Pelica Debrief
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Monthly Breakdown Of New Orleans Pelicans Schedule

By Christopher Dodson

METAIRIE, LA - MARCH 14: David Griffin, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the New Orleans Pelicans, talks to the media during an introductory press conference on April 17, 2019 at Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
METAIRIE, LA - MARCH 14: David Griffin, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the New Orleans Pelicans, talks to the media during an introductory press conference on April 17, 2019 at Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The New Orleans Pelicans full regular season schedule has been released. Dissecting the schedule shows some months are expected to be much tougher than others.

The opponents for the season opener and Christmas Day contest have been known for a couple of weeks. On Monday afternoon, the New Orleans Pelicans full regular season schedule has been released by the NBA league office.

The New Orleans Pelicans carry realistic playoff expectations into the 2019-20 NBA season. The roster has been restocked with shooting talent. After Zion Williamson was guaranteed to be balling in the Big Easy, there was a run on season tickets. The Smoothie King Center will be packed.

The New Orleans Pelicans will play 17 of their 41 home games on a weekend night. Thirty games will be on national television including the team’s first ABC’s games in a decade.

The home opener will be Friday, October 25 against the Dallas Mavericks. The New Orleans Pelicans will travel to Denver on Christmas Day to play the last game of the evening. Martin Luther King Jr Day the Pelicans will travel to Memphis. This is the most fitting matchup for MLK Day, regardless of the recent draft results.

October is a tough month for the team just based on the need to build on-court chemistry. Summer workouts are fine but regular-season fire from opponents is a different battle. How will Jrue Holiday apply his permission to dominate? The same question applies to Derrick Favors in his new unchallenged role as a franchise centerpiece.

The team opens the season as the team forced to watch the prior season’s champs ring ceremony. Going to face the Toronto Raptors will actually benefit the Pelicans, as they get the trip across the border behind them. Even Kawhi Leonard complained about customs. The game will get the national treatment of course, with TNT getting the honors.

The New Orleans Pelicans will debut Zion Williamson to his home crowd against the rival Dallas Mavericks. On October 25 ESPN will come to town for a New Orleans Friday Night Special. Dallas also has a young core with playoff aspirations.

This first home game will serve as Zion’s introduction to the two foreign sensations, Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. They were as hyped In Europe as Williamson’s was in the United States. The rivalry between New Orleans and Dallas will only increase as the Saints and Pelicans battle the Cowboys and Mavericks for playoff spots.

The same goes for the rivals a few hours west on Interstate 10. The New Orleans Pelicans travel down the road a few hours to play their first back-to-back set, playing October 26 at Houston Rockets.

Surprisingly, this game in Houston is the first game not on national television. Russell Westbrook and James Harden are two of the most dynamic players in the world. Jrue Holiday will need to shut down one of them to start his MVP campaign. Zion could show that his size will overwhelm their slight and slippery games, but most of the country will have to wait for the highlight shows to see it.

The team then comes back home for an October 28 date with the Golden State Warriors. That game will be aired on NBATV. The New Orleans Pelicans have had to open the past several seasons facing the Warriors early. This year it could actually benefit the team since Klay Thompson will not be back until later in the year.

The NBA has paired the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans on national television on a couple of holidays this year. The first comes when TNT broadcast the matchup on October 31. New Orleans is known to love Halloween game to really let loose.

Even though October is an NBA short month schedule-wise, the Pelicans open with five teams reasonably expected to push for a playoff spot. The only Eastern Conference team they face are the defending champs who will have a lot to prove without Kawhi Leonard.

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