As difficult as it might initially be to believe, particularly based on how formidable and competitive the Western Conference has been for a decade-plus, New Orleans (10-20) is only three games out of eighth place, despite a forgettable 0-8 start. The West’s current eighth-place squad, Portland (13-17), has been struggling lately, unable to put more distance between it and other below-.500 clubs such as Denver (12-17), Sacramento (11-17) and the Lakers (11-20).
As a result, although Pelicans players have been talking about playing their way “back into playoff contention” lately, purely from a mathematical standpoint, they may already be in the hunt.