The New Orleans Pelicans take on the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Wednesday evening in the regular-season opener for both teams.

The Pelicans endured a marquee departure this offseason when DeMarcus Cousins (Achilles) headed west to the Golden State Warriors. That move, coupled with one of the other major ones of the summer, conspired to bring 2014 seventh overall pick Julius Randle to the Big Easy. LeBron James' arrival in Los Angeles made Randle expendable, despite his 16.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists over 82 games last season. He'll join a talented group that includes All-Star Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic and fellow offseason addition Elfrid Payton. New Orleans will be looking to build on a solid 2017-18 campaign that saw them generate a 48-34 record and secure the sixth seed in the Western Conference before they dropped a first-round series to the Utah Jazz.

The Pelicans will list Jahlil Okafor (ankle) as probable for Wednesday's game, while the newly acquired Wesley Johnson is doubtful since he's still in the midst of settling in to his new team.

The Rockets were once again a step behind the Golden State Warriors last season, despite the fact they finished the regular season with an NBA-best 65-17 record. After going 8-2 through the first two rounds of the playoffs, Houston fell in seven games during the conference finals to the eventual NBA champs, with a hamstring injury that knocked star point guard Chris Paul out of Games 6 and 7 undoubtedly playing a key role in their demise. Paul returned this summer on a max deal and is fully healthy to begin the season, while Clint Capela inked a five-year extension in late July. Along with James Harden, the trio is the core Rockets are banking on to help them finally vault Golden State in the Western Conference hierarchy. Carmelo Anthony also arrived in the offseason by way of Oklahoma City to serve as key source of offense on the second unit.

The Rockets will list Brandon Knight (knee), Marquese Chriss (ankle), Nene Hilario (calf) and Zhou Qi (knee) as out for Wednesday's game.

The Rockets took the regular-season series between the two clubs during the 2017-18 campaign by a 3-1 margin.