When the NBA released this season’s schedule in August 2017, a highlight was the complete elimination of four games in five days. It was certainly something to be proud of as the league has been vocal about their desire to reduce travel and increase recovery time for players. Thanks to less overall back-to-backs and the season starting a week earlier, the NBA made a move in that direction But things happen. In the case of the New Orleans Pelicans, roofs leak. Roofs leak at arguably the most inopportune time (about an hour before tip-off, Feb. 7 vs. the Indiana Pacers, during Mardi Gras), causing a delayed game, which turned into a cancelled game, causing a rescheduled game, meaning that the Pelicans were forced to do exactly what the league was trying to prevent this year. This put everyone in a tough spot — the league (player safety), the Pelicans (playoff spot), the arena (possible strain), tickets (poor sales), and the entire game day staff (sorry, you don’t have Wednesday off anymore). Read More: Twenty minutes with Seth Berger, the most interesting man in Pennsylvania Scheduling 30 teams to play 82 games in seven months is complicated enough, imagine having to adjust on the fly within the smallest of windows. So many parties had to shift, adjust, bite their tongue, and/or pony up to make up for the unfortunate leaky roof. Sunday, March 25 could have worked as the Pelicans play in Houston the night before, just a one hour flight away from New Orleans. But the Pacers play in Indiana earlier that afternoon and Bon Jovi plays the Smoothie King Center that night. The puzzle gets more complex at every turn when you factor in the Pacers schedule and the fact that in 2017 the Smoothie King Center came in at No. 38 for all U.S. arenas in ticket sales. The venue is in high demand with notable concerts and marquee events all year long. Good news for New Orleanians, bad news for rescheduling a basketball game. So, how do they pull this off? How does a franchise on the cusp of (maybe, finally) winning over this city with a superstar player and a playoff push survive a brutal stretch of basketball? Would this many games in a row fatigue the fan base? The answers could found during 240 minutes of basketball, stretched of 149 hours. Here’s what happened over the course of the Pelicans Home Game Gauntlet. Day 1, Game 1 vs. the Houston Rockets Tip-off is a little earlier than normal (6:00 p.m.). That’s either because it’s St. Patrick’s Day and this is a drinking town or because the Celtics are in town tomorrow for an even earlier tip-off (5:00 p.m. Even without the rescheduled game three days from now, this is a rough back-to-back against two NBA Finals contenders. It’s also a rough day internally for this franchise as it’s the first home game since the passing of owner Tom Benson. The team has a little more prep work to honor the man who saved professional sports in New Orleans. But New Orleans celebrates those who passed (we put the “fun” in funeral as the saying goes) and the team is motivated to come out strong for Mr. B. There’s also a “beard shaving” station where anyone willing to part with their stubble goes home with an AD for MVP shirt. Letting go of your facial hair in the Smoothie King Center proves your loyalty to a franchise angling their star as the first ever MVP in a New Orleans jersey. The last time they were even in the conversation was Chris Paul, who famously (around these parts, at least) finished second in 2008, losing out to Kobe’s legacy MVP. CP3 is also in the building tonight and it’s still strange to see him in the colors of a geographical rival.

Houston as a whole mostly gets cheered and there’s just as much Rocket red as there is Irish green in the building, neither color considered primary by the home team. Ex-New Orleans players Trevor Ariza, Eric Gordon, and Ryan Anderson all get booed, as per tradition. The energy in the building is present. Around halftime I asked the property manager of the Pelicans team store if he had any concerns about the stretch of games. He said they have been prepping so he’s not that worried about it. He told me “it’s like our March Madness”. He’s going to be working 16 hours a day probably. His staff is going to get more hours but they are under control. I don’t ask him if his March Madness comment means he has seeded his employees but secretly I wish that he has. On my way out I wonder who is the UMBC of the Pelicans team store, ready to shock the staff with a merchandise move so epic it will be talked about forever. Day 2, Game 2 vs. the Boston Celtics It seems like everyone in New Orleans is hungover. The people drinking in the streets all day yesterday, the people who served those drinks, the streets themselves. The city is quite possibly still drunk, and Alvin Gentry is most definitely still upset. The Pelicans would have loved to begin this run with a win against the Rockets to serve as a spark. The spark instead came in the form of a rare rant from Alvin Gentry, sounding like he was cutting a backstage promo for his WrestleMania match against the referees. WrestleMania is in fact coming to town, one of the reasons this franchise is cranking out so many home games in so few nights. WWE’s flagship event drapes its pageantry across both stadium and arena in whatever city it plants itself. New Orleans is lucky to have the event for the second time in five years, despite the cage it erects around downtown, keeping other major events out and the wrestling in. It’s paradise for pro graps fans and a nuisance to professional sports schedule makers. The Pels didn’t score for over three minutes at the start of the game — the struggle is real both on the court and in the stands. Players feed off the fans but the fans feed off the product on the court. It’s a chicken and egg situation early in the Smoothie King Center and everyone sitting around me is wondering if the postseason will slip as a result of last month’s drips. Not so fast. The team eventually ran away with this one as Boston is experiencing a tragedy of its own in the form on the injury bug. As Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, and company are able to wrap their heads around some much needed rest, one realizes that no matter the final score of a game, the arena staff doesn’t get rest. When the team is blowing out their opponent, do the starting lineups of ushers, security guards, and concessions get to take a seat while the second string fills the minutes? On the way out of the arena I run into the team store manager. He wants to update his quote with me, saying, “maybe check in me with later this week to see how I’m feeling.” Uh oh. Day 3, REST I imagine the Pelicans are doing whatever a professional basketball team does on its only day off over a six day stretch. Jrue Holiday is maybe playing with his baby, Anthony Davis is probably playing video games, and Alvin Gentry is likely playing around with a new bread pudding recipe. Rajon Rondo is definitely watching League Pass. Nikola Mirotic should be decorating his new place. Whatever they are doing, let’s hope it’s between ice baths and massages. This thing is far from over. Day 4, Game 3 vs. the Dallas Mavericks The action outside of the arena is on the low side, despite the best efforts of the Swoop Troop, the pack of enthusiastic youngsters tasked with hyping the crowd before and during every single home game. They don’t seem tired yet, but it’s just game three out of five and we’ll check in with them later. The scalpers, however, the scalpers are tired. Tired of not making any money this year, especially since DeMarcus went down, especially on this particular home stand. “It’s been rough all year but this week has been ROUGH” says a man I see standing in the same spot before every game, the man I assume to the Team Captain of the scalpers. This spot is about as close as you can legally get to the Smoothie King Center and still wheel and deal. The wheels at this time are broken, the deal stranded on the side of the road. Maybe the Pacers game will be better (the Pacers are good), maybe the Lakers game will be better (the Lakers are not good, but this never matters). I run into a Game Day Operations friend who hinted that tensions are running high in their department and that “It feels like everyone is sleeping here”. Another friend who works promotions for the team hasn’t made any plans for this week or this weekend because it’s “already exhausting.”