New Orleans Pelicans Schedule Release: Takeaways & Important Dates

Giving fans a glimpse of what the first half of the schedule has in store for the New Orleans Pelicans

Yesterday, the NBA released the official schedule for the first half of the upcoming season. From a fan’s perspective, it’s a moment to rejoice over because it’s just another indication that basketball is closer to being back. For the New Orleans Pelicans though, this schedule is the start to a season-long climb to make the playoffs.

Given that crucial objective, we thought that it would be best to examine what awaits the team in the road ahead with some key takeaways and key matchups. Let’s take a look!

Key Takeaways

• The New Orleans Pelicans open the season with 4 of their first 5 games on the road. There may not be fans in the stands to deal with, but that’s still a lot of travel for the team and increases the chance that a player could get COVID-19.
• Overall, the Pelicans will play 17 of their 37 games on the road, while having 20 of them at home. It’ll be interesting to compare how the team plays in each environment.
• Speaking of home games, a lucky stretch for the Pelicans will occur from January 25th to February 3rd when they have a 6-game homestand. If the team can go 4-2 or better during that stretch, their playoff odds would increase immensely.
• On the flip-side, the Pelicans home stretch comes off of a dangerous 7-game road trip that starts on January 11th and goes until January 23rd. Their biggest road trip of the season.
• The Pelicans have an astonishing 19 nationally televised games beginning with their matchup on Christmas day. That means the NBA is recognizing that the Pelicans could be on the rise in 2021.

Important Matchups

• December 23rd, New Orleans Pelicans at Toronto Raptors. This is the Pelicans’ first game of the season and it would be great to start the year off with a win against a team who was the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference last season.
• December 25th, New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat. It’s always good to get a win on Christmas Day when the whole world is watching!
• Back-to-back, January 13th at Los Angeles Clippers, and January 15th at Los Angeles Lakers. These two games are against two of the toughest teams in the Western Conference, including the defending champs. Winning at least one of these games is a good sign for the team.
• January 29th, Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans. The return of Jrue Holiday! This is a big game once again to see if the Pelicans are ready to compete but also to test how the season is going for Milwaukee and make further judgments on these offseason’s mega-trade.
• The New Orleans Pelicans play the Phoenix Suns three times during the first half, on December 29th, February 3rd, and February 19th. The team should aim to go 2-1 in these matchups to beat down a team they’re in direct competition with for the playoffs.

There it is, the first half schedule in a snapshot for the New Orleans Pelicans. It should be interesting to see how this season plays out, but I know that no matter what, I’m just excited to have this hungry young team back in action!