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New Orleans Pelicans 2015 NBA Season Preview

By Cody Williams

Apr 15, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) celebrates with guard Tyreke Evans (1) during a game against the San Antonio Spurs at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Spurs 108-103 and earned the 8th seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) celebrates with guard Tyreke Evans (1) during a game against the San Antonio Spurs at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Spurs 108-103 and earned the 8th seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 25, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) talk following game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 109-98. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) talk following game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 109-98. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Most Important Games

The Pelicans are going to start the season quite short-handed with Tyreke Evans slated to miss an indefinite amount of time, Omer Asik possibly being unable to play, Jrue Holiday being on a minutes limit to start the year, and several other injuries. Subsequently, how the Pelicans kick off the season in some tough matchups is going to be vital.

Two of the Pelicans’ first three games of the season will be against the Golden State Warriors, playing the defending champs in ORACLE on opening night and playing the Dubs at home on Halloween night. While it’s hard to expect a heavily injured team to hang with the champs, how New Orleans fights in those matchups and if they can pick up a victory could be huge for the outlook of their entire 2015-16 season and setting the tone.

Another matchup that is going to be key for New Orleans is their Christmas Day meeting with the Miami Heat in South Beach. The profile that comes with the game being on arguably the most important date in the NBA regular season obviously adds to the importance of the matchup, but that game should also serve as a barometer of where the team as at a crucial juncture in the season.

The end of February and beginning of March will be an important stretch for New Orleans as well. From February 23 to March 14, the Pelicans play 11 games. Of those 11 games, seven are against sure-fire playoff teams this season and one of the remaining four is against a Sacramento Kings team that is still mostly a question mark right now. How well they perform over that stretch could play a major role in the Pelicans’ seeding for the postseason.

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