The New Orleans Pelicans can be next season’s Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies have made the leap into the Western Conference elite this season and the New Orleans Pelicans hope to follow them soon.
The Grizzlies are currently the second seed in the Western Conference and look primed to make a deep playoff run behind Ja Morant, who is a dark horse MVP candidate.
Even though the Pelicans are just the 10th seed in the West, the two teams have a lot in common.
Both teams are built around a star from the 2019 NBA Draft. Both have a nice mixture of young talent and veteran leadership and plenty of draft capital in reserve.
The biggest difference between them is that while the Grizzlies’ star is having an MVP-caliber season, Zion Williamson hasn’t played at all for the Pelicans and is still rehabbing his surgically-repaired foot.
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But he is making progress, and when the Pelicans finally have their star back they will be poised to make a leap next season similar to the one Memphis made this year.
The New Orleans Pelicans can be the next team to make a big leap
The Grizzlies finished last season in the 8th seed and won the play-in tournament before eventually losing to the Utah Jazz.
This year, they should be hosting a first-round playoff series and be favored. They’ve already won six more games than they did all of last season and have went from fringe playoff team to one of the favorites to make the Western Conference Finals.
The Pelicans are the 10th seed and hoping to climb to the 9th and make a similar run in the play-in tournament behind Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.
Even if Zion Williamson does not return this season, the Pelicans will be a dangerous team in the play-in, much as the Grizzlies were last season.
That sets the New Orleans Pelicans up to make a big leap as a team next season and when you look at their potential roster at full strength, it’s arguably one of the best in the NBA.
With a big three of Zion, BI and CJ to go with Jonas Valanciunas and Herbert Jones, the Pelicans are building a team that could end up near the top of the West next season.
The Pelicans’ progress may have gotten delayed by a unlucky foot, but they are right behind the Grizzlies and hope to follow them to the top of the West.
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