1)      Last August the NBA announced that it was moving tip-off of some national TV games up by 30 minutes, to try to assist fans on the East Coast and in the Central time zone in being able to stay up till the end of games. That move explains why Tuesday’s New Orleans game at the Los Angeles Lakers is beginning at 9 p.m. Central (Lakers home games on weeknights traditionally start at 7:30 Pacific/9:30 Central). New Orleans will be on national TV frequently in the coming days, with three of its next five matchups there. Sunday vs. the Lakers is on ESPN, as is next Wednesday at Dallas.

2)      Tonight’s game is exclusively on TNT, with Fox Sports New Orleans returning to game coverage Friday vs. Cleveland. Pregame radio coverage on ESPN New Orleans 100.3 FM begins at 8:30.

3)      Read Monday’s injury report.

4)      Nicolo Melli has been a major factor off the bench for New Orleans lately, including draining six threes at Golden State in Sunday’s win.

5)      In NBA.com’s power rankings, the Pelicans are the highest they’ve been all season, placing No. 12 (up three spots from the previous week). Writer John Schuhmann noted, “they have the league’s easiest post-break schedule. But no win is a given and they need every win they can get as they try to catch the Grizzlies for the final playoff spot in the West. And the league’s easiest post-break schedule is pretty tough for the next few weeks. The Pels will play six of their next 10 games against teams with winning records, with Williamson facing LeBron James for the first two times on Tuesday and Sunday.”