The New Orleans Pelicans are in the home stretch of a strange season with just 20 games remaining.
It has been a roller coaster this season, as the Pels have often looked to be on the verge of realizing their immense potential but have other times looked like a lottery team that needs more talent and development.
They were playing some of their best basketball of the season before getting hit with injury woes but the Pels are still just 1.5 games back of the final play-in spot with 20 games left to play, three of which are against the Warriors, the team they are currently chasing.
It’s not too late for the Pels to claw their way into the playoffs, but it won’t be an easy task.
Here is my prediction for how the Pels will do over their last 20 games.
New Orleans Pelicans schedule: Prediction for last 20 games
Of the Pelicans’ final 20 games, half of them are against teams that are currently in the playoffs, though the Knicks are just barely holding on to the 8th spot in the East.
I predict that the Pels will win 11 of their final 20, with wins coming against the Cavaliers, Kings, Knicks, Wizards, Magic, Spurs, Thunder, Timberwolves, Warriors (2) and Grizzlies.
Of course the Pelicans have pretty much played up or down to the competition all season, so they will almost certainly win a few against teams that are better and lose a couple that they should have won.
This will leave them with a final record of 34-38, which may or may not be enough to get them in the play-in game. Last year’s 10th seed, the Phoenix Suns, finished with a record of 34-39, so that record would be in line with what teams have had in the past.
I would love it if the Pels could make the play-in game so that they can get some more experience in meaningful games, which is more important than a couple of spots in the draft at this point.
These final 20 games could got a lot of ways and the New Orleans Pelicans’ playoff chances may very well come down to the final game against the Lakers.