HOUSTON – Win and you’re realistically part of the conversation in the multi-team Western Conference playoff race. Lose and you’ll likely be counted out – understandably – by a majority of NBA observers.
That’s the scenario facing the New Orleans Pelicans (23-35) entering Wednesday’s critical road game against the Houston Rockets (29-31). If the Pelicans win, they’ll pull within four games of the eighth-place Rockets in the West standings (and only three in the loss column). If the Pelicans lose, they’ll not only be six games behind the Rockets, but it will essentially be a seven-game deficit – because it would mean Houston has clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker 3-1.