Pelicans Vs Warriors: Availability Shake-Up Hands Big Roles to Remaining Rotations

The Pelicans Vs Warriors matchup matters because availability is dictating lineup construction more than usual: Golden State rested Al Horford while making De'Anthony Melton available for Tuesday, Kristaps Porzingis is out with an illness and several regulars remain sidelined. Here’s the part that matters — both benches and matchups will feel the immediate impact, and New Orleans arrives with its own absences plus a returning Dejounte Murray.

Pelicans Vs Warriors — who absorbs the immediate pressure and why it matters

Golden State's decision to rest Horford but play Melton changes which players are asked to cover frontcourt minutes, defensive assignments and late-game reps. For New Orleans, missing wing depth while activating Dejounte Murray for his season debut shifts ball-handling and matchup dynamics. The real question now is how those choices translate to minutes distribution and in-game matchups early in the contest.

Availability and injury details

• The Warriors will not play Al Horford or De'Anthony Melton in both legs of a back-to-back; they had to decide who to rest with games against the Pelicans on Tuesday and the Grizzlies on Wednesday.
• Golden State chose to rest Al Horford and have De'Anthony Melton be available for Tuesday's game.
• Kristaps Porzingis is out with an illness and is expected to miss Wednesday's game as well.
• Stephen Curry continues to be out with runner's knee; Seth Curry continues to be out with sciatica.
• Two-way players LJ Cryer and Nate Williams are listed as out.
• Draymond Green, who missed Sunday's game with back soreness, is listed as probable.
• For the Pelicans, Trey Murphy III will miss his third straight game with a shoulder injury. Yves Missi (calf) and Micah Peavy (toe) are also out.
• Dejounte Murray will make his season debut after suffering an Achilles rupture in January 2025.
• The Warriors had just nine players available against the Nuggets on Sunday; seven of the nine scored in double figures en route to a 128-117 win.
• Horford is the only Warrior who played Sunday who is out for Tuesday's game. The two Warriors who could play who didn't Sunday are Draymond Green and Malevy Leons.

Rotation implications and matchup notes

With Horford rested and Porzingis unavailable, expect frontcourt minutes to come from players already in the rotation and possibly extended runs for younger wings and bench bigs. Melton being active preserves a backcourt option that can handle perimeter defense and secondary ball-handling duties. On the Pelicans' side, the continued absence of Trey Murphy III and others reduces wing depth, but the return of Dejounte Murray injects a primary ball-handler and veteran playmaking that shifts defensive focus.

Sunday's workload context and short-term signals

Golden State's roster constraints on Sunday — nine available players — still produced a 128-117 win where seven of those nine reached double figures. That performance demonstrates both the roster's short-term resilience and the thin margin for additional absences. It's easy to overlook, but Horford being the only player from Sunday's active lineup who is out Tuesday highlights how coaches are staggering rest days to keep core rotation pieces available.

Practical indicators that would confirm rotation changes

Immediate confirmation of how minutes will shake out will come from pregame active/inactive lists and the opening-lineup choices. If Draymond Green is cleared from probable to active, that will materially alter matchups; if Porzingis remains sidelined into Wednesday, the Warriors' interior plan will need a different short-term blueprint. For New Orleans, Murray logging heavy minutes in his season debut will be the clearest sign that the Pelicans are prioritizing playmaking despite other absences.

Who is affected: players on the fringes of each rotation, the primary ball-handlers, and matchup-dependent defenders will absorb the most minutes and responsibility. Coaching decisions over these two games — against the Pelicans on Tuesday and the Grizzlies on Wednesday — will show how aggressively the Warriors manage back-to-back workload rules.

The bigger signal here is that both teams are making availability-driven choices rather than schematic ones; short stretches of heavy minutes could tell us more about depth than any single matchup. If you're wondering why this keeps coming up, it's because back-to-back management and late-season returns (like Murray's) often shift more value to role players and roster flexibility.

The real test will be postgame lineup charts and minute distributions across both contests.