The Southwest Division has no shortage of star power, as the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Pelicans gear up for an exciting 2025-26 season. The Grizzlies need to play their best basketball against every Southwest Division opponent this year, especially considering nearly 20% of their regular-season games will be against these teams.
Part four of "The Stacked Southwest" series is about the New Orleans Pelicans — breaking down the team, last year’s matchups, and the importance of every game against New Orleans in the 2025-26 season.
Dark horse loading in Crescent City?
After making the playoffs in 2023-24, the Pelicans found themselves near the bottom of the conference the following season. This is now a team that has made some changes roster-wise, had a chance to recover, and is probably very eager to get out there and compete again. Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney, Jeremiah Fears, and Derik Queen are some of their new pieces from the offseason and draft night.
They also still have Zion Williamson (sometimes), Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy III, Yves Missi, Herbert Jones, Jose Alvarado, and Jordan Hawkins. There are a lot of question marks surrounding the Pelicans this season and where they will fall in the ranks, but they could potentially be a dark horse in the division.
Memphis got the sweep but the Pelicans get healthier
Last season, the Pelicans dealt with numerous injuries, similar to what Memphis faced in 2023-24. Although the Grizzlies experienced their fair share of injuries last year too, Memphis was still able to win games due to the depth and strength of its roster. New Orleans also had a lot of talented pieces, but something was not working for them last season. In their four regular-season games, the Grizzlies swept the Pelicans, dominating the series. To put it another way, the Big Easy has a completely different team this year, and surely they’ll come out firing on all cylinders.
The overall health of each team will be a significant factor, but the additions that both teams made during the offseason will also dictate overall performance. Memphis added Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Ty Jerome, and a trio of rookies that will shift the team’s dynamic and chemistry, while the Pelicans acquired Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney, and some first-year talent, putting them in a much better position compared to last year.
Not only that, but New Orleans will also have several players back who have recovered from injuries. The status of Williamson is a bit of a question mark, but Murray and Murphy III, reportedly, are both recovering nicely; however, an exact timeline is still unclear for their return. When asked about his recovery, Murphy III said that he has started working out again, but hasn’t yet been cleared for contact training. As for Murray, a recent video showed him dunking just six months after surgery — so, needless to say, he seems to be feeling much better now.
Every game against the Pelicans is a must-win
The Grizzlies and Pelicans will meet in Memphis’ season opener on October 22nd at FedExForum. Despite having played several preseason games already, it’s always expected that there will be a bit of an adjustment period at the beginning of the season with the new roster. Hopefully, Memphis is able to work out the majority of the kinks before this game, so that they are able to secure the win. They won’t play again until November 26th — an NBA Cup game in New Orleans — and then their final two matchups will take place one week apart in January.
Real talk though, Memphis absolutely cannot afford to lose any games this season to the Pelicans. The Grizzlies need to win all four of their matchups, especially considering how much of a bloodbath the rest of the Western Conference will likely be. Any number of losses against the Pelicans just adds more pressure on Memphis to win its other games against the heavyweights of the West.