The New Orleans Pelicans full preseason schedule has been released, along with some notable regular-season dates including the home opener against Toronto.
The New Orleans Pelicans have released their preseason schedule. The team will have only one preseason home game before the season opener against the Toronto Raptors. The defending champs will open their season on the road due to an Elton John scheduling conflict at their home arena.
The first time fans may see the first time in action is October 7th. Zion Williamson will likely sell out another exhibition game, this time in Atlanta. For the first time ever, a preseason ticket may be sold for more than face value, such is the Zion Effect.
October 9 the New Orleans Pelicans travel to play the Chicago Bulls. Zion Williamson will make his official debut in the Smoothie King Center two days later against the Utah Jazz. For the first time ever, the Pelicans could hold a preseason game in the Superdome.
There will be a lot of ‘first-time’ mentions this season. Hopefully, it is the first time that Jrue Holiday gets the recognition he deserves. Of course, it will be the first time Anthony Davis dresses in the visiting locker room.
The New Orleans Pelicans finish out the preseason with games against the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. That is a lot of travel for games that do not count in the standings. Even more than usually expected, the team’s best players will likely be sitting out the majority of these games. It would not be surprising to see them play only the third and fifth games.
#Pelicans announce preseason schedule! pic.twitter.com/VjOKCb5ibD
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) August 5, 2019
So the first big observation from the preseason schedule release is that Zion fatigue will not be a problem in the preseason. All of the pent up energy that has fans wanting to rip off their old jerseys will have to wait until the regular season.