A difficult week ahead for the Pelicans is sure to reveal a lot

This week, the New Orleans Pelicans will face three teams that already look to be playoff locks. In the process, fans are sure to learn a lot about just how good, or how bad, New Orleans is.

Less than three weeks into the season, the New Orleans Pelicans’ hopes of sneaking into the postseason have diminished. While they have not fully vanished, the likelihood of such a surprise playoff appearance feels minuscule in light of their slow 2-7 start. Much of this can be chalked up to a difficult schedule — already they have played the defending champion Toronto Raptors twice, as well as the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, and a Warriors team that still had Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in the starting lineup. 

However, things do not appear to be getting easier for them in the week ahead as they play the Rockets again and also face the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat for the first team this season. All three teams are presumptive locks to make the postseason and feature at least one All-NBA level talent. 

The Pelicans and Rockets have already faced each other and it was a close game throughout, with 16 lead changes and 14 ties, though it ended as a 126-123 Rockets victory in Houston. There is some reason for optimism heading into their rematch tonight though as Jrue Holiday was unavailable for their initial match-up. Pelicans fans are sure to be hopeful that Holiday, with his stellar defensive abilities, will be able to stymie the Rockets’ dynamic duo of James Harden and Russell Westbrook, at least a bit, potentially providing the extra fuel the team needs to pull off the upset.

Early in the season, the Los Angeles Clippers have looked every bit the title contenders they hoped to be. This should be frightening for the rest of the league considering their second best player, Paul George, has yet to even appear in a game. However, it is possible that he will be back by the time the Clippers and Pelicans meet in New Orleans on Wednesday. Regardless of whether or not he is available to play, the Clippers are bound to be a difficult opponent for any NBA team, especially one struggling as much as the Pelicans are right now. 

Finally, on Saturday night, the Pelicans will play the Miami Heat who have been one of the East’s surprise teams. Many expected the Heat to improve with the addition of Jimmy Butler, but few expected them to look as good as they have. The Heat have also been helped by Kendrick Nunn, the undrafted rookie who has provided an unexpected scoring punch for the team throughout the season’s early weeks. Miami has the fourth best defense in the league, but on the plus side for the Pelicans, scoring points has not been the problem for them. 

Per ESPN’s NBA RPI rankings, the Pelicans have had only the 13th most difficult schedule so far this season, but this belies the problems the team has already had to face so far this year, including the fact that Zion Williamson has yet to play and that Derrick Favors, Lonzo Ball, and Jrue Holiday have all missed games this season due to a variety of nagging injuries. This week is likely to move them up those rankings though as all three teams are 6-3 and look to be among the best in their respective conferences. 

If the Pelicans were to pull out any one of these games, all of which they are sure to be underdogs in, it would be a success. However, if they hope to make the playoffs they will likely have to win at least two since they’ve already reduced their potential margin of error to practically nothing over their first nine games. 

All three games will see the Pelicans facing off against very good teams, and will allow the Pelicans to see both where they are themselves and where they would like to be, as their opponents all supply different models of NBA success. 

Even if the Pelicans are unable to pull out a victory in any of these match-ups, fans will have a much clearer view of who the team is and what needs to be done moving forward than they may be able to now.