Ranking the Pelicans potential playoff threats

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

This is where there's a bit of a tier break in my opinion. In those first two potential matchups, I'd assume the Pelicans would be favored by Vegas. The general public would expect the upset, but truth be told New Orleans is better than both Dallas and Los Angeles.

The Thunder are a different story. We saw on Tuesday night that Oklahoma City can be devastating when they get things rolling. Their youthful exuberance borders on "too young and dumb to know that we're not supposed to be here," in a positive way. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a bonafide MVP candidate, Chet Holmgren would be the Rookie of the Year Frontrunner if there wasn't an alien that touched down in San Antonio, and the supporting casts around the starts fits like a glove.

Their elite offense mixed with a stifling defense has thawrted New Orleans in their last two matchups. The Thunder are playing elite basketball on both ends of the floor this season and they'll have an electric home court advantage to match their stellar on-court work. Oklahoma City is historically one of the best playoff atmospheres in the NBA and an unproved Pelicans squad would have a tough go of it in the Paycom Center.