Every time it seems like the New Orleans Pelicans are offering a glimpse of hope they shut it down with a blowout loss.
The Pelicans were coming off their best win of the season vs. the Clippers before getting destroyed by the Mavericks last night in a game where the Mavs shot 68.7 percent as a team.
I thought Herb Jones would at least slow Luka Doncic down but the Mavs scored 41 points in the first quarter and shot like the Pelicans weren’t even in the gym.
The Pelicans are now 5.5 games out of the 10th and final play-in spot, but even with Zion Williamson set to return soon, it’s a big hole to climb out of with 58 games remaining in the season.
FiveThirtyEight gives the Pelicans just a 16 percent chance of making the playoffs, so in case your are wondering, we are at the “Dumb and Dumber” point in the season where we look up at impossible odds and say “So you’re saying there’s a chance?”
The New Orleans Pelicans’ schedule
I am sick of writing “when Zion returns” as I am not getting fooled by that old tune again until I actually see him on the court.
Without him, the Pels have a zero percent chance of even having close to a .500 record, much less actually making the playoffs.
There is only one thing working in their favor and that is the schedule.
The New Orleans Pelicans have played one of the toughest schedules in the NBA so far, but the good news is that will start to change soon.
According to Tankathon, the Pels have the 25th most-difficult remaining schedule in the NBA, as their remaining opponents have just a .490 winning percentage combined.
The Pels have remaining tough games against the Suns (2), Warriors (3), Nets (2), Jazz (3), Bucks (2) and Bulls (1) but also have a ton of games against he bottom feeders with two remaining with the Pistons, Magic and Thunder. They also have four games each with the Rockets and Spurs and one left against the Pacers.
Of course, you don’t win games on paper, so the New Orleans Pelicans aren’t guaranteed to win any of those games, but at least they have fighting chance.
It’s a small glimmer of hope, but with 58 games remaining, it’s too depressing to give up on this season, especially with Zion and a light schedule in the future.