The New Orleans Pelicans, the last remaining undefeated team in the Western Conference, entered Saturday night’s contest against the Utah Jazz whistling in the intoxication of Friday night’s late game heroics from Jrue Holiday over the Brooklyn Nets.
And then 45 minutes prior to tip-off, some very bad news dropped.
With Julius Randle battling his own plantar fasciitis, Saturday night’s contest promised to be a daunting task against a Jazz squad that won 26 of their final 35 contests last season, featuring Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert — with no Anthony Davis to monitor him.