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Pelicans Know Path to Playoffs, NBA Schedule Released

The NBA released the 2022-23 season schedule and now the New Orleans Pelicans know their path back to the NBA Playoffs.

Chris Dodson

Pelicans Know Path to Playoffs, NBA Schedule Released
Pelicans Know Path to Playoffs, NBA Schedule Released /
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The NBA schedule has been revealed and the New Orleans Pelicans now know how to chart their path back to the NBA Playoffs. There are no big holiday games on Christmas or Martin Luther King Jr. Day but the Pelicans will be featured on national television on at least 18 dates. The Smoothie King Center seats are almost sold out for the season opener but fans can start signing up with Bally Sports now that the broadcast plans have been announced.

Additionally, the NBA announced no games will be played on Election Day (Nov. 8) in the United States. Per the NBA, the decision “came out of the NBA family’s focus on promoting nonpartisan civic engagement and encouraging fans to make a plan to vote during midterm elections.” On Nov. 7, the league will use games played to “amplify the work of each team to promote civic engagement in their respective markets and share important voting resources from our partners,” per the NBA's release.

Pels12 Await First Dozen Games:

Fans of the Pelicans have been waiting for years to see the team fully healthy. The Pels12 supporters' group will need to gather up for a watch party to see the opener. The Pelicans open with road games against the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets before coming home to face the Utah Jazz.

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons have played as many minutes together as Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, and Brandon Ingram. It will be an intriguing opening night to say the least. Going to Charlotte to face LaMelo Ball will keep things interesting as Ball has torched New Orleans since turning pro.

It is all but confirmed that the Smoothie King Center will be sold out on October 23 when hosting the new-look Jazz. Most of the lower bowl is sold out for the season already. The Pelicans return home for their first meaningful game since Game 6 against the Phoenix Suns in last year’s first-round playoff battle and the hometown fans will be in full force to see the squad fully healthy.

The Pelicans will head to Utah for a back-to-back in the middle of December. The rebuilding Jazz have already traded away Rudy Gobert with Donovan Mitchell reportedly soon to follow. Getting an opening win at home will be a priority but if this team wants to earn a top-4 playoff spot, they’ll need to win at least two games if not sweep the series.

The Pelicans will have the TNT crew in the house for the first visit from Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks on October 25. The first Pelicans versus Suns rematch on October 28 will get the ESPN treatment. Then Willie Green's crew will head west to knock out the Los Angeles Lakers-LA Clippers road set before returning home to face the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

New Orleans will embark on another three-game road trip through Atlanta, Indiana, and Chicago. The Hawks have reloaded with Dejounte Murray, the Pacers are going with an energetic youth movement around Tyrese Halliburton, and the Bulls might have Lonzo Ball on the court. This test of mid-tier Eastern Conference teams will see New Orleans complete a road-heavy schedule with only four home games.

CJ McCollum gets to face off against Dame Lillard in the 12th game. Josh Hart will come back to his second home to try and break some hearts but the Pelicans will hope this dozen-game sample size section ends with a win. Most of the squad lived through the 1-12 worst-case scenario last season. This year’s team is capable of 12 wins before Thanksgiving.

Ingram and McCollum
Apr 22, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) and guard CJ McCollum (3) talk in the second half of game three of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at the Smoothie King Center against the Phoenix Suns. The Suns won, 114-111. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Home for the Holidays

The Pelicans play only four road games between playing the Bulls on November 9 and traveling to face the Jazz on December 13. They have only 10 road games total between that trip to Chicago and a flight to Dallas on January 7, 2023. 

However, the foes coming to the SKC are mostly top-end playoff contenders. Boston, Golden State, Toronto, Denver, Phoenix, and Milwaukee will come to New Orleans before middle schoolers are out for the Holiday/Christmas break.

New Orleans will get an early look from ESPN and TNT but only have a single nationally televised game on one of those channels between October 28 (@ Suns) and January 31, 2023 (@ Nuggets). New Orleans will be on NBA TV four times, including in Milwaukee the night before the 1/31 trip to Denver. 

TNT will be in town on November 15 to watch Ja Morant and Zion Williamson rekindle the rivalry between these two franchises. The game against the Grizzles comes during a six-game home stretch.

The Pelicans play only three expected lottery teams for the rest of 2022 at this point. One of those teams, the San Antonio Spurs with Gregg Popovich reshaping the squad without Dejounte Murray, is on the schedule three times before calendars hit 2023. Popovich might not have a title contender on his hands but he will not be tanking before a quarter of the season is played.

Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder come to town a few days (11/28) after Thanksgiving. Cade Cunningham’s resurgent Detroit Pistons (12/7) will come to the Crescent City a week later. New Orleans heads to Oklahoma (12/23) and Detroit (1/13).

Feb 15, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New Orleans Pelicans player Brandon Ingram shoots during media day for the NBA All-Star Game at Wintrust. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

Earning All-Star Honors After New Year’s

The home cooking ends the week after New Year’s Day. Then comes the toughest stretch of the season regarding player health and rookie walls. New Orleans will have to earn their spots in the All-Star game and the playoffs going through the gauntlet to start 2023.

This section of the schedule starts with a five-game road trip. Seven roads games with a visit from the Miami Heat in the middle. The doldrums of the back half of the schedule do not exist for these Pelicans. They will have to fight for their right to hold home court advantage in a playoff series.

The Pelicans have eight nationally televised games in six weeks between January 29 (@ Milwaukee) and March 8 (vs. Dallas). The other six national showcases are against Atlanta (2/7), Cleveland (2/10), Los Angeles (2/15), Portland (3/1), and Sacramento (3/6). They play in Dallas on ESPN after a three-game road trip through Portland, Golden State, and Sacramento.

Playoff Rest or Play-In Pressing?

Four of the last five games of the regular season are in the Smoothie King Center. The last game is in Minnesota. Will the Pelicans and Timberwolves be fighting for playoff positioning? Will the Karl Anthony-Towns/Rudy Gobert combo be able to stop Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas in a seven-game series? 

If any game will give an answer, it will likely not come on April 9. Most fans are hoping the team will be resting and waiting to see who emerges from the NBA Play-In Tournament. However, the Pelicans can only rest before hosting a playoff game if they take care of business in the preceding months. 

The four games before those last five are all on the road against potential playoff teams. If New Orleans needs wins, they’ll be fighting an uphill battle against the Clippers, Blazers, Warriors, and Nuggets. The Golden State and Denver games will both be on TNT while the Clippers contest can be seen on NBA TV.

The 9 games before the 9 mentioned above give the Pelicans a manageable run-in to wrap up the regular season. New Orleans will play only three road games, twice in Houston for a back-to-back set, and once in Sacramento.

The regular-season journey is set. Now the New Orleans Pelicans have to chart their path with an eye on being healthy for the postseason. Even with some load management, this is a manageable schedule.

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Chris Dodson
CHRIS DODSON

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