The easiest question to ask about any New Orleans Pelicans game for the forseeable future is an easy one: Are the Pelicans a better team than their opponent? For great teams – top-five, surefire playoff teams – that answer doesn’t much matter. Those squads are all relatively equal, and individual matchups, coaching decisions, or scheduling luck will decide those games. But for the Pelicans, it’s a difficult call whether or not they’re even more talented than a given opponent.
The Oklahoma City Thunder used to be one of those surefire playoff teams, and maybe they still are. But the departure of Kevin Durant in July completely changed the conversation surrounding this team.