On Friday (November 3rd), the NBA tips off their first-ever In-Season Tournament. And on Monday, the league announced that all of the games for this tournament would be played on alternate courts. Here is what they said in their article on NBA.com:
"“The courts, which will be used for Group Play and the Quarterfinals, showcase a bold and distinctive design scheme league-wide, making it instantly clear to fans when a game carries NBA In-Season Tournament implications. The unified look represents the first time that the league has implemented an alternate court for all 30 teams and the first time that any NBA team has played on a fully painted court with no woodgrain details.”"
Akin to how every team has flashy alternate uniforms, these courts will serve as a fun, new way for fans to appreciate their team colors. With that said, here is what the New Orleans Pelicans alternate court will look like:
Let's get weird https://t.co/yPsjbbQygM pic.twitter.com/0TtYbTKAL3
— Christian Clark (@cclark_13) October 30, 2023
As NOLA.com’s Christian Clark notes in his tweet above, this colorway is a pretty strange one. But hey, strange can be cool too, and who doesn’t love a change of pace every once in a while?
The NBA.com article cited above also mentions that this is going to be the first time in the team’s history that they are going to play on an alternate court. This will be the first time doing so for them, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers.
The two home games they are slated to play during the In-Season Tournament are on November 14th and November 17th against the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets, respectively. Those are the two times they will be using this alternative court.
For those wondering, outside of those two games, they also have two road games on the tournament docket against the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers. Those two games will take place on November 10th and November 24th, respectively.
In the meantime, the Pelicans still have six more games to play before the start of the In-Season Tournament. Those games will be against the Golden State Warriors (October 30th), Detroit Pistons (November 2nd), Atlanta Hawks (November 4th), Denver Nuggets (November 6th), and Minnesota Timberwolves (November 8th).
The Pelicans are currently sitting at a perfect 2-0 heading into their third game of the season.