The NBA schedule was released Friday afternoon. Time to take a look at what awaits the Pelicans throughout the season.
Fans of the New Orleans Pelicans can plan their trips to the Smoothie King Center or pick out which games are must watch from the couch; the schedule has finally been released! I find it hard to believe anyone reading this piece hasn’t already seen the schedule but just in case, here’s a link to the teams’ site.
I’m not writing this to talk about how many national tv games the Pels are getting versus what we fans want. I’m more than happy to watch the local broadcast featuring Joel Myers, Antonio Daniels, and Jen Hale (I’d rather they do all the Pels games). This piece is about drawing a base win-loss record for the upcoming season based on how the schedule breaks down.
One thing to note is we had another shortened offseason. For a league that’s so focused on resting players, teams that didn’t make a deep run in the playoffs may have an advantage here. But we’re back to starting the season at the traditional time, the 2019-20 season tipped off for the Pels on October 17th, this year the Pels first game is October 19th.
The first thing to look at when trying to determine wins and losses for the season is the number of back-to-backs a team has. The Pels are in decent shape in this regard, there are 12 back-to-backs on their schedule. Below is a table of the back-to-backs facing the Pels this season.
| Game 1 | Home | Away | Game 2 | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/22 | Bulls | Pels | 10/23 | TWolves | Pels |
| 10/29 | Pels | Kings | 10/30 | Pels | Knicks |
| 11/2 | Suns | Pels | 11/3 | Kings | Pels |
| 11/12 | Pels | Nets | 11/13 | Pels | Grizzlies |
| 11/19 | Pels | Clippers | 11/20 | Pacers | Pels |
| 11/26 | Jazz | Pels | 11/27 | Jazz | Pels |
| 1/3 | Pels | Jazz | 1/4 | Pels | Suns |
| 1/31 | Cavs | Pels | 2/1 | Pistons | Pels |
| 2/14 | Pels | Raptors | 2/15 | Pels | Grizzlies |
| 3/20 | Hawks | Pels | 3/21 | Hornets | Pels |
| 3/26 | Pels | Spurs | 3/27 | Pels | Lakers |
| 4/9 | Grizzlies | Pels | 4/10 | Pels | Warriors |
That’s twelve losses on the schedule before the season even tips off. The game against Chicago is the second game of the season, meaning the Pels will hit that gauntlet right out of the gate. Just because the Pels get hit with the back-to-back at the earliest possible time doesn’t mean they get much relief after. Half of the back-to-backs come before the calendar even flips to December. The good news is the remaining six instances are spread out over four months.