The New Orleans Pelicans ended 2023 on a high note by avenging an embarrassing NBA In-Season Tournament loss. Larry Nance Jr. trolled LeBron James after the NBA scoring champ trotted down the tunnel before the final horn sounded. It was all fun and confetti as head coach Willie Green's entire squad took out some frustrations on the Los Angeles Lakers with a 20-point win on the last day of the calendar year. The Smoothie King Center's fans were giving off enough energy to pop a firecracker and a bottle of champagne, but it will be hard to keep that momentum going over the next month.

Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram shook off their blowout 133-89 loss to the Lakers in the In-Season Tournament pretty well, leading their team to a 7-3 record over their next ten games played. The Pelicans only played three teams going into 2024 with a winning record in December, though, and the schedule is about to get a lot more challenging, as New Orleans is set to face the toughest slate of any team to start the new year.

Their January 2024 schedule includes nine of 15 games on the road, 15 games in 30 nights, three back-t0-back sets, and 11 matchups against teams with winning records. New Orleans not only has the most difficult schedule going by win percentage, but they are also the only team without a rest-advantage game this month, per NBA Stats.

Pelicans just need to survive January

Brandon Ingram has been lauded by his Pelicans teammates for his upgraded defensive intensity

Six of the Pelicans first eight games in the month of January are on the road. The first back-to-back set covers the first two games, a home-road logistical headache after weeks of relative comfort. The routine switch is a shock to the system every NBA franchise has to navigate for a successful season.

The Pelicans have been sleeping in their own beds since December 23rd, the night when they suffered 106-104 home loss to the Houston Rockets. The Brooklyn Nets visit (January 2nd) is the last of five consecutive home games. Then comes a three-hour flight to face the first-place Minnesota Timberwolves less than 24 hours later. If ever there were a game to rest the All-Stars and let young players log heavy developmental minutes, it's January 3rd.

The Pelicans (19-14) just need to survive January with a winning record, however, so don't look past Brooklyn. The three games against the competitive Nets (15-18), the always-dangerous Golden State Warriors (15-17), and the scrappy Utah Jazz (15-19) will not be easy at all. The Charlotte Hornets (7-24) visit the Smoothie King Center on January 17th, and the Pelicans will have just returned home from a brutal five-game West Coast road trip.

Thankfully the Pelicans get the Nets, Hornets, and Jazz at home. If New Orleans wins those three games, they just need three more January victories to ensure a winning record going into February. They'll face 12 lottery teams over the last two and a half months of the season.

The 44-point NBA In-Season Tournament loss was a turning point for this year's Pelicans.

“It was kind of a blessing in disguise,” Williamson said. “I think it definitely brought us closer as a team, and closer with the staff… I feel like we've been playing great since then. Still have some things to figure out, but so does every team.”

That team evaluation matches Williamson's individual goals with the Pelicans.

“My body is definitely getting to where it needs to be. Slowly but surely figuring it out,” Williamson told ClutchPoints this week. “I'm just happy we won. At the end of the day, I just want to win. Nothing crazy, I just want to win.”