In a roundabout way, the fact that the New Orleans Pelicans and Houston Rockets are both playing in the second game of a back-to-back on Dec. 26 says a lot about how the Southwest Division teams fared last season. When the NBA released its regular season schedule for 2015-16, it chose both clubs for Christmas Day games, recognizing the Pelicans' playoff appearance last spring – their first postseason berth since 2011 – as well as the Rockets' first division crown in 21 years.
The early portion of the 2015-16 season has not been as kind to either team, however.