ORLANDO – In virtually every season over the past two decades, a 10-20 start to the regular season would spell doom for a team hoping to qualify for the Western Conference playoffs. But over the first two months of the 2015-16 NBA campaign, the West hasn’t been nearly as formidable. Case in point: the New Orleans Pelicans, who are 10 games below .500 but have made tangible progress during the latter half of December on each of the six teams just ahead of them in the conference standings.
Beginning with a 104-94 win at Utah on Dec. 16, the Pelicans have gone 4-2 over a six-game span, gaining ground on every West team that currently holds spots 8 through 13 in the conference (New Orleans is 14th).