Despite opening the season 3-9 and 2-10, respectively, Washington and New Orleans still have plenty to play for 40-plus games into the season, as a result of playing much better basketball since a rough November. Not only have the Wizards (26-20) zoomed past the .500 mark, they have a legitimate chance to secure homecourt advantage in at least the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, currently just a half game behind fourth-place Atlanta (27-20). Meanwhile, the Pelicans (19-28) are just 2.5 games out of eighth in the West. New Orleans is 17-18 since Jrue Holiday made his season debut in mid-November, including 17-15 when Holiday plays.
Pelicans trying to replicate Wizards’ recovery from poor start to 2016-17
