I Owe the Pelicans an Apology
Ok so, back in December I wrote a piece, begging New Orleans Pelicans fans to have some patience with their young, injured core, namely because, “trying to push for the playoffs will just land the Pelicans in no man’s land with probably the 6th or 7th pick to show for their efforts.” Yeah, I wrote that, it was published, and people read it. And oh boy, am I in real life danger of looking foolish on the internet. Right now as I’m writing this, March 3, the Pelicans sit 12th in the Western Conference, four games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for eighth. With a tough schedule up ahead for the Grizzlies and Damian Lillard hurt, it’s possible that the Pelicans slide into that last playoff spot just before the end of the season.
The Pelicans’ success has been great to watch and, in spite of my terrible foresight, can be largely attributed to the return of rookie sensation: Zion Williamson. In that same Pelican’s piece, I again embarrassed myself by proclaiming that, “any possible move the Pelicans could make wouldn’t turn them into a playoff competitor.” Obviously, I underestimated the skill of Williamson, and the magnitude of just his presence on the court. Of course, a few other things have had to happen for the Pelicans to rise through the rankings (Sacramento, what the hell?), but none of those things really over the fact that since his return back in January, Zion has been nothing short of amazing.
Across 16 games, Zion is averaging 24.2 PPG/6.9 TRB/2.2 AST on shooting splits of 59/42/64. Outside of the 64.1% on free throws, everything about his counting stats is eye-popping. Especially when, to quote Kaz Famuyide, “It’s like he hasn’t even had a play ran for him and he just Zions his way to 25 points a game every night.” And truly, that’s what it feels like when you turn on a Pelican’s game; outside of Brandon Ingram doing his thing, it’s Zion running the floor, out-rebounding your favorite big man, and catching any lobs that just happen to be near the basket. Every play is an amazing display of unmatched athleticism and energy, it’s invigorating to watch as a fan.
Although since getting Zion back, the Pelicans are only 8-8 and most of those eight wins are against teams that are having…not great seasons. Outside of a 15-point win against a Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics, a seven-point edging of a sliding Indiana Pacers squad, every other team the Pelicans have beat since getting Zion back are all non-playoff teams. So far with Zion on the team, the Pelicans have lost to the Nuggets, Rockets, Bucks, the Thunder, and the Lakers twice, and a narrow five-point loss to the Timberwolves (which added another round of edits to this piece, fun fact), which doesn’t sit TOO well with me. But, and this is where I cut the 10th place team some slack, (1) every loss with the exception of the Bucks game was within single-digits and (2) they’re a young team that JUST got a key piece of their rotation back: there’s reason to be optimistic here.
I fully believe the Pelicans are capable of making the playoffs as the eight seed, the catch is they’re going to have to win the games they’re supposed to win: in the next few weeks the Pelicans play the Timberwolves, the Grizzlies, Hawks, AND Wizards twice. Out of those four teams, three of them are playing for draft picks, and the only ones who aren’t are the Grizzlies, who hold the eight seed at the time of writing, so if the Pelicans can hand them two more losses, that would tilt the standings heavily in their favor. I don’t expect the Grizzlies to just take two more losses to the Pelicans, especially after already losing to them twice, but it is doable. That’s why I consider this a game the Pelicans are supposed to win: you’re SUPPOSED to beat a team in the same metaphorical weight class as you, especially if you’ve already beaten them twice.
The road to the 2020 playoffs isn’t going to be an easy one for the run-and-gun upstarts out of the Smoothie King Center, but it also isn’t meant to be. For a team that has been toted as having all this untapped potential like the Pelicans have since their blockbuster Anthony Davis trade, getting into the playoffs with Zion Williamson has become an important milestone, one that I now believe is very well within reach.