For a brief moment, there was hope. A remarkable upset victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder just one week ago raised the possibility that the New Orleans Pelicans would insert themselves into the playoff race. That opportunity was given away in the most painful way possible in the last three games.
Saturday the Pelicans held a 90% win probability over the Minnesota Timberwolves with 6:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. They lost. On Wednesday their win probability peaked at 92.4% with 2:31 remaining against the Houston Rockets.