It was so, so close.
In what now feels like years ago, the New Orleans Pelicans sat alone in eighth place in the Western Conference standings. Fast forward to present day and they now find themselves three and half games back of the surging Russell Westbrooks Oklahoma City Thunder with 12 games remaining. Sure they hold the tiebreaker, but that may all be irrelevant pretty soon.
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Pelican fans will look back at this season and wonder what if.
What if Anthony Davis didn’t go through a stretch of ticky tack injuries (including that random ankle sprain during shootaround right before a huge matchup against the Suns) that cost him valuable game time. What if Jrue Holiday could have stayed healthy for more than half a season?
What if Ryan Anderson returned to the player he was before his horrific neck injury? He showed flashes of his old self randomly, but neglected to ever string a few games together. What if Luke Babbitt was given more minutes to showcase his excellence?
Oh, is it just me that is wondering what if about that last one? That’s fine. I may be the only person on Luke Babbitt island, but you better believe that I am building a nice little hut for myself. The man is going to have one memorable NBA moment in his career! It is his destiny.
The Pelicans have the hardest schedule among the three teams (Suns and Thunder as the other two) vying to sneak into the playoffs. Although, that could be a misleading disclaimer, since New Orleans fares better against the upper echelon of the league as opposed to the cellar dwellers.
The good news that Anthony Davis is back after an ill-timed hiatus and so are his silky smooth mid range jumpers.
There is a chance that they could overtake the Thunder, but man is that chance a slim one at this point.
Eric Gordon (who came off the bench on Sunday against the Clippers because of missing a team meeting) explained to the media how this playoff dream can become a reality:
“We’ve got to hit a major winning streak here towards the end, because they’re not going to bow down to anybody. We have to control our destiny and be consistent, as far as winning games.”
Controlling their own destiny may not be the correct term for the Pelicans’ current situation. Three and half games back with only 12 to play while being pinned against Russell Westbrook being possessed by the ghost of Oscar Robertson is far from an attainable feat. There appears to be no light at the end of this tunnel.
Pundits and casual fans will look back at this Pelicans team and reminisce on their potentially party-crashing season. This could have been the year that Davis became one of the youngest MVP winners in the history of the league. There should be a different ending to this topsy turvy season for this team.
Instead, they are probably going to finish with a .500 record and 10th in the conference. Much like everyone predicted before the season.
At least we (I) can all hold our (my) head(s) high knowing that we got to watch Luke Babbitt lay the groundwork for a breakout 2015-16 season. Just you watch.
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