The Playoffs Illustrate Just How Far Away the New Orleans Pelicans Are

The New Orleans Pelicans are not one piece away from contention.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the New Orleans Pelicans.

They were young, started 6-22 and were without the services of their prized rookie, Zion Williamson.

But the Pelicans started winning, flashing some of their immense talent and the playoffs were suddenly in reach with Zion returning.

During the coronavirus hiatus, the Pelicans took on a mythical status for some reason and before long everyone was picking them to make the playoffs and touting them as a team that might be close to contention.

Let’s pump the brakes a bit.

The Pels had a nice season, grew a bit, showed some things and are ready to take the next step, but if you think they are close to being a contender, you haven’t been paying attention to the NBA playoffs.

The New Orleans Pelicans are still a ways away from the playoff teams in the West.

I watch every game with the Pels in mind, as in “could the Pelicans have won this game? Would they have been more competitive than Dallas was in this one? Just how far are the Pelicans from being one of these teams?”

The answer was, “still pretty far away.”

The NBA playoffs have been highly competitive, particularly the Mavericks/Clippers series, which illustrates perfectly just how far the Pels are from being one of those teams.

The games have been stressful, pressure-filled, have had tough shots in traffic, big defensive plays, and most importantly, an intensity that the Pelicans’ bubble games lacked.

It’s hard to watch these Western Conference playoff teams and think the Pelicans could beat any of them in a series, which is far cry from where we were a month ago, when the Pels were everyone’s pick to not only make the playoffs, but maybe even to put some fear in the Lakers.

Trust me, the Lakers weren’t scared.

Everyone got a little ahead of themselves when it comes to the Pelicans, which put unrealistic expectations on a team that is not there yet.

I hope the New Orleans Pelicans are watching, as they are getting a glimpse of what it takes to win in the playoffs and probably figuring out why they aren’t in them.