Pelicans 2024-25 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions
"What if?" is the biggest takeaway from the 2023-24 New Orleans Pelicans' season.
The team won 49 games and earned a playoff spot after advancing from the play-in tournament. Unfortunately, superstar Zion Williamson suffered a left hamstring injury in the play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers. He didn't suit up for the team's win-and-in play-in against the Sacramento Kings and then sat the entirety of the Pels' first-round 4-0 loss to the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 57-win Thunder would have likely still won the series, but a healthy Williamson would have made it far more competitive. After a close 94-92 loss in Game 1, the Pels lost the next three games by a combined 61 points.
Now the Pelicans turn the page to a new season and a greater hope for a brighter future after making one of the NBA offseason's biggest trades by acquiring Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks. Most everyone else from last year returns as the team looks to run it back and hope to secure the team's first playoff series win since 2018.
For now, we know the team's slate after the NBA released the league-wide schedule. Here's a look at some details alongside some matchup notes and a season forecast.
2024-25 Pelicans Schedule Details
Season Opener: vs. Chicago Bulls, Oct. 23, 8 p.m. ET
Championship Odds: 45-1 ($100 bet wins $4,500), per FanDuel
Full Schedule: The full schedule is available on NBA.com.
Top Matchups
West C Group Play Games: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies
There is no tougher NBA Cup group on paper than West C. Unfortunately, the Pelicans find themselves in that quintet alongside the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies.
The Nuggets won the championship just two seasons ago. The Mavs just represented the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. Each team has a player who can make a case to be the best basketball player in the world right now.
The Dubs aren't championship contenders but still have Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and most of the core of a team that won 46 games last year. And the Memphis Grizzlies, who were the West's No. 2 seed in 2022 and 2023, should finally be healthy and have all their resources after being shorthanded literally all of last season.
The Pels made it out of group play last year, but frankly, it's hard to decipher who's winning West C. It wouldn't be a surprise to see New Orleans finish anywhere from first to last.
Aside from NBA Cup action, though, games against these teams are going to matter quite a bit. Matchups against Dallas and Denver are great litmus tests.
Are the Pelicans for real and able to compete with the West's elite from the past two years, or are they going to languish in the middle of the conference, fighting for a playoff berth?
And then there's the Warriors and Grizzlies. If the Pelicans do find themselves scratching for a playoff spot, then Golden State and Memphis may be competing with them.
The Warriors just finished 10th last year and lost Klay Thompson. They did add some solid rotation pieces in Buddy Hield, De'Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson, but is that enough to emerge from the middle of the pack? At worst, they should be around where they were in the play-in picture.
As for the Grizz, they finally should have their big four of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marcus Smart together, and that should at least be good enough to fight for a playoff berth. It wouldn't be a surprise to see them make a big leap up the standings from 27-55 (13th in the West), but the conference is so tough that they could find trouble making the playoffs.
Season Forecast
The 27-year-old Murray averaged 22.5 points, 6.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game for the Hawks last season. If Williamson stays healthy, Murray makes a Pelicans a legitimate Western Conference contender, giving the Pelicans four starters who could all drop 20 or more points on any given night.
Unfortunately, the Pelicans' biggest question is whether Williamson, a two-time All-Star, can stay on the court. Last season, Williamson averaged 22.9 points on 57.0 percent shooting, 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 70 games.
But the 24-year-old suffered a torn meniscus, a Jones fracture in his right foot and a right hamstring injury during his first four NBA seasons, and he missed 194 games while playing 114.
The hope, obviously, is that Williamson is able to enjoy many more seasons of good health and fulfill the potential that made him one of the game's most prized draft prospects this century. If so, the Pelicans have a bright future.
New Orleans certainly has talent around him. CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram both provide the needed scoring efforts around Williamson. Trey Murphy III is a sweet-shooting wing with a high ceiling. Jose Alvarado is a defensive pest off the bench, and Herbert Jones is one of the best defensive players in the league.
The talent is there for New Orleans, especially with Murray, to go far in the playoffs. The guess here is that the Murray addition works, Williamson is available for most of the season and the playoffs and the Pels finally break through with a postseason series victory.
Record Prediction: 54-28, Western Conference No. 3 seed
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