The New Orleans Pelicans are living the tale of two seasons. The first half of the schedule was one of the franchise's best starts to a season since relocating to the Crescent City. The week following the NBA All-Star break has been anything but smooth sailing. Brandon Ingram caught a bug, the team lost two winnable home games, CJ McCollum tweaked an ankle, then Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado went and got suspended.

The Pelicans caught a break against the New York Knicks. Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Julius Randle were all out. Trey Murphy III snapped out of a shooting slump. It was getting out of New York that was a problem.

Third-year head coach Willie Green knew the Pelicans would have to navigate through some games with a shorthanded squad. No one on the team could have foreseen the issues New Orleans had to deal with after last night's 115-92 road win over the Knicks. Per reporter Jen Hale, the team's plane had some mechanical issues which meant the team did not land in Indianapolis until breakfast this morning.

Details of Pelicans' plane trouble

Hale detailed the nightmare scenario for a New Orleans team about to play their fifth game in seven days. The team was supposed to depart New York before midnight for a less than two-hour flight to the Hoosier state. The Pelicans were packed up and on the plane at 11:00 p.m. but were informed at midnight that the plane's right engine was non-operational.

Sitting on the tarmac for an hour is no one's idea of a good time. Unfortunately, the Pelicans had it three times worse. They did not exit the broken plane until 2:45 a.m. Thankfully, the Golden State Warriors had landed. New Orleans needed another half-hour to swap planes, finally getting off the ground at 3:15 a.m. The team landed in Indianapolis just as the morning sun was peeking over the horizon.

Hale's travel log shows the New Orleans Pelicans did not get into a hotel bed until 6 a.m. There was time for a nap on the flight but unwinding after a long trip takes a toll. Hopefully, the hotel allows for late check-outs. The team is already in a squabble with Stephen A. Smith. Hopefully, the ESPN broadcast crew understands if New Orleans looks sluggish on national television and does not add any fuel to that social media fire.