Last year was a massive success for the young and building New Orleans Pelicans. They found their way into the playoffs for the first time with Anthony Davis and company, surprising many by beating out the Oklahoma City Thunder for the eighth seed. However, with a new season upcoming and expectations rising, some may wonder just how far the Pelicans could rise going into next season. The best case scenario may be similar to what the Atlanta Hawks did in the Eastern Conference this past regular season.
If you looked around at the predictions for the Eastern Conference before last season began, the few names you would have seen as the top seed in the conference were the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and perhaps in the most uncommon cases the Toronto Raptors or Washington Wizards.