New Orleans Pelicans: Can They Make the Playoffs?

The New Orleans Pelicans are ready – or at least, that’s the sentiment that many observers in the NBA carry. Led by Anthony Davis’ meteoric rise to superstardom, the Pelicans made it to the playoffs last season, beating out the Oklahoma City Thunder on the final day of the regular season. After moving on from coach Monty Williams, the Pelicans hired former Golden State Warriors’ assistant head coach Alvin Gentry, in a move that many praised and viewed as the turning point for the team’s playoff aspirations.

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The formula for making the playoffs in the Western Conference can be quite unforgiving at times. The Thunder, despite winning 45 games last season, missed out on the playoffs. The Phoenix Suns, two seasons ago, won 48 games but also missed out. To make matters worse, the Pelicans play in the Southwest Division, home to the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets, and the Memphis Grizzlies – all seasoned NBA playoff teams.

While it seems natural to expect the Pelicans to take the next step and build on their first playoff appearance since Chris Paul left the franchise, there are still some lingering concerns surrounding this team.

The first of which is health. Being healthy can be widely luck-based, but filling the roster with injury-prone players doesn’t help their cause. On opening night, the Pelicans were without Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, Omer Asik, Norris Cole, Luke Babbit, and Quincy Pondexter. It is especially concerning seeing as four of those five belong in the starting unit, and without them, Davis was left to fend for himself.

There are serious doubts as to whether we will ever see Holiday return to his All-Star self, and considering the Pelicans gave up two first round picks for him, they’ll be hoping those doubts are alleviated soon. Without him, the Pelicans are in dire need for a starting-calibre point guard. Last season, Evans filled the role of playmaker, but isn’t a natural point guard himself. The Pelicans have Nate Robinson and Ish Smith as backups, but neither of which should be relied upon by a playoff-level team.

The next concern is the competitiveness of the rest of the Western Conference. Of the eight teams that made the playoffs last season, the Portland Trail Blazers are the only team who are almost certain to miss it this season. The current popular opinion is that the Dallas Mavericks and the Pelicans are the two teams who aren’t locks in this year’s playoff race. The other contenders include the Utah Jazz, the Phoenix Suns, the Oklahoma City Thunder (considered a lock by many), and perhaps the Sacramento Kings.

The Pelicans have Davis on their side, but the fact is that there are six teams challenging for three spots. It would take a disaster of epic proportions for the Thunder to miss the playoffs again, so that leaves five teams and two spots. The Jazz, the Suns, and the Pelicans are the frontrunners, but the Kings could very well be a dark horse if everything goes right for them.

There is an argument that the Suns and Jazz are better-rounded teams than the Pelicans, despite lacking a superstar of Davis’ quality. The Pelicans’ injury woes also mean that they are already at a disadvantage, and with such fierce competition, every win will count.

In the end, it could very well come down to how long Evans and Holiday are out for. If the pair end up missing close to 20 games this season, the Pelicans might just have to kiss their playoff hopes goodbye.

Next: NBA Power Rankings: Opening Week

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