pace dangerous.
Prediction: Pelicans 118, Jazz 107
New Orleans wins this game comfortably and covers the quarter to halftime stretch before the final margin gets cloudy. Zion gets his 22 or 23 on efficient shots in the paint, Bey comes back to earth after a 42-point outlier (he averaged 17.2 points on the season), and Fears manages the game without turning it into a track meet that gets away from the Pelicans. Utah stays competitive in the first half on Sensabaugh's shooting and Bailey's activity, but without Markkanen or George to break down pick-and-roll coverages, the second half gets ugly in a slow-burn way. The Jazz stay within 15 at most points, but never seriously challenge New Orleans in the fourth quarter with the starting offense reduced to mismatched pieces.
Best Bet: Under 245.5 (-105) Click here to get the best odds at BetMGM Sportsbook
The total at 245.5 is priced for a version of this game that no longer exists. These two teams average a combined 233 points per game on the season, a 13-point gap the market needs to justify. Thursday's 247-point total came with Murray playing 31 minutes and Bey going 14-of-20 from the field and 9-for-9 from the line, a night that does not repeat two days later against the same team. Tonight, Murray sits. Markkanen sits. That is roughly 44 combined points per game between them that the market seems to still be pricing into a 245 total. The Jazz run the second-fastest pace in the league and create possessions, but possessions do not score when the players generating points at the end of them are watching from the locker room. New Orleans is not blowing the doors off Delta Center on a road trip game with a rookie running the offense.
NBA ODDS
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