Silence the Thunder, give me the Pelicans
The Oklahoma City Thunder have fought valiantly in the face of adversity to position themselves in the Western Conference playoff mix. Now, they need to bow out and let the up-and-coming New Orleans Pelicans get a taste of the postseason.
It’s nothing personal against Oklahoma City. The Thunder have a tremendously enjoyable star in Russell Westbrook who seems a better bet to notch a triple-double than not these days. They also have experience and a killer home crowd, one of the loudest in the NBA. Still, Oklahoma City is a MASH unit, with Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant out for the season.
The Pelicans have not been to the playoffs in the Anthony Davis era. Davis, outside of LeBron James, is perhaps the most complete player in the game and would certainly be a draw against the Golden State Warriors and the Splash Bros. of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. New Orleans would not win that series, but wouldn’t you rather watch Davis than Westbrook at this point? Neither has any realistic chance of advancing, we might as well get the younger phenom.
New Orleans has been charging down the stretch in the Southwest Division, a group vying to become the first ever to send all its teams into the postseason. The Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks are all in, with the Grizzlies and Spurs, and Rockets and Mavericks, currently slated to see each other in the first round.
New Orleans is sitting at 42-34, a half-game back of the Thunder for the conference’s eighth and final seed. Oklahoma City has lost two straight while the Pelicans are riding a four-game winning streak, with the former having six games remaining and the latter having seven.
The remaining schedule for both teams is as follows:
Oklahoma City: vs. Houston, vs. San Antonio, vs. Sacramento, @Indiana, vs. Portland, @Minnesota
New Orleans: @Portland, vs. Golden State, @Memphis, vs. Phoenix, @Houston, @Minnesota, vs. San Antonio
It’s tough to see a true advantage between the two. The Thunder get the Kings, making their road a tad easier. However, the Pelicans have momentum on their side and desperation, two factors that often breed the most dangerous trait of all; confidence.
It will be fascinating to watch Davis down the stretch. Westbrook is a wily veteran who has proven himself in the biggest of moments. Can Davis rise up and match Westbrook, even exceed his output to lead New Orleans into its second playoff berth under head coach Monty Williams? Of course, we know Davis made the most of his big moments during his collegiate days with Kentucky.
Regardless of the outcome, the Pelicans and Thunder are putting on a great race to end the regular season.
