The NBA has postponed Wednesday night’s game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks due to extreme weather conditions in New Orleans. A date for the rescheduled game has yet to be announced.
Louisiana, as well as other southern states, got hit with a massive snowstorm Tuesday, with some areas seeing as much as 11.5 inches of snow. Parts of New Orleans saw 10 inches, and a blizzard warning was issued by the National Weather Service on Tuesday. It’s the first time a blizzard warning was ever issued for southern Louisiana.
Flights were grounded in New Orleans, and highways were also closed for safety precautions as the area experienced an unprecedented weather event. Schools closed down Tuesday and are expected to remain closed through Thursday. The city brought in 14 snow plows to prioritize clearing streets near local hospitals, as Louisiana governor Jeff Landry took to social media to urge people to stay off snowy and icy roads.
Beyond the postponed game Wednesday night, there is concern about the Bucks’ ability to get back to Milwaukee for Thursday night’s game against the Miami Heat, per Chris Haynes. While there is no more snow in the forecast, temperatures are expected to remain below freezing through Thursday. That would greatly complicate things for the Bucks to try and get a flight to Milwaukee.
This is the third time this month where NBA games have had to be postponed due to weather events. Both the Lakers and Clippers saw several games postponed due to the devastating fires in Los Angeles recently. The Hawks also postponed a game against the Rockets after strong winter weather in Atlanta.