It can be factually stated that the Pelicans are just 3 games out of the 8th seed. Absolutely. However, 8 teams are competing for that 1 seed, one team is in the driver’s seat, and 7 others are all less than 4 games out. The fallacy, or at best omission of convenience, is that the Pelicans are not competing with the team in 8th for the playoffs; they are competing with all 8 teams. This is a significantly more difficult position to be in, especially with such a tight grouping.
What the Pelicans have in their favor, and you can take it to the bank that this is what they see when they look at the season, is that
- 8th: The Kings may have some looming issues that will cost them wins
- 9th: The Blazers are in freefall
- 10th: The Nuggets are close, about to make a move, may or may not help this season
- 11th: The Pelicans are getting healthy, early record has no predictive value
- 12th: The Lakers have nearly the same record, but the lack a star, youth will hit a wall, injuries are mounting
- 13th The Wolves are not putting it together, are focused on development, defense
- 14th-a: The Suns have not been able to put it together and need to make a move to improve this season
- 14th-b: The Mavericks’ age is keeping up with them, injuries may start to be a factor
Moreover, each of the other 7 teams is no better than 21st in DRtg (108.