UTAH JAZZ AT NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Saturday, Oct. 27 (6 p.m.)
Why it’s on the list
New Orleans’ current NBA franchise and the one that played in the Crescent City in the 1970s have much more than that in common entering ’18-19. Both are coming off scorching-hot second halves of last season, along with impressive first-round playoff series victories over higher-seeded opponents (the Pelicans swept the No. 3 Trail Blazers, while the Jazz bested the star-studded and fourth-ranked Thunder 4-2).
As outstanding as New Orleans was from mid-February through the end of the ’17-18 regular season, Utah was even better, with the Jazz posting a league-best net rating of 11.