New Orleans Pelicans: The Southwest Division is for the taking this year

Compared to the New Orleans Pelicans, the rest of the Southwest Divison is failing to meet expectations

Coming into the season, we were already high on the Pelicans’ chances in the division, but we never expected that the Southwest would be as bad as it has been to open the season.

The biggest surprise at this point is the Dallas Mavericks. We had the Mavericks pegged as a threat thanks to Luka Doncic and their management’s aggressive offseason moves, but so far they haven’t put it together. Dallas currently sits at 3-4 with an offense that isn’t mustering up the same magic it did last season.

Then there’s the Memphis Grizzlies at 2-4, I thought this Grizzlies team would be tough since they have a lot of young talent, but injuries have ruined their season early. Jaren Jackson Jr. is out with a meniscus tear while Ja Morant is set to miss time with an ankle sprain. Without those two, Memphis is dead in the water.

That leaves the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, are clearly entering a rebuilding phase and repeating the same mistakes from last season, but the Rockets are an interesting case.

Houston’s additions of John Wall and Christian Wood are playing amazing basketball, but the x-factor to this team is James Harden. Harden has said that he wants out of Houston, but can the play of Wall and Wood change his mind? They stand at 2-3 now, but an invested Harden makes them a threat.

Regardless, it’s clear the New Orleans Pelicans have their team figured out much more than any other team in the division at the moment. If the Pelicans can continue to play good basketball, they can amount a sizeable lead in the division that would be too much for the others to overcome. The only team that even looks like they could stop the Pelicans is Houston, and they still need to figure out if their franchise player wants to be there.

Now it’s in the Pelicans’ hands to take advantage of a prime situation!