If you were expecting New Orleans to receive a significant bump in national television appearances based on the impressive way the Pelicans closed last season – as well as the return of highlight machine and 2021 All-Star forward Zion Williamson – you may be a bit surprised by the team’s 2022-23 slate. New Orleans entered last season with 10 games scheduled for national TV (ESPN and TNT) and was granted almost exactly the same number (11) for this upcoming season.
Only three of New Orleans’ first 51 games are scheduled for national networks, with a back-loaded slate consisting of eight national TV contests between Jan. 31 and March 30. In what figures to be a very competitive and deep Western Conference, nine of the Pelicans’ national broadcasts come against West counterparts, including two apiece vs. Denver and Dallas. There are also seven games slated for NBA TV, with the first occurring Nov. 12 vs. Houston.
Happy returns
New Orleans players made some memorable returns to their hometowns in 2021-22, including then-rookie guard Jose Alvarado sparking the Pelicans to a January win at Madison Square Garden. Alvarado won’t need to wait long to perform in his native New York City in 2022-23, with New Orleans opening the regular season in Brooklyn against the Nets on Oct. 19. Alvarado’s second pro game at MSG will take place against the Knicks on Feb. 25.
On the same season-opening trip that starts in Brooklyn, several Pelicans players who hail from the Carolinas (Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Devonte’ Graham) will get to play in Charlotte on Oct. 21. Other notable returns include CJ McCollum, Jaxson Hayes and Larry Nance Jr. playing in their native state of Ohio on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, visiting Cleveland; during preseason, Alabama natives Herb Jones and Kira Lewis will be in Birmingham for an Oct. 14 matchup vs. Atlanta. Hayes also enjoys a significant amount of fans supporting him whenever the Pelicans visit the Pacers in Indianapolis (Nov. 7).
New Orleans Pelicans Schedule Release Video | 2022-23 NBA Season
Three ‘baseball series’ on tap
Partly in order to reduce travel and increase rest, the NBA has implemented “baseball series” in recent years, where the same two teams face each other in consecutive games in the same city. There are three such instances on New Orleans’ schedule, including a stretch of four games in mid-December where the Pelicans only face Phoenix and Utah. The Pelicans will host the Suns on Dec. 9 and 11, before traveling to Salt Lake City to visit the Jazz on Dec. 13 and 15. New Orleans actually meets Phoenix three times over a five-game span, with the end of that West road trip occurring Dec. 17 in Footprint Center. The final instance of a “baseball series” in 2022-23 takes place March 17 and 19, when the Pelicans visit Houston’s Toyota Center for a pair of games against the Rockets.
Jazz, Clippers, Kings, Wolves opponents thrice
Based on the NBA’s rotating schedule, there are always four Western Conference foes New Orleans plays just three times in a given season. In 2022-23, Utah (Oct. 23) and the LA Clippers (April 1) only visit the Smoothie King Center once each, while New Orleans will only visit Sacramento (March 6) and Minnesota (April 9) once. Incidentally, the Jazz’s solo trip to the Crescent City is NOLA’s home opener, while the Pelicans’ lone stop in the Target Center is Game 82.