Pelicans arrive in Dallas less than 7 hours before facing Mavericks due to weather issues

The recent winter weather that accosted Texas has upended part of the NBA's schedule, and the New Orleans Pelicans are experiencing what that's like first hand.

The Pels, who lost to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, are scheduled to face the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. ET. However, due to the weather, they weren't able to fly out of Denver until early Thursday. The wheels of their plane touched down around 1:40 p.m. ET, meaning they had less than seven hours to get ready for the the game.

At least two Pelicans players were frustrated enough to tweet about their ongoing travel drama. C.J. McCollum seemed less than thrilled in his tweet, while Larry Nance Jr.'s tweet seemed like a not-so-subtle cry for help because the buses weren't there to meet the team when they disembarked.

Compared to what the Pelicans are going through, the Detroit Pistons got off easy. Their game against the Washington Wizards, which was supposed to take place on Thursday, was postponed to a later date because they were stranded in Dallas after playing the Mavericks. The Pels, however, will just have to suck it up and deal.

This situation is not a great one for the Pelicans. With such a short time to prep for the game (not to mention the accompanying stress and disruption to sleeping and eating schedules), the team hasn't exactly been set up to win. Though not winning is something Pelicans fans have gotten used to over the last two weeks. They're in the midst of a nine-game losing streak that has dropped them to 26-26 on the season, and they're 3-13 in 2023.

Pelicans need travel tips from WNBA players

While the Pelicans (or McCollum and Nance, at least) are seemingly stressed about their transportation situation, they are unwittingly spending a day in a WNBA player's shoes. Because iffy transportation is part of the experience of being a WNBA player.

WNBA teams are required to fly commercial instead of on a private plane, so players are literally at the mercy of major airlines. They've spent nights in airports due to canceled flights, driven on buses at all hours of the day and night to make it to their next destination, and had to prep for a game after arriving just a few hours before tip-off. W players are well versed in inconvenient travel, so maybe they can pass on some advice to their NBA brethren for the next time they inevitably get weather-stranded away from home.