Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune with some words on the Pelicans:
With the NBA at a standstill and no end in sight, David Griffin, the Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, tuned in to watch football Monday night.
ESPN was re-airing the Saints’ 23-3 win over the Falcons from 2006, which was New Orleans’ first game at the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. To Griffin, the game was a reminder of how important sports can be during difficult moments.
“We do have a role in spiritual rebirth here,” Griffin said Tuesday in an interview on NBA TV. “Ironically, we’re talking the day after ESPN re-aired the 2006 Falcons at Saints game that reopened the Dome. I think from that standpoint, it very much was a rebirth for this city. Football brought something this city desperately needed. It was something of a return to normalcy.”
When the NBA returns, Griffin said he is hopeful the Pelicans can do something similar. The league has been shut down since March 12 because of the coronavirus. There is still no timetable for a return.
The Pelicans were a modest 28-36 when NBA play was put on hold in mid March, but there’s every reason for the team to be optimistic about the future of their core of exciting young talent.
