The Pelicans may have just completed the most brutal four-game stretch any team will go through the rest of the season.
They started the new year with a 136-113 loss on the road against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, followed by three homes games in four days against Utah, Phoenix and Golden State.
The Pelicans lucked out at the end of that gruesome stretch by catching the Warriors on a night when Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were both resting. New Orleans capitalized on that and pulled off a 101-96 win Thursday night, which prevented it from going 0-4 against arguably the four best teams in the league.
Despite their rough start to 2022, the Pelicans (14-25) are still alive in the highly competitive race for the Play-In Tournament. After Friday night’s games, they’re only 1.5 games behind the 10th-seeded San Antonio Spurs, and New Orleans’ second-half schedule is one of the easier slates among Western Conference teams.
“We feel good. Those were some tough teams, some high-level, championship-contending teams. I thought we handled it about as well as we could,” coach Willie Green said. “I just think we have a resilient group of guys. No matter what we go through, they stay pretty consistent.”
Even if New Orleans likes where it stands after starting the year 3-16, its roster still needs some obvious upgrades to make a postseason run more realistic. Here are a few ideas the Pelicans front office could pursue ahead of the Feb.
