Pelicans Roll Out Absurd Starting Lineup Featuring DeAndre Jordan

The New Orleans Pelicans are rolling out a starting five on Saturday that looks like a simulation glitch in a basketball video game. According to Underdog NBA, New Orleans will start Jeremiah Fears, Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, and DeAndre Jordan.

Seeing DeAndre Jordan named as a starting center in late 2026 is the kind of news that makes you check your carbon monoxide detector. For context, starting a 38-year-old center in the modern pace-and-space era is like bringing a dial-up modem to a fiber-optic LAN party.

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New Orleans is desperately searching for answers after dropping back-to-back heartbreakers, including a 123-120 shootout against the Indiana Pacers and a brutal 120-119 loss to the Utah Jazz. The coaching staff is clearly throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

The backcourt injection of Jeremiah Fears is the real wild card here. Fears recently flashed his ceiling by dropping a 28-point career high, and now he gets the keys to the offense alongside Dejounte Murray.

Anyone looking at the prop markets for this game has to figure out how the usage rate shakes out. Trey Murphy III is coming off a recent stretch where he hung 42 points on the Los Angeles Lakers, while Zion Williamson remains the primary engine of the offense.

This chaotic mix of youth, prime scoring, and a Lob City relic will get an immediate stress test. The Pelicans are scheduled to face the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, which means Jordan is likely tasked with surviving minutes against the Denver frontcourt.

We will find out quickly if this lineup is a stroke of tactical genius or just a white flag waving in the Mile High altitude. Either way, it is going to be incredible television.