Nets can’t afford to sleep on Pelicans

The last time the Brooklyn Nets faced the New Orleans Pelicans, Zion Williamson was on the sideline, having just undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair his torn right lateral meniscus. The Nets also had Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert, who dropped 39 and 23 points, respectively, in Brooklyn’s 135-125 win at Barclays Center on November 4.

Williamson will be at Tuesday’s tilt down on the bayou, so will LeVert, but neither of them will be suiting up. (Irving won’t even be in attendance. He and Kevin Durant are not traveling with the team on their two-game road trip.)

As much as the Pelicans have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA through the first eight weeks of the season, Brooklyn isn’t guaranteed to have an easy time at Smoothie King Center (as much as that sounds like the name of a theme park, not a professional sports stadium).

Now, JJ Redick (left groin soreness) is also out, per the Pelicans. That helps. But if you’ve caught a glimpse of Jrue Holiday you know he’s got as much fight in him as anyone.

By no means does that mean Holiday has the edge over Spencer Dinwiddie. He’s just not going to back down. Talent plus determination is always a scary combination.

Then there’s New Orleans’ leading scorer, Brandon Ingram. A solid test for Taurean Prince and Wilson Chandler. Maybe Garrett Temple, as well. But he won’t beat the Nets on his own. Ingram needs Holiday.

The forward also needs either Lonzo Ball or Josh Hart, the latter of which can be a pest at times. (Hart is also good for a solid gif everyone so often. So DeAndre Jordan needs to be prepared.)

If anyone is going to have a big night for Brooklyn, besides Dinwiddie, it should be Jarrett Allen. He failed to get into double figures against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday and did so again in Brooklyn’s matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday

So, Allen is due. Additionally, he should eat Jaxon Hayes’ lunch every time they share the floor (same goes for Jordan). That’s not to say Allen won’t do well against Derrick Favors — he absolutely should — but going up against Hayes is the type of matchup Allen should dominate every time (two reasons being he nearly has a 40-pound advantage and Hayes is a rookie).