Facing Pelicans No Revenge Game For Favors

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Derrick Favors will be facing his former team, the New Orleans Pelicans for the first time tonight since rejoining the Utah Jazz.

Favors spent one season in New Orleans after an eight and a half career with the Jazz but returned to the city where he’s spent most of his career last offseason.

Despite his short stay, the Jazz reserve center said he’s not out for vengeance against his previous team.

“It’s not like a revenge game or anything like that,” Favors said. “It’s more so just another game for me. But I’ll be all be happy to see some of the players over there that I spent the season with.”

It's official! Derrick Favors is back with the @UtahJazz. #TakeNote https://t.co/bacZHwIlZS

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 25, 2020

Favors averaged 9.0 points and a career-high 9.8 rebounds with the Pelicans last season. Though there remain some familiar faces on the New Orleans crew, the team underwent a major overhaul to the roster during the offseason.

Longtime franchise cornerstone Jrue Holiday was moved to Milwaukee in a three-team trade that sent Steven Adams from Oklahoma City to replace Favors. Eric Bledsoe also joined the Pelicans in the deal.

The team also replaced coach Alvin Gentry with Stan Van Gundy in October.

“I’ve been keeping up with them, watching their games on TV,” Favors said of his old team. “They play on TV [darn] near every night and I’m happy for them. “It’ll be good just to see though guys and catch up.”

Favors On Slowing The Pelicans Down

Though the Jazz won last year’s season series with the Pelicans 3-1, they struggled to contain wing Brandon Ingram. The first-year All-Star averaged 35 points in four meetings with the Jazz, his season-best against any opponent.

Favors discussed what makes Ingram such a potent scorer.

“Once he gets to his spot, he’s a tough cover,” the Jazz center said. “He’s 6’8, 6’9, long arms, athletic. He can really make mid-range shots, he can get to the basket, he can do a lot of things on the court.”

BI dropped a career-high 49 PTS, coming up HUGE in the Pelicans OT win!#WontBowDown pic.twitter.com/oZWpdEFZyE

— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 17, 2020

Ingram torched the Jazz from all areas on the floor last season, shooting 48 percent from the floor and 41 percent from three.

“We’ve got to try to make him make tough shots,” Favors said. He’s a really great player that’s continuing to improve every year.”

The Pelicans are also lead by second-year forward Zion Williamson. The former Duke big man was one of the most highly anticipated college prospects in the last decade and didn’t disappoint as a rookie.

While injuries limited Williamson to just 22 games in his first season, the rookie averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and shot 58 percent from the floor and 43 percent from the three-point line.

🔥 ZION goes 13-15 🔥@Zionwilliamson's 31 PTS power the @PelicansNBA to victory. #WontBowDown pic.twitter.com/mnEo2nsNq7

— NBA (@NBA) January 18, 2021

“As I got a chance to see him up close and practices and then games, I started to believe in the hype,” Favors said of the Pelicans’ number one overall pick. “I was like ‘Wow, this guy can do a lot of great things on the court with his size and athleticism.”

Williamson is averaging a similar 22.6 points per game in 11 contests with the Pelicans this season and has upped his rebounding average to 8.3 per outing.

“You’re not going to stop him from getting downhill or getting wherever he wants to get on the floor,” Favors said. “So the best thing you can do with him and just as a team defense-wise is to just try to make him make tough shots.”

The Jazz and Pelicans tip-0ff at 7 pm MST on AT&T SportsNet.