New Orleans Pelicans: 4 Teams to monitor entering the 2021 season

Previewing four teams that New Orleans Pelicans fans should be monitoring when the 2020-2021 season gets underway

It’s time to get excited New Orleans Pelicans fans. As the team currently sits deep into their offseason with the draft and free agency all occurring in this past week, it’s an opportunity for us here to start looking ahead to what next season has in store for fans.

We all know that this year is set up to be an interesting one thanks to not only the ongoing pandemic but the status of the Pelicans roster entering the year too. Cleary, the Pelicans are dedicated to putting a contending roster around their young stars and making a playoff push in the upcoming season. It’s a storyline that every fan will have their eyes glued on.

However, the beauty of the NBA is fans can not only monitor their own team but also teams around the league who could have an impact on what their own teams do in any given. That’s why I always like to go into an NBA season by looking at a couple of teams that I think Pelicans fans should also monitor. This year there are a lot of teams who I think should garner some attention from New Orleans fans but I found that these four are the most interesting. Let’s take a look.

 New Orleans Pelicans fans should be eyeing the Portland Trail Blazers after a series of competitive games last season

# 4- Portland Trail Blazers

Starting off our countdown is a team that many people tend to sleep on in the NBA even though they are consistently one of the most competitive teams in the league, the Portland Trail Blazers.

Crucial injuries to key players Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic prevented the Trail Blazers from reaching their ceiling last season, but they still were able to make a run in the NBA bubble and become the final playoff team in the Western Conference.

This year, the Trail Blazers are poised to bounce back to their Western Conference Finals form from two years ago in a big way after adding Robert Covington and Derrick Jones to boost their wings while retaining Carmelo Anthony too.

Of course, the biggest factor in the Trail Blazer’s position here is health, as the team is now fully together and ready to be led by their dynamic cornerstone Damien Lillard.

The reason why they end up on this list though is that the Pelicans had their number last season, beating the Trail Blazers in all three of their matchups. Obviously, this year’s teams will be different but if the Pelicans can beat them down again, their odds of making the playoffs go up.

For that reason, I think it’ll be interesting for Pelicans fans to check the standing and see how the Trail Blazers are stacking up to their team. They might just find that the Trail Blazers could be the key to their playoff hopes or even a first-round matchup if both teams play as they’re projected to.

Don’t put all your focus on the Trail Blazers however because there is another Western Conference contender fans need to keep an eye on too.