Derik Queen posted 25 points and 11 rebounds on Friday night, but it was not enough to keep the New Orleans Pelicans from falling 144-118 to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Jeremiah Fears added 36 points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals in the loss, scoring 21 of his points after halftime.
Queen’s night mattered because it came in a season that has already shifted under New Orleans. Willie Green was fired before the game, James Borrego took over as interim coach, and the Pelicans had entered the 2025-26 season without control of their first-round pick. That has made every young performance carry more weight, especially for Queen and Fears, the team’s 2025 lottery picks who are being framed as the future of Pelicans basketball.
Queen started next to Kevon Looney and looked most effective when paired with another rim protector, finishing with four assists, three blocks and one steal. That fit is more than a single-game note for New Orleans. It points to how the Pelicans may want to use him as they sort through a roster that spent the trade deadline with no clear direction on whether the front office would stand pat or become a major seller.
Read Also: Jeremiah Fears and the Week 23 waiver-wire pickups that can swing fantasy titles
The result still underscored how far the Pelicans have to go. Boston scored 144 points, New Orleans gave up too much pace and too many clean looks, and the game became another reminder that the franchise is trying to build around young talent while the rest of the season asks hard questions about the roster around them. For now, Queen and Fears are the clearest answers New Orleans has.
