The last time the New Orleans Pelicans were this good away from the Smoothie King Center, Zion Williamson was a high school senior at Spartanburg Day School and Willie Green was finding his way as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors.
It was the 2017-18 season, and the Alvin Gentry-coached Pelicans went 24-17 on the road.
This year’s team has a chance to match or surpass that over the next seven days as they hit the road for a four-game road trip with stops in Brooklyn, Orlando, Miami and Detroit.
The Pelicans are 21-13 on the road, which is tied with the 2008-09 team for the third-most road wins in franchise history. This is only the fourth time in team history that the Pels have reached 20 wins on the road.
With eight road games remaining, the Pels could break the franchise record set in the 2007-08 season when the then-Hornets went 26-15.
The Pelicans would need to go 5-3 in their final eight road games to tie the franchise mark set 16 seasons ago. This will not be an easy task. After this week’s road games against the Nets, Magic, Heat and Pistons, the Pelicans’ final road trip of the season is a four-game West Coast road trip to take on the Suns, Blazers, Kings and the Warriors.
But even being within striking distance of the franchise tells you how good things have been for Willie Green’s team this season.
What led to the success of the route?
Well, it helps to finally have a healthy Williamson and Brandon Ingram. The two finally got a chance to play meaningful minutes with CJ McCollum and form the Big Three they were expected to form when the team acquired McCollum in 2022. It also helps when you have a defense led by Herb Jones that is one of the best in the league combined with one of the deepest benches in the NBA. But let Williamson tell it, there’s more to the team’s success on the road.
“It’s just our personality that we have on this team,” he said. “When we’re on the road, there’s something about going to someone else’s field and getting a victory. We thrive on it.
Green salutes this road warrior mentality. The Pelicans went 17-24 on the road in his first season and fell to 15-26 last season.
“If I had to point out anything, it’s just the consistency of holding yourself to a certain standard,” Green said. “If we are at home, we try to conform to a certain standard. We can be better (at home). But when we hit the road, it’s the same thing. We try to lock in, sacrifice, eat a meal, rest and get ready to play.
The Pelicans are one of three playoff-contending teams to have won more away games than home games. The Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors are the others. The woeful Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies also managed more road wins than home wins.
Ingram had this to say about road success earlier this month after the Pels earned Game 20 on the road in Philadelphia:
“First of all, I love playing on the road more than anything,” Ingram said. “Secondly, guys get a chance to go out and show people their talent and everyone else what they’ve been working on. It’s just a priority, especially this time of year, to try to get these wins so we can be where we want to be.
Where the Pelicans want to be is in one of the top four spots in the Western Conference, which would give them home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Pels are just one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers following the Clippers’ home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. The Clippers, however, have a much friendlier schedule for the rest and will be difficult to catch.
Fortunately for the Pels, home-field advantage may not be as great considering how they’ve played away from their home in downtown New Orleans. Of course, road playoff wins are much harder to come by than in the regular season. But having the third-most road wins in franchise history with a chance to have the most when it’s all said and done is a good sign.
“For us to do as well as we do on the road, it’s a step in the right direction,” Williamson said.
