New Orleans Pelicans again removed from NBA Christmas schedule

The NBA season starts in just under two months and the first schedules have leaked out. NBA insider Shams Charania revealed the NBA's Christmas Day games and once again the New Orleans Pelicans were not included.

Four of the 10 teams playing on Christmas Day – the Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors – had a worse record than the Pelicans last season.

New Orleans finished last season tied with the Phoenix Suns, but lost the head-to-head series to the Suns 2-1. The stars are the top matchups, which is why traditional teams like the Lakers and Warriors play, even though both teams struggled last year.

The Pelicans have not played a Christmas Day game since 2020, an NBA season shortened due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Christmas game in New Orleans was their second game of the season this year. Zion Williamson scored 32 points in the loss to the Miami Heat. Many thought his star status would keep him playing in Christmas games for years to come, but that hasn't been the case so far.

There is a good reason for the Pelicans to play in one of the big games on Christmas Day.

The team just achieved its second-best win total (49) in franchise history, Zion Williamson had the healthiest season of his career, and the team made a big signing in the offseason with the addition of former Hawks guard Dejounte Murray.

With Williamson, Murray, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, the team has one of the most talented rosters in the Western Conference when healthy, and the Pelicans will likely be in contention for another playoff berth.

New Orleans has made the playoffs in two of the last three seasons under head coach Willie Green. Under his leadership, the Pelicans have increased their winning percentage in each of the three seasons with him at the helm.

Another successful season for the Pelicans this year would be the first consecutive winning season in franchise history.

The team's official schedule has not been released yet, but it looks like New Orleans will be absent from the major holiday games.

The Pelicans announced their preseason schedule earlier this summer and also revealed their training camp schedule. New Orleans will play its first preseason game at home on October 7 against the Orlando Magic.