A few key details are expected to be ironed out in the near future, but the NBA’s return to play plan last week sets up the New Orleans Pelicans and their fans for what promises to be an incredibly compelling stretch of basketball this summer. When the league announced its unprecedented format of eight “seeding games” per team and an eighth place vs. ninth place “play-in round,” it created a situation in the Western Conference where a pack of six teams will be vying for those two spots. It will be the continuation of a West playoff chase that had already gotten very interesting for New Orleans (28-36), after the Pelicans won 21 of their last 34 games.
Break out the calculators: Pelicans' path to play-in, playoff berth requires some math
