New Orleans Pelicans: 3 reasons not to give up on the season
The New Orleans Pelicans have not been good so far and it’s disappointing.
It’s possible expectations were too high for the NBA’s 4th youngest team, but it’s also hard to believe that a team with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram can be this bad.
The Pelicans clearly need something to change quickly or they will be staring down the barrel of the lottery once again, which is not what fans expected coming into this season.
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The Pelicans are 5-10 and if the season ended today they’d be the 4th-worst team in the NBA.
But it doesn’t and there is still plenty of season left to play, which is why it’s too early to give up on the New Orleans Pelicans.
Here are three reasons to keep watching.
New Orleans Pelicans: Can the Pels still make the playoffs?
The Pelicans playoff hopes are dwindling but not dead
No one thought the Pels were going to win a title this season but we hoped they might make the playoffs so the young guys could get reps in meaningful games.
Even though they currently sit 14th in the Western Conference, they aren’t out of it yet for a few reasons.
The first is that the new playoff format puts 10 teams into the “playoffs,” so the Pels don’t have to even finish in the top-8 to at least make the play-in game. They are only 2.5 behind the 8-8 Warriors for the 10th spot.
The teams directly in front of them, the Kings, Thunder and Rockets have all been bad as well, so it is not like anyone is running away with it.
The Pelicans are only four games behind the 4th seed Trail Blazers and could be right back in the playoff picture with a good week.