Tonight at 8:00 p.m., the Indiana Pacers (1-0) take their show on the road to New Orleans where the Pelicans will host their first-ever game with their new moniker. Live stream the action by clicking this link; Pacers fans can hear the game on 1070 AM The Fan, while Pelicans fans can hear their birds fly on WWL 105.3.
In addition to a new look for New Orleans, they pulled off a draft day trade and made some signings that ushered in new expectations. "I believe we can make the playoffs," center Anthony Davis said. "We know it's going to be a lot of hard work, but we're prepared for it."
The Pelicans traded Nerlens Noel, who was widely expected to be taken first overall, for Jrue Holiday on draft day. They also signed Tyreke Evans away from the Sacramento Kings, adding a versatile scorer and ball handler to their already-loaded backcourt. "Obviously, there's something new here and I'm really excited to be a part of it," said Holiday.
Part of the excitement is shooting guard Eric Gordon, who has battled his own health for the majority of his career. All the Pelicans' optimism could be dashed if his dynamic scoring is lost for another significant chunk of time.
"I've been dealing with injuries and so forth, but when you have a lot of talented guys, where you have a chance to grow together ... anything can happen," Gordon said. "We have the talent to be a playoff team."
The Pacers kicked off the season last night against the Orlando Magic, and had a rough go until pulling away in the fourth quarter. Indiana has a target on its back now, and Paul George knows that to reach expectations they can't have letdowns against teams perceived to be inferior.
"We've got to win the battles, win the tough games and we've got to win the games that we should win," George said. "We have to take care of business early and not rely on the end of the season to start playing well and start getting a streak going. We have to start a streak early."
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