New Orleans was playing some of its best basketball of 2019-20 when the 82-game schedule was interrupted in mid-March, highlighted by winning eight of its last 11 road games. The Pelicans had shaken off a 7-23 start – working their way back into the playoff race – and seemed to be trending up in every way, with the NBA’s easiest schedule remaining. Led partly by a group of rapidly-improving young players, a trip to the postseason was a real possibility.
Seven weeks after a March 11 game in Sacramento was postponed, however, perhaps the biggest question now is whether the Pelicans will get the opportunity to achieve that goal.