The New Orleans Pelicans got a rough first look at their 2026-27 schedule, and the bad news starts with how little the league is planning to showcase them. New Orleans, along with four other teams, landed just two prime-time games, the fewest in the NBA. Both of those appearances are tied to the team’s overseas matchups against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
That would be frustrating enough on its own. But the bigger hit came in the form of workload: the Pelicans were handed 16 back-to-backs, the most in the league. For a team that has spent the last three or more seasons battling injuries and availability problems, that’s a brutal assignment.
This isn’t just about Zion Williamson, either. New Orleans has multiple key pieces with lengthy health concerns.
Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, and Dejounte Murray have all dealt with major injuries, surgeries, and smaller day-to-day issues over the last two years. Saddiq Bey, who could be a major sixth-man type for the group, is also only a year removed from missing a full season with Washington while rehabbing an ACL tear.
There are some reasons for encouragement. The 2025 rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen each held up extremely well, playing 82 and 81 games, respectively.
Yves Missi, who is expected to start at center in his third season, has also gotten through the early part of his NBA career without major health problems. Even so, that kind of durability from a few young players doesn’t solve the larger issue if the rest of the roster keeps getting nicked up.
For Jamahl Mosley, year one is now staring at a tougher road. Back-to-backs can create more than just fatigue; they often force coaches into rest decisions or put teams in spots where a loss feels baked in. For a Pelicans group trying to fight back into the playoff race, every one of those nights matters.
Sixteen back-to-backs might not look outrageous at first glance. For New Orleans, though, it lands like a hammer. And if Joe Dumars’ overhaul of the medical staff brings a different approach behind the scenes, the Pelicans will be hoping that helps change the injury fortune that has followed them for years.
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The idea of Williamson adding more consistent range has obvious appeal in New Orleans, where any step toward a more complete offensive package could change the ceiling of the roster. He has already shown he can punish defenses inside, but the outside shot has never been a major part of his profile, and whether this summer work shows up when the games count is the question hanging over it all. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Frontcourt Suddenly Has A Debate Fans Wont Ignore
The Pelicans frontcourt is one of those roster areas that can look promising on paper and uncertain in practice all at once. New Orleans has real questions inside, but it also has two young big men who give the team something to build around, and The Athletics Zach Harper recently placed Derik Queen and Yves Missi in the lower tier of his NBA big-man rankings, with Queen at 34th and Missi at 31st.
Queen flashed enough offensive upside as a rookie to keep intrigue high, even if he has not yet locked down a starting job. Missi, meanwhile, brings raw size and shot-blocking ability and is expected to start because of how he fits, though his defensive rough edges remain part of the conversation. For a Pelicans team trying to figure out what its long-term front line should look like, the debate is less about whether these two matter than how soon they can become the kind of interior tandem that settles the whole rotation. [Read more 🡒]