The NBA took some criticism for its restart plan which included non-playoff teams including Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. Seen as a way to get Williamson back on national television and potentially in the playoffs, the NBA will feature the star rookie from the very get-go in the restart.
On Friday, the eight-game restart schedules for all NBA teams were released with the Pelicans being the first game of the restart. New Orleans will meet Utah in the first game of a double-header that will precede a Lakers-Clippers showdown.
Unlike originally thought, the NBA schedule will not simply be the eight games that would have happened as that likely presented too many hurdles in replacing holes in schedules for teams that would not have made the trip to Orlando.
Still, the Pelicans, who were slated to have the easiest schedule in the league prior to the season coming to a halt, will still have the easiest schedule in the restart. New Orleans is the only team where their opponents’ cumulative win percentage is below .500
Here is a full look at the Pelicans’ schedule.
On top of three nationally televised games on ESPN, the Pelicans’ game against Sacramento on Aug. 11 will also be on TNT, meaning half of New Orleans’ remaining games will be nationally televised.
Each team will have one back-to-back in the restart with New Orleans’ featuring the Kings and Wizards. Originally, Washington would not have been on the Pelicans’ schedule had the next eight games been played.
The Pelicans will meet the Grizzlies just once in the restart, another change from their original schedule. However, two games against the Kings will also prove particularly vital as well as the match-up against the Spurs with each of those sides fighting for the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the Western Conference playoffs.
