Don’t look now but the New Orleans Pelicans have won three-in-a-row and are just 1.5 games out of the final playoff spot.
They’ve done this despite having some new players, a new coach and a terrible bench, so things should get even better as the Pels continue to gel.
The Pelicans have also had one of the toughest schedules in the NBA so far, all of which combined to make their slow start understandable.
The Pels are finally about to get a break in the schedule and have just 14 more games until the midway point of the season when the league will shut down for the All-Star break.
If the Pelicans can continue to play well leading up to the break, they should be able to climb in the standings.
New Orleans Pelicans schedule for the rest of the first half
The Pels have 14 games left in the first half of the 2021 season. Of those games, only six are against teams currently in the playoff hunt.
They will have tough matchups against the Trail Blazers, Suns, Celtics, Bucks, Spurs and Jazz. The Pels handled the Blazers easily last season and have already beaten the Suns and Bucks in this one.
If the Pels can just win a couple of these games, they should be able to make up some ground, as the rest of their opponents are struggling.
They will get the Bulls and Pistons twice each, the Heat, who have been playing poorly, as well as games against the Spurs and Grizzlies, which are both winnable.
If the Pels take care of business against the bad teams and split with the good ones, they should emerge as a top-8 seed in the West before the All-Star break.
But games are not won on paper and the New Orleans Pelicans have yet to prove that they can sustain the level of play they’ve shown over the last few games.
Things are trending up but the Pels have to keep their foot on the gas, especially over these next 14 games, when they have the chance to make up a lot of ground.