Whether it was an emotionally-charged Nov. 27 game in which Anthony Davis returned to New Orleans for the first time, or Zion Williamson’s first appearance in Staples Center on Feb. 25, or Sunday’s highly-anticipated, nationally-televised meeting on ESPN, the mostly-untested Pelicans experienced a playoff-like atmosphere multiple times while facing the Lakers in 2019-20.
Although the bottom-line result in the season series reads Lakers 4, Pelicans 0, performing in those types of pressure-filled, glare-of-the-spotlight environments could have longer-term benefits for New Orleans (26-34). A team partly led by young players without NBA playoff experience hopes to add some of that next month, but in the meantime, the final 22 games of the regular season will be about making further improvements.