New Orleans Pelicans: 22-team format provides hope for this season

With the NBA approving a 22-team format to end the 2019-20 season, the New Orleans Pelicans’ hopes for a strong finish remain present.

After no indication about the future of the NBA season for quite some time, the New Orleans Pelicans 2019-20 campaign could be salvaged after all. After a year that’s seen plenty of ups and downs, and was never able to get in full swing due to the injuries early on, to up-and-coming star Zion Williamson, there remains hope for this young Pelicans side.

On Thursday, the NBA board of governors approved a format that will allow for the remainder of the season to be played out in Orlando, Florida, at least an abridged version.

Said format will include 22 teams – 13 from the Western Conference, and nine from the Eastern Conference – and will consist of all teams playing eight regular-season games before moving onto a possible play-in tournament for the eighth seeds before going onto the playoffs. The Pelicans get their invitation as one of six teams within six games of the eighth-spot in their respective conferences.

Although the Pelicans are still rebuilding their side, this scenario provides the team and their fans with an exciting ending to a season which would’ve been pretty disappointing had it ended where it was following the season’s sudden stoppage.

With Zion playing just 19 games post-injury, we saw glimpses of his phenomenal talent. Getting into this format could be enough to see plenty more from him, as he’ll look to guide his team to a strong finish in Orlando.

New Orleans currently sits tenth overall in the Western Conference standings, as many games back as the Portland Trail Blazers in ninth and the Sacramento Kings in eleventh. According to reports, if the ninth team at the end of the eight-game regular season is within four games of the eighth seed, then a play-in series will take place, where the ninth seed would twice need to beat the eighth seed to proceed to the playoffs, whereas the eighth seed would only need to beat the ninth seed once.

This is a scenario that could easily involve the Pelicans when all is said and done. They sit in a strong position to certainly challenge for the chance to win those two games against the eighth seed.

Currently, the Memphis Grizzlies sits in eighth with the three trailing teams behind them, which includes New Orleans, three and a half games back. A deficit that could be incredibly hard to overturn in just an eight-game span, especially as there are three teams in this predicament, and then you have the San Antonio Spurs just another half-game off the pace.

Whatever pans out during this exciting prospect, which will begin July 31, will allow the Pelicans team to gel as a complete roster and continuing their growth as a squad. People will have expectations for Zion and Brandon Ingram, who earned himself his first All-Star appearance in a tremendous personal year, but in reality, there should be no pressure.

They’ll hope to at least make that play-in game and give themselves a chance to perform when everyone is watching. They’re a dark horse in that Western Conference pool and there’ll be no one who will look forward to having to play them down the stretch.