Pelicans to face Warriors at home on national TV on first Friday of NBA regular season

A late start on a Friday night in New Orleans against the NBA champs is a notable way to tipoff the regular season.

The New Orleans Pelicans will do just that, the league announced Thursday:

The defending World Champions from Golden State will invade Smoothie King Center in a game set for the back end of an ESPN doubleheader Oct. 20 at 8:30 p.m. Central time.

However, New Orleans will not play in one of the five Christmas Day games:

The rest of the league regular season schedule has yet to be released.