The Pelicans and city of New Orleans proved the doubters wrong

The New Orleans Pelicans fell short in Game 6 to the Phoenix Suns and were eliminated the NBA playoffs after an unexpected run from the 9th seed.

Herb Jones had this to say after the loss in his final post game press conference of the season:

"We exceeded expectations that a lot of people had on us. I felt that we were right where we wanted to be…I am so so proud of the guys and what we did this year despite everything that has happened this year."

If you told someone six months ago that this 1-12 team would make it to the NBA playoffs and go toe-to-toe with the best team in the NBA, they probably would have bet you large money against it. Herb Jones is right, expectations were low and the Pels had plenty of doubters.

The Pelicans not only got to the playoffs but won two games against the team with the best record in the NBA. They showed they can compete with the NBA’s best, which is why the future looks so bright in New Orleans.

New Orleans Pelicans: The team and city responded and the future is bright

CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas were the only players on the Pelicans with real playoff experience coming in, but now Brandon Ingram, Jose Alvarado, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Jaxson Hayes have all gotten a taste of the postseason and will come back a little more experienced and better prepared to succeed.

They now have a dynamic young core flanked by quality veterans, a top-10 pick in the NBA Draft and Zion Williamson returning next season. This is a far cry from the team that got this delusional response from Kendrick Perkins.

The Smoothie King center was sold out, packed and rocking for all of the Pelicans’ play-in and playoff games, as the city responded to an exciting team that played hard all season, proving that this is a basketball town after all.

The season may be over, but the Pelicans were able to prove all the doubters wrong by going to the playoffs and showing the world what New Orleans basketball is all about.