The New Orleans Pelicans still have a chance to steal the eight seed, but they will need some help from several teams on an important Friday night for their playoff hopes.
The New Orleans Pelicans are running out of time. Mired in a tough eight game stretch with only 20 games left in the season, the Pelicans don’t have games to waste.
They have lost three in a row and are only 5-5 in their last ten overall, hardly inspiring basketball for a team that many had penciled in for a first round matchup with the Lakers.
The young Pelicans seemed to get a bit ahead of themselves, and overlooked a couple of bad teams that they should have beaten.
They do have the third easiest remaining schedule in the NBA, but games aren’t played on paper, as the Pelicans found out the hard way against Minnesota Tuesday night. The defense forgot to get off the bus and New Orleans suffered a brutal home loss to one of the worst teams in the NBA.
The New Orleans Pelicans now find themselves in a tough spot where winning their games isn’t enough, they are going to need some help.
There are three important games to monitor that will have a direct effect on the New Orleans Pelicans’ rapidly dwindling playoff hopes.
The Pelicans have a tough home game against the Miami Heat, so a win is far from certain, but they do have a chance to pick up ground on three of the four teams they are chasing.
Here are three games to monitor as the New Orleans Pelicans try to pull off an unlikely run to the playoffs.
San Antonio Spurs at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 PM ET
The San Antonio Spurs (26-34) will enter tonight’s game as the 11th seed, just one game ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Spurs haven’t played particularly well since the All-Star break and have only won four of their last 10 overall. They find themselves in the unfamiliar position of being on the outside of the playoffs looking in, and with most of their players on the wrong side of 30, this might finally be the offseason where the Spurs rebuild for real.
The Nets (27-34) are in a holding pattern with both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant missing significant time with injuries. In the Eastern Conference, a holding pattern is still good enough for the seventh seed, which illustrates the stark gap in talent between the East and the West.
In the East, you can still be a seven seed with a losing record, while all the playoff teams in the West are at least .500.
The Spurs are just 11-20 on the road this season and the Nets are 16-14 at home. If the New Orleans Pelicans can get a win tonight against Miami, they will be in good shape to gain ground on San Antonio.
With two more games remaining against the Spurs, the Pelicans will be in good shape to catch them if they can get on track and take the head-to-head matchups.
Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns, 9:00 PM ET
The Portland Trail Blazers (28-35) have been up and down all season, but have won two in a row entering their game with the Phoenix Suns.
The Trail Blazers got star point guard Damian Lillard back for their last game against the Wizards and he helped them get a big win over Washington.
The Trail Blazers are currently in the ninth seed, 3.5 games back of Memphis for the last spot in the playoffs. Portland is just 1.5 games ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans, so a loss on the road coupled with a Pelicans’ win could have New Orleans right on their heels.
After a promising start, the Phoenix Suns (24-38) fell back to earth with a thud. They have lost four in a row and have only won three of their last 10 overall.
The Suns are just 11-22 at home, which is one of the worst home records in the NBA. However, the Trail Blazers are equally bad on the road, also 11-22, so something will have to give when the two clash in Phoenix.
The New Orleans Pelicans shouldn’t have to worry too much about the Suns, as they sit two back in the 13 seed.
The Pelicans swept the season series against the Trail Blazers, but don’t play them again, so they will have to catch Portland without the advantage of a head-to-head game.
The Trail Blazers have to like their chances, as they have the sixth easiest remaining schedule and finally got Lillard back after he went out with an injury on February 12.
This is definitely a game to monitor, as Portland is a team the Pelicans will have to leapfrog if they want to get to Memphis.
Memphis Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 PM ET
The Dallas Mavericks (38-25) won an overtime thriller against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night and now the Pels are hoping they can do the same to Memphis.
The Memphis Grizzlies (31-31) have won three in a row after dropping their previous five. It looked as though the Grizzlies were going to fade, but they got a big win against the Lakers that may have saved their season.
They are just 5-5 in their last ten, but the struggling Pelicans have not been able to gain ground. Memphis is not going to go away, so the Pelicans cannot count on them going on another extended losing streak, though they do have one of the toughest remaining schedules in the NBA.
The Dallas Mavericks are playing well behind their superstar duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, who torched the New Orleans Pelicans in the last game for a combined 64 points. Memphis will have to slow these two if they want to have a chance tonight.
The Grizzlies are just 14-17 on the road but Dallas is just 17-14 at home, hardly a dominant home court advantage.
This will still be a chance for the New Orleans Pelicans to gain ground tonight, and hopefully Dallas will help after ripping the hearts out of the Pelicans on Wednesday.
The New Orleans Pelicans find themselves in a bad position. They not only need to win their games but will need help. With just 20 games remaining, they have only a 45 percent chance of making the playoffs according to Five Thirty Eight, a nearly 20 percent decrease from earlier in the week.
It is not over for the Pelicans and these three games may prove to be crucial in their hunt for the playoffs.